• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.458-465
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• 2018

This study reports the fabrication of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) containing two kinds of functional groups: i) trimethylphosphite (TMP) and ii) trimethylamine (TMA). We carried out the synthesis of polymers to enhance thermal stability and ion conductivity. The alternative polymer was prepared using 2,2-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)propane and decafluorobiphenyl. The membrane was fabricated by solution casting method. The thermal stability of membranes was examined by TGA. The physiochemical properties of membranes were also investigated in terms of water uptake, swelling ratio, ion exchange capacity, and ion conductivity. The hydroxide ion conductivity of the membranes reached about 20.2 mS/cm for quaternary ammonium poly(arylene ether) (QA-PAE) containing TMA moiety and 5.1 mS/cm for quaternary phosphonium PAE (QP-PAE) containing TMP moiety at $90^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.45-50
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• 2015

In the present work, to increase the chemical stability of the lithium-ion-conducting ceramic electrolyte ($Li_{1+x+y}Al_xTi_{2-x}Si_yP_{3-y}O_{12}$, LATP) in the strong alkaline solution, the surface of LATP was modified by the nitridation process. The surface and structural properties of nitride LATP solid electrolyte were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer and scanning electron microscopy and ac-impedance spectroscopy, which were correlated to the chemical stability and electrochemical performance of LATP. The nitrided LATP immersed in the alkaline solution for 30 days exhibits the enhanced chemical stability than the pristine LATP. Moreover, a rechargeable hybrid Li-air battery constructed with the nitrided LATP solid electrolyte shows considerably reduced discharge-charge voltage gaps (enhanced the round-trip efficiency) in comparison to the cell constructed with pristine LATP, which indicate that the surface nitridation process can be the efficient way to improve the chemical stability of solid electrolyte in alkaline media.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.126-132
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• 2022

Alkaline fuel cells using liquid fuels such as hydrazine and ammonia are gaining great attention as a clean and renewable energy solution possibly owing to advantages such as excellent energy density, simple structure, compact size in fuel container, and ease of storage and transportation. However, common shortcomings including cathode flooding, fuel crossover, side yield reactions, and fuel security and toxicity are still challenging issues. Real time monitoring of fuel concentrations integrated into a fuel cell device can help improving fuel cell performance via predicting any loss of fuels used at a cathode for efficient energy production. There have been extensive research efforts made on developing real-time sensing platforms for hydrazine and ammonia. Among these, recent advancements in electrochemical sensors offering high sensitivity and selectivity, easy fabrication, and fast monitoring capability for analysis of hydrazine and ammonia concentrations will be introduced. In particular, research trend on the integration of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles and also their hybrids with carbon-based nanomaterials into electrochemical sensing platforms for improvement in sensitivity and selectivity will be highlighted.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.154-162
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• 2024

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are essential components in water electrolysis systems, serving to physically separate the generated hydrogen and oxygen gases while enabling the selective transport of hydroxide ions between electrodes. Key characteristics sought in AEMs include high ion conductivity and robust chemical and mechanical stability in alkaline. In this study, quaternized Poly(terphenyl piperidinium)/cellulose nanocrystals (qPTP/CNC) mixed matrix membrane was fabricated. The polymer matrix, PTP, was synthesized via super-acid polymerization, known for its excellent ion conductivity and alkaline durability. The qPTP/CNC membrane showed a dense and uniform morphology without significant voids or large aggregates at the polymer-nanoparticle interface. The qPTP/CNC membrane containing 2 wt% CNC demonstrated a high ion exchange capacity of 1.90 mmol/g, coupled with low water uptake (9.09%) and swelling ratio (5.56%). Additionally, the qPTP/CNC membrane showed significantly lower resistance and superior alkaline stability (384 hours at 50℃ in 1 M KOH) compared to the commercial FAA-3-50 membrane. These results highlight the potential of hydrophilic additive CNC in enhancing ion conductivity and alkaline durability of ion exchange membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.371-383
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• 2021

Anion exchange membranes have been used for water electrolysis, which can produce hydrogen, and fuel cells, which can generate electrical energy using hydrogen fuel. Anion exchange membranes operate based on hydroxide ion (OH^-) conduction under alkaline conditions. However, since the anion exchange membrane shows relatively low ion conductivity and alkaline stability, there is still a limit to its commercialization in water electrolysis and fuel cells. To address these issues, it is important to develop novel anion exchange membrane materials by rationally designing a polymer structure. In particular, the polymer structure and synthetic method need to be controlled. By doing so, for polymers, the physical properties, ionic conductivity, and alkaline stability can be maintained. Among many anion exchange membranes, poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) is commercially available and easily accessible. In addition, the PPO has relatively high mechanical and chemical stability compared to other polymers. In this review, we introduce the recent development strategy and characteristics of PPO-based polymer materials used in anion exchange membranes.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.90-98
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• 2009

Every spring, Korea is always plagued by sandy dust from the western region of China and Mongolia. Yellow sand is causing an environmental problem to Japan and far into the American continent, let alone Korea. At present, the western region of China is going under desertification at a great speed due to climatic change and humans' damaging activities. To cope with this, each country including China is considering ecological restoration of deserts through planting. Accordingly, this research conducted a vegetation survey on Baicheng district which is a representative dry land of western China to obtain a basic data for ecological restoration of a desert. The survey revealed that Setaria viridis which invaded an arid land made a succession into Setaria viridis-Cannabis sativa var. fruderalis community together with Artemisia mongolica-Setaria viridis community due to the increase in salt concentration and alkalization subsequent to dryness. It was also found out that there finally formed Artemisia mongolica community on a flat intense in harsh wind and dryness with the continuous worsening of environmental conditions. There appeared a different type of vegetation on hilly districts where sporadic shade could come into being because the air humidity could be available relatively there. Frequently, typically appearing at the whole survey area, the Tributlus terrestris community was found to make succession into Tribulus terrestris-Cleisrogenes squarrosa community due to the aggravation of soil environment. In addition, with the worsening of the environment at hilly districts, there formed Clesirogenes squarrosa community resistant to dryness, salinity in soil and strong alkalinity. Further, there appeared higher plant life totalling to 62 taxa comprising 58 species and 4 varieties with 27 families and 49 genuses at the whole survey area. Among these, Compositae plants excellent in resistance to environment was surveyed the most, accounting for 27%.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.41-50
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• 1995

2염기성 산의 모노메틸에스테르류와 에틸렌디아민을 반응시켜 얻은 아미도아민 유도체류를 고급지방산 염화물로 아실화하여 N-아실 아미도에틸 N-아미도카르복시산 유도체 9종을 합성하였다. 카르복시기와 디아미드기 그리고 소수성의 긴 알칼사슬을 갖는 모든 반응생성물들은 얇은 막 크로마토그래피와 컬럼크로마토그래피로 분리 ${\cdot}$ 정제하였다. 합성 수율은 $74{\sim}87%$였으며 그들의 구조를 FT-IR, $^1H-NMR$, 그리고 원소 분석으로 확인하였다.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.524-533
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• 2021

In this study, a series of anion conductive organic/inorganic composite membranes with excellent ionic conductivity and chemical stability were prepared by introducing graphene oxide (GO) inorganic nanofiller into the quaternized poly(phenylen oxide (Q-PPO) polymer matrix. The fabricated organic/inorganic composite membranes showed higher ionic conductivity than the pristine membrane. In particular, Q-PPO/GO 0.7 showed the highest ionic conductivity value of 143.2 mS/cm at 90℃, which was 1.56 times higher than the pristine membrane Q-PPO (91.5 mS/cm). In addition, the organic/inorganic composite membrane showed superior dimensional stability and alkaline stability compared to the pristine membrane, and the physicochemical stability was improved as the content of inorganic fillers increased. Therefore, we suggest that the as-prepared organic/inorganic composite membranes are very promising materials for anion exchange membrane applications with high conductivity and alkaline stability.

• Prospectives of Industrial Chemistry
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.1-21
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• 2021

화석연료의 과도한 사용으로 유발된 기후변화 문제를 해결하기 위해 대체에너지의 개발에 대한 관심이 높아지고 있는 가운데 재생가능하며 친환경적인 수소에너지가 실현가능한 궁극적 대안으로 주목받고 있다. 다양한 수소 생산 기술 중 물의 전기분해를 이용한 수전해 기술은 온실가스와 같은 오염물질을 배출하지 않으며 재생에너지와 연계하여 미이용 전력을 대용량 장주기로 저장할 수 있다는 장점이 있다. 수전해 장치는 수소와 산소를 발생하는 전극과 기체의 섞임을 방지하고 이온을 전달하는 분리막으로 구성되며 그 중 분리막은 수전해 장치의 효율과 안정성을 결정짓는 핵심 부품이다. 본 총설에서는 수전해 기술 중 저온 수전해에 해당하는 알칼라인 수전해(alkaline water electrolysis), 고분자전해질막 수전해(polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis)와 음이온교환막 수전해(anion exchange membrane water electrolysis)에 사용되는 분리막에 대한 특성을 분석하고 최근 연구 동향에 대해서 다루고자 한다.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.337-344
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• 2020

Worldwide, there is a significant surge in the efforts for addressing the issue of global warming; the use of renewable energy is one of the solutions proposed to mitigate global warming. However, severe volatility is a critical disadvantage, and thus, power-to-gas technology is considered one of best solutions for energy storage. Hydrogen is a popular candidate from the perspective of both environment and economics. Accordingly, a hydrogen production system based on renewable energy sources is developed, and the economics of the system are assessed. The result of the base case shows that the unit cost of hydrogen production would be 6,415 won/kg H₂, with a hydrogen production plant based on a 100 MW akaline electrolyzer and 25% operation rate, considering renewable energy sources with no electricity cost payment. Sensitivity study results show that the range of hydrogen unit cost efficiency can be 2,293 to 6,984 Won/kg H₂, depending on the efficiency and unit cost of the electrolyzer. In case of electrolyzer operation rate and electricity unit cost, sensitivity study results show that hydrogen unit cost is in the range 934-26,180 won/kg H₂.