• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.411-426
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• 2022

Energy plays a significant role in modern lifestyle because of our extensive reliance over energy-operating devices. Therefore, there is a need for alternative and green energy resources that can fulfill the energy demand. For this, fuel cell (FCs) especially anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) have gained tremendous attention over the other (FCs) due to their fast reaction kinetics without using noble catalyst and allow to use of cheaper polymers with high performance. But lack of highly conductive, chemically, and mechanically stable anion exchange membrane (AEM) still main obstacle to the development of high performance AEMFCs. Therefore, graphene-based polymer composite membranes came into the existence as AEMs for the FCs. The exceptional properties of the graphene help to improve the performance of AEMs. Still, there are lot of challenges in the graphene derivatives based AEMs because of their high tendency of agglomeration in polymer matrix which reduced their potential. To overcome this issue surface modification of graphene derivatives is necessary to restrict their agglomeration and conserved their potential features that can help to improve the performance of AEM. Therefore, this review focus on the surface modification of graphene derivatives and their role in the fabrication of AEMs for the FCs.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.540-546
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• 2010

In this manuscript, in order to reduce methanol permeability and, at the same time, to increase proton conductivity THS-PSA containing silica compound, responsible for methanol permeability reduction, and sulfonic acid, responsible for proton conductivity enhancement, was applied onto PVA/PSSA-MA membranes. And in order to improve durability, the resulting membranes, PVA/PSSAMA/THS-PSA, were exposed to 500ppm F2 gas at varying reaction times. The surface-fluorinated membranes were characterized through the measurement of contact angles, thermo-gravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to observe the physico-chemical changes. For the evaluation of the electro-chemical changes in the resulting membranes, its water contents, ion exchange capacity, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability were measured and then compared with the commercial membrane, Nafion 115. Finally, the membran electrode assembly(MEA) was prepared and the cell voltage against the current density was measured. As fluorination time increased, the contents of F2 increased up to maximum 4.3% and to depth of 50 nm. At 60 min of fluorination, the proton conductivity was 0.036 S/cm, larger than Nafion 115 at 0.024 S/cm, and the methanol permeability was $9.26E-08cm^2/s$, less than Nafion 115 at $1.17E-06cm^2/s$.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.338-345
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• 2015

Poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) and polyether imide (PEI) were sulfonated and aminated to create sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) (SPPO) and aminated polyether imide (APEI), respectively. Characterization of the SPPO and APEI were performed via measurements of FTIR, thermogravimetry (TGA), swelling degree, ion exchange capacity (IEC), and ion conductivity. Next, the surfaces of these membranes were modified by surface fluorination at room temperature. The surface fluorinated SPPO and APEI membranes underwent characterization again for the mentioned measurements to determine any differences. The 3 types of bi-polar membranes were prepared by varying the IEC of the APEI at a fixed SPPO IEC value, which were applied to the low and high NaCl concentration of feed solution at the different current density, respectively. The hypochlorite concentration derived from the surface fluorinated membranes was dependent on the IEC of the APEI and ranged from 491 to 692 ppm at $80mA/m^2$. At low current density of $5mA/m^2$, the hypochlorite concentrations ranged from 18 to 28 ppm for the 4 hrs surface fluorinated membranes and their durability increased greatly.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.525-530
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• 2012

In this study, silane-crosslinked organic/inorganic composite membranes were prepared by simultaneous irradiation grafting of binary monomer mixtures (styrene and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM)) with various compositions onto a poly(ethylene-alt-tetraethylene) (ETFE) film and followed by sol-gel processing and sulfonation to provide a silane-crosslinked structure and a proton conducting ability, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) were utilized to confirm the crosslinking of ETFE-g-PS/PTMSPM films. The prepared membranes with similar ion exchange capacity but a different TMSPM content were selected and their membrane properties were compared. The ETFE-g-PSSA/PTMSPM membranes were characterized by water uptake, dimensional stability, and proton conductivity after sulfonation. The membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) of the prepared membranes were fabricated and their single cell performances were measured.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2014

Hydroxyapatite has osteoconductivity, biocompatibility and noninflammatory, and it has been used clinically as artificial bone. In this study, we prepared hydroxyapatite/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds using 0, 10, 20, 40 and 60 wt% of hydroxyapatite. We analyzed compressive strength, SEM analysis and FTIR for mechanical property of 3D hydroxyapatite/PLGA scaffolds. For biocompatibility tests, cell proliferation and viability were measured via MTT assay and SEM. We analyzed RT-PCR, FACS, histology (H&E, ED-1) for anti-inflammatory effect. This study showed that hydroxyapatite hybrid scaffolds have low inflammatory reaction compared with the PLGA. This result has a potential for the application of artificial bone graft material.

• Clean Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2013

In this study, polyaniline (PANI)-based $TiO_2$ (PANI-$TiO_2$) composites calcined at different temperatures were prepared and their applications for control of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (TTCE) at indoor air levels were investigated. For these target compounds, the photocatalytic control efficiencies of PANI-$TiO_2$ composites did not exhibit any trend with varying calcination temperatures (CTs). Rather, the average control efficiencies of PANI-$TiO_2$ composites over 3-h photocatalytic process increased from 61 to 72% and from 21 to 39% for TCE and TTCE, respectively, as the CT increased from 350 to $450^{\circ}C$. However, for both the target compounds, the average control efficiencies of PANI-$TiO_2$ composites decreased gradually as the CT increased further to 550 and $650^{\circ}C$. These results were ascribed to contents of anatase crystal phase and specific surface area of different particle sizes in the PANI-$TiO_2$ composites, which were demonstrated by the X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy images, respectively. At the lowest input concentration (IC, 0.1 ppm), average control efficiencies of TCE and TTCE were 72 and 39%, respectively, whereas at the highest IC (1.0 ppm) they were 52 and 18%, respectively. As stream flow rate increased from 0.1 to 1.0 L $min^{-1}$, the average control efficiencies of TCE and TTCE decreased from ca. 100 to 47% and ca. 100 to 18%, respectively. In addition, the average control efficiencies of TCE and TTCE decreased from ca. 100 to 23% and ca. 100 to 8%, respectively as the relative humidity increased from 20 to 95%. Overall, these findings indicated that as-prepared PANI-$TiO_2$ composites could be used efficiently for control of chlorinated compounds at indoor air levels;if operational conditions were optimized.