With the approaching commercialization of PEM fuel cell technology, developing active, inexpensive non-precious metal ORR catalyst materials to replace currently used Pt-based catalysts is a necessary and essential requirement in order to reduce the overall system cost. This review paper highlights the progress made over the past 40 years with a detailed discussion of recent works in the area of non-precious metal electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction, a necessary reaction at the PEM fuel cell cathode. Several important kinds of unsupported or carbon supported non-precious metal electrocatalysts for ORR are reviewed, including non-pyrolyzed and pyrolyzed transition metal nitrogen-containing complexes, conductive polymer-based catalysts, transition metal chalcogenides, metal oxides/carbides/nitrides/oxynitrides/carbonitrides, and enzymatic compounds. Among these candidates, pyrolyzed transition metal nitrogen-containing complexes supported on carbon materials (M–Nx/C) are considered the most promising ORR catalysts because they have demonstrated some ORR activity and stability close to that of commercially available Pt/C catalysts. Although great progress has been achieved in this area of research and development, there are still some challenges in both their ORR activity and stability. Regarding the ORR activity, the actual volumetric activity of the most active non-precious metal catalyst is still well below the DOE 2015 target. Regarding the ORR stability, stability tests are generally run at low current densities or low power levels, and the lifetime is far shorter than targets set by DOE. Therefore, improving both the ORR activity and stability are the major short and long term focuses of non-precious metal catalyst research and development. Based on the results achieved in this area, several future research directions are also proposed and discussed in this paper.

A review on non-precious metal electrocatalysts for PEM fuel cells

Since its discovery approximately 200 years ago, chitosan, as a cationic natural polymer, has been widely used as a topical dressing in wound management owing to its hemostatic, stimulation of healing, antimicrobial, nontoxic, biocompatible and biodegradable properties. This article covers the antimicrobial and wound-healing effects of chitosan, as well as its derivatives and complexes, and its use as a vehicle to deliver biopharmaceuticals, antimicrobials and growth factors into tissue. Studies covering applications of chitosan in wounds and burns can be classified into in vitro, animal and clinical studies. Chitosan preparations are classified into native chitosan, chitosan formulations, complexes and derivatives with other substances. Chitosan can be used to prevent or treat wound and burn infections not only because of its intrinsic antimicrobial properties, but also by virtue of its ability to deliver extrinsic antimicrobial agents to wounds and burns. It can also be used as a slow-release drug-delivery vehicle for growth factors to improve wound healing. The large number of publications in this area suggests that chitosan will continue to be an important agent in the management of wounds and burns.

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Chitosan preparations for wounds and burns: antimicrobial and wound-healing effects

A review on chitosan and its nanocomposites in drug delivery.

Metallophthalocyanine-based molecular materials as catalysts for electrochemical reactions

Solvent effects on the photochemical and fluorescence properties of zinc phthalocyanine derivatives

Synthesis and structural studies of metal(II) 4,9,16,23-phthalocyanine tetraamines

Studies on synthesis and pharmacological activities of 3,6-disubstituted-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles and their dihydro analogues.

Heterocyclic system containing bridgehead nitrogen atom: synthesis and pharmacological activities of some substituted 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles.

The formation of molecular films of 2,9,16,23-tetraamino metal phthalocyanines (TAM(II)Pc; M (II) = Co, Cu, and TAM(III)Pc; M = Fe) by spontaneous adsorption on gold and silver surfaces is described. The properties of these films have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry, impedance, and FT-Raman spectroscopy. The charge associated with Co(II) and Co(I) redox couple in voltammetric data leads to a coverage of (0.35 ± 0.05) × 10 -10 mol cm -2 , suggesting that the tetraamino cobalt phthalocyanine is adsorbed as a monolayer with an almost complete coverage. The blocking behavior of the films toward oxygen and Fe(CN) 6 3-/4- redox couple have been followed by cyclic voltammetry and impedance meas- urements. This leads to an estimate of the coverage of about 85 % in the case of copper and the iron analogs. FT-Raman studies show characteristic bands around 236 cm -1 revealing the interaction between the metal substrate and the nitrogen of the -NH 2 group on the phthalo- cyanine molecules.

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Self-assembled molecular films of tetraamino metal (Co, Cu, Fe) phthalocyanines on gold and silver. Electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization

An inexpensive and simple method was adopted for the preparation of chitosan beads, crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA), for the controlled release of diclofenac sodium (DS). The beads were prepared by varying the experimental conditions such as pH, temperature, and extent of crosslinking. The absence of any chemical interaction among drug, polymer, and the crosslinking agent was confirmed by FTIR and thermal analysis. The beads were characterized by microscopy, which indicated that the particles were in the size range of 500–700 μm and SEM studies revealed smooth surface and spherical shape of beads. The beads produced at higher temperature and extended exposure to GA exhibited lower drug content, whereas increased drug loading resulted in enhanced drug release. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 211–217, 2007

Jathi Keshavayya

Papers

Synthesis and structural studies of metal(II) 4,9,16,23-phthalocyanine tetraamines

Studies on synthesis and pharmacological activities of 3,6-disubstituted-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles and their dihydro analogues.

Heterocyclic system containing bridgehead nitrogen atom: synthesis and pharmacological activities of some substituted 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles.

Self-assembled molecular films of tetraamino metal (Co, Cu, Fe) phthalocyanines on gold and silver. Electrochemical and spectroscopic characterization

Glutaraldehyde-crosslinked chitosan beads for controlled release of diclofenac sodium