The present disclosure includes a system, method, and device related to controlling brakes of a towed vehicle. A brake controller system includes a brake controller that controls the brakes of a towed vehicle based on acceleration. The brake controller is in communication with a speed sensor. The speed sensor determines the speed of a towing vehicle or a towed vehicle. The brake controller automatically sets a gain or boost based on the speed and acceleration.

Mesoporous carbon has a beaded structure in which primary particles with mesopores are linked. In the mesoporous carbon, an average primary particle size is 7 nm or more and 300 nm or less, a pore diameter is 2 nm or more and 10 nm or less, an average thickness of pore walls is 3 nm or more and 15 nm or less, a pore volume is 0.2 mL/g or more and 3.0 mL/g or less, and a tap density is 0.03 g/cm.sup.3 or more and 0.3 g/cm.sup.3 or less. In a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, the mesoporous carbon is used as a catalyst carrier for at least an air electrode catalyst layer. The mesoporous carbon can be obtained by impregnating mesoporous silica satisfying a predetermined condition with a carbon source, performing polymerization and carbonization, and removing a template.

A method for producing a nitrogen-modified mesoporous and dendritic carbon material includes preparing a carbon precursor comprising a metal acetylide. The carbon precursor is mixed with a nitrogen precursor to form a starter mixture. Thereafter, a first heat treatment of the starter mixture is carried out at a temperature in the range of 40 to 80? C. under vacuum to form a metal inclusion compound. In a next step, a second heat treatment is carried out at a temperature in the range of 120 to 220? C. to produce an intermediate by decomposing the metal inclusion compound under a vacuum. The intermediate is treated to remove the metal, and finally consolidation of the treated intermediate is carried out by a third heat treatment at a temperature in the range of 200 to 1000? C. under vacuum or in an inert gas atmosphere to obtain the nitrogen-modified mesoporous and dendritic carbon material. Also described is a nitrogen-modified mesoporous and dendritic carbon material and a fuel cell comprising the carbon material.

The invention relates to a method for producing a supported catalyst material for a fuel-cell electrode, as well as a catalyst material that can be produced using said method. In the method, first, a carbide-forming substance is deposited from the gas phase onto the carbon-based carrier material to produce a carbide-containing layer and, then, a catalytically-active precious metal or an alloy thereof from the gas phase is deposited to form a catalytic layer. By chemical reaction of the carbide-forming substance with the carbon, very stable carbide bonds are formed at the interface, while an alloy phase of the two forms at the interface between carbide-forming substance and precious metal. Overall, a very stable adhesion of the catalytic precious metal to the substrate results, whereby degradation effects are reduced, and the life of the material is extended.

A known method for producing porous graphitized carbon material covered with metal nanoparticles involves infiltrating a porous template framework of inorganic material with a carbon precursor. After thermal treatment of the precursor, the template is removed and the particulate porous carbon material is covered with a catalytically active substance. According to the invention, in order to keep the proportion of the noble metal loading at a low level, the thermal treatment of the precursor first involves carbonization, and the material is not graphitized into graphitized, particulate, porous carbon material until the template has been removed. The graphitized carbon material has a hierarchical pore structure with a pore volume of at least 0.5 cm.sup.3/g and at least 75% of the pore volume is apportioned to macropores with, size 100 to 5000 nm. Before covering with catalytically active substance, the carbon material is subjected to an activation treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere.

Disclosed is a method for producing a palladium-based permeation membrane which is suitable for the separation of hydrogen from gas-gas or liquid-gas mixtures. The permeation membrane is produced by applying a palladium complex, dissolved in a solvent, to a nanoporous support system having pores in a size range of from 0.5 nm to 50 nm, removing the solvent by drying, removing of organic constituents of the palladium complex by a heat treatment, and carrying out a final heat treatment under reducing conditions at a temperature ranging from about 300? C. to about 900? C.

The present disclosure pertains to electrodes that include a nickel-based material and at least one porous region with a plurality of nickel hydroxide moieties on a surface of the nickel-based material. The nickel-based material may be a nickel foil in the form of a film. The porous region of the electrode may be directly associated with the surface of the nickel-based material. The nickel hydroxide moieties may be in crystalline form and embedded with the porous region. The electrodes of the present disclosure may be a component of an energy storage device, such as a capacitor. Additional embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to methods of fabricating the electrodes by anodizing a nickel-based material to form at least one porous region on a surface of the nickel-based material; and hydrothermally treating the porous region to form nickel hydroxide moieties associated with the porous region.

A method of forming a fuel cell catalyst layer. The method includes spinning a composition including a base polymer, a solvent, and a catalyst precursor into a non-woven fiber mat having the catalyst precursor embedded therein. The method further includes carbonizing the non-woven fiber mat to form a carbon fiber substrate. The method also includes reacting the catalyst precursor to form a plurality of individual catalyst particles embedded in the carbon fiber substrate.

Systems and methods of the present disclosure include supplying a porous substrate, heating the porous substrate to produce a pre-heated substrate, applying an electrode ink to the pre-heated substrate to produce a coated substrate, and drying the electrode ink of the coated substrate to produce an electrode on the porous substrate. The pre-heated substrate has a temperature greater than 23 C. The applying occurs via a coating mechanism. The electrode ink includes a catalyst and an ionomer dispersed in a solvent. The drying occurs via a drying mechanism.

A membrane electrode assembly includes an electrolyte membrane stacked between different electrodes, wherein an ionomer layer of the electrolyte membrane comprises an adjacent electrode, a first layer having at least a same cross-sectional area as that of the adjacent electrode, a reinforcing layer and a second layer stacked at a side of the first layer, the second layer having at least the same cross-sectional area as that of the reinforcing layer.