• New Physics: Sae Mulli
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• v.68 no.11
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• pp.1173-1182
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• 2018

Mesoporous silica allows proper hydration of an ion exchange membrane under low relative humidity due to its strong hydrophilicity and structural characteristic. A mesoporous silica and Nafion composite membrane shows good proton conductivity under low relative humidity. An understanding of ion-channel formation and proton transfer through an ion-channel network in mesoporous silica and Nafion composite membranes is essential for the development and the optimization of ion exchange membranes. In this study, a mesoporous cellular foam $SiO_2/Nafion$ composite membrane is fabricated, and its proton conductivity and performance are measured. Also, the ion-channel distribution is analyzed by using electrostatic force microscopy to measure the surface charge density of the mesoporous cellular foam $SiO_2/Nafion$ composite membrane. The research reveals a few remarkable results. First, the composite membrane shows excellent proton conductivity and performance under low relative humidity. Second, the composite membrane is observed to form ion-channel-rich and ion-channel-poor region locally.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.569-578
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• 2011

The $SiO_2$ membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) are preapared by electrospinning method. It leads to high porosity and surface area of membrane to accommodate the proton conducting materials. The composite membrane was prepared by impregnating of Nafion ionomer into the pores of electrospun $SiO_2$ membranes. The $SiO_2$:heteropolyacid (HPA) nano-particles as a inorganic proton conductor were prepared by microemulsion process and the particles are added to the Nafion ionomer. The characterization of the membranes was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), and single cell performance test for PEMFC. The Nafion impregnated electrospun $SiO_2$ membrane showed good thermal stability, satisfactory mechanical properties and high proton conductivity. The addition of the $SiO_2$:HPA nano-particle improved proton conductivity of the composite membrane, which allow further extension for operation temperature in low humidity environments. The composite membrane exhibited a promising properties for the application in high temperature PEMFC.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.85.2-85.2
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• 2010

There is widespread effort to develop polymer membranes in place of Nafion for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell(PEMFC). In our study, SiO2 membranes are arranged by electrospinning method. For impregnation solution, the modified sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)(SPEEK) polymer is prepared from sulfonation, sulfochlorination, partial reduction and lithiation reaction. The modified polymer is cross-linked with 1,4-diiodobetane in NMP solvent and then blended with Heteropoly acid(HPA). The characterization of membranes is confimed by FT-IR, Thermogravimetry(TGA), water uptake test and single cell performance test for PEMFC, etc. The composite membrane shows satisfactory thermal and mechanical properties. Beside, The membrane exhibits good ion exchange capacity and high proton conductivity. As a result, The composite membrane is promising as an alternative membrane in high temperature PEMFC.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.307-318
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• 2020

Conventional perfluorinated sulfonic acid membrane, Nafion is widely used for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). It is desired to prevent vanadium ion permeation through a membrane to retain the capacity, and to keep the cell efficiency of a VRFB. Highly proton conductive and chemically stable Nafion membranes, however, suffer from high vanadium permeation, which induce the reduction in charge and discharge capacity by side reactions of vanadium ions. In this study, to resolve the issue, silica nanoparticles, which are functionalized with 3-aminopropyl group (fS) are introduced to enhance the long-term performance of a VRFB by lowering vanadium permeation. It is expected that amine groups on silica nanoparticles are converted to positive ammonium ion, which could deteriorate positively charged vanadium ions' crossover by Gibbs-Donnan effect. There is reduction in proton conductivity may due to acid-base complexation between fS and Nafion side chains, but ion selectivity of proton to vanadium ion is enhanced by introducing fS to Nafion membranes. With the composite membranes of Nafion and fS, VRFBs maintain their discharge capacity up to 80% at a high current density of 150 mA/㎠ during 200 cycles.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.524-531
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• 2015

To improve the electrochemical and mechanical characteristics, engineering plastic of the sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) as polymer matrix was prepared in the sulfonation reaction of polyether ether ketone (PEEK). The SPEEK organic-inorganic blended composite membranes were prepared by sol-gel casting method. It was loaded with the highly dispersed ceria and cesium-substituted molybdosilicic acid (Cs-MoSiA) and 1,4-diiodobutane which was cross-linking agent contents of $10{\mu}L$. Cs-MoSiA was added to increase proton conductivity. Ceria ($CeO_2$) was used as a free radical scavenger which degrade the membrane in polymer electrolyte membrane water elctrolysis (PEMWE). In conclusion, CL-SPEEK/Cs-MoSiA/Ceria 1% composite membrane showed high proton conductivity 0.2104 S/cm at $25^{\circ}C$ which was better than Nafion 117 membrane.