• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 1998

[ $AB_2-type$ ] alloy, one kind of hydrogen storage alloys used as an anode of Ni-MH batteries, has large discharge capacity but has remaining problems regarding initial activation, cycle life and self-discharge. This study investigates the effects of Cr-addition and fluorination after La-addition on $Zr_{0.7}Ti_{0.3}V_{0.4}Mn_{0.4}Ni_{1.2}$, composition $AB_2-type$ alloy. EPMA and SEM surface analysis techniques were used and the crystal structure was characterized by XRD analysis. In addition, electrodes were fabricated out of the alloys and characterized by constant current cycling test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization. Cr-addition was found to be effective to cycle life and self-discharge but ineffective to initial activation due to formation of stable oxide film on surface. Fluorination after La-addition to the alloys improved initial activation remarkably due to formation of highly reactive particles on surface.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.890-894
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• 2018

In this study, methylene blue which is one of dye materials was introduced as active material for aqueous redox flow battery. The redox potential of methylene blue was shifted to negative direction as pH increased. The full-cell performance was evaluated by using methylene blue as the negative active material and vanadium as the positive active material with acid supporting electrolytes. The cell voltage of methylene $blue/V^{4+}$ is very low (0.45 V). In addition, the maximum solubility of methylene blue in water is only 0.12 M. Therefore, the cell test was performed with very low concentration (0.0015 M methylene blue, $0.15M\;V^{4+}$) at first time. Cut-off voltage range was 0 to 0.8 V and $1mA{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ current density was adopted during cycling. As a result, current efficiency (CE) was 99.67%, voltage efficiency (VE), 88.83% and energy efficiency (EE) was 85.87% and discharge capacity was ($0.0500Ah{\cdot}L^{-1}$) at 4 cycle. In addition, the cell test was performed with increased concentration (0.1 M methylene blue, $0.15M\;V^{4+}$) with $10mA{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ current density, leading to higher discharge capacity ($3.8122Ah{\cdot}L^{-1}$) with similar efficiency (CE=99%, VE=85%, EE=85% at 4 cycle).

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2018

In this study, $Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$ anode materials for lithium ion battery were synthesized by dry ball-mill method. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as a carbon source was added to improve electrochemical properties. When the PVC was added after $Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$ formation, the spinel structure was well synthesized and it was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments. When the carbon material was added before the synthesis and the heat treatment was performed, it was confirmed that a material having a different crystal structure was synthesized even when a small amount of carbon material was added. In the case of $Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$ without the carbon material, the electrical conductivity value was about $10{\mu}S\;m^{-1}$, which was very small and similar to that of the nonconductor. As the carbon was added, the electrical conductivity was greatly improved and increased up to 10,000 times. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis showed that the size of semicircle corresponding to the resistance decreased with the carbon addition. This indicates that the resistance inside the electrode is reduced. According to the Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis, the potential difference between the oxidation peak and the reduction peak was reduced with carbon addition. This means that the rate of lithium ion insertion and deinsertion was increased. $Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$ with 9.5 wt% PVC added sample showed the best properties in rate capabilities of $180mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ at 0.2 C-rate, $165mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ at 0.5 C-rate, and $95.8mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ at 5 C-rate.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.128-137
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• 2019

A lithium is the lightest metal on the earth. It has some attractive characteristics as a negative electrode material such as a low reduction potential (-3.04 V vs. SHE) and a high theoretical capacity ($3,860mAh\;g^{-1}$). Therefore, it has been studied as a next generation anode material for high energy lithium batteries. The thin lithium electrode is required to maximize the efficiency and energy density of the battery, but the physical roll-press method has a limitation in manufacturing thin lithium. In this study, thin lithium electrode was fabricated by electrodeposition under various conditions such as compositions of electrolytes and the current density. Deposited lithium showed strong relationship between process condition and its characteristics. The concentration of electrolyte affects to the shape of deposited lithium particle. As the concentration increases, the shape of particle changes from a sharp edged long one to a rounded lump. The former shape is favorable for suppressing dendrite formation and the elec-trode shows good stripping efficiency of 92.68% (3M LiFSI in DME, $0.4mA\;cm^{-2}$). The shape of deposited particle also affected by the applied current density. When the amount of current applied gets larger the shape changes to the sharp edged long one like the case of the low concentration electrolyte. The combination of salts and solvents, 1.5M LiFSI + 1.5M LiTFSI in DME : DOL [1 : 1 vol%] (Du-Co), was applied to the electrolyte for the lithium deposition. The lithium electrode obtained from this electrolyte composition shows the best stripping efficiency (97.26%) and the stable reversibility. This is presumed to be due to the stability of the surface film induced by the Li-F component and the DOL effect of providing film flexibility.