• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.424-431
• /
• 2009

Treatment for water repellency on the carbon supports of GDL which composed a part of MEA has been suggested as a solution to prevent flooding. PTFE is a fluoropolymer that has hydrophobic property and a PTFE emulsion was selected as waterproof agent in this investigation. Carbon paper was coated by PTFE emulsion with different particle size of 5~500 nm and 3~$5\;{\mu}m$ as various concentration. PTFE coated carbon paper has difference in weight variation changed proportionally at PTFE concentration and coating times. Then gas permeability of the coated carbon paper with emulsion of 3~$5\;{\mu}m$ PTFE was changed vastly. Characteristics of carbon paper coated with different PTFE emulsion were analyzed by FE-SEM, FT-IR spcetroscopy and were evaluated by weight variations, gas permeability and water contact angle.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.29 no.7
• /
• pp.1344-1348
• /
• 2008

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been regarded as noble clean energy technology that can directly convert biomass to electricity. However, its low power density is a main limitation to be used as a new energy source. To overcome this limitation, we focused on the anode improvement in a mediator-type MFC using P. vulgaris as a biocatalyst. Fuel cell performance increased when the anode was coated with carbon black or polypyrrole. The best performance was observed when polypyrrole/carbon black (Ppy/CB) composite material was coated on a carbon paper electrode. Our obtained value of 452 mW $m^{-2}$ is the highest value among the reported ones for the similar system. The effects of amount of Ppy/CB, mediator concentration, and amount of P. vulgaris have also been examined.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.55-62
• /
• 2017

This paper describes experiments aimed at characterizing the behavior of field electron emitters fabricated by coating carbon fibers with epoxylite resin. Polyacrylonitrile carbon fibers of type VPR-19, thermally treated at $2,800^{\circ}C$, were used. Each was initially prepared in a "uncoated" state, by standard electro polishing and cleaning techniques, and was then examined in a scanning electron microscope. The fiber was then baked overnight in a field electron microscope (FEM) vacuum chamber. Current-voltage characteristics and FEM images were recorded on the following day or later. The fiber was then removed from the FEM, coated with resin, "cured" by baking, and replaced in the FEM. After another overnight bake, the FEM characterization measurements were repeated. The coated fibers had significantly better performance than uncoated fibers. This confirms the results of earlier experiments, and is thought to be due in part to the formation of a conducting channel in the resin over layer. For the coated fiber, lower voltages were needed to obtain the same emission current. The coated fibers have current-voltage characteristics that show smoother trends, with greater stability and repeatability. No switch-on phenomena were observed. In addition, the emission images on the phosphor-coated FEM screen were more concentrated, and hence brighter.

• Carbon letters
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.36-39
• /
• 2003

Carbon and carbon-based materials are used in nuclear reactors and there has recently been growing interest to develop graphite and carbon based materials for high temperature nuclear and fusion reactors. Efforts are underway to develop high density carbon materials as well as amorphous isotropic carbon for the application in thermal reactors. There has been research on coated nuclear fuel for high temperature reactor and research and development on coated fuels are now focused on fuel particles with high endurance during normal lifetime of the reactor. Since graphite as a moderator as well as structural material in high temperature reactors is one of the most favored choices, it is now felt to develop high density isotropic graphite with suitable coating for safe application of carbon based materials even in oxidizing or water vapor environment. Carboncarbon composite materials compared to conventional graphite materials are now being looked into as the promising materials for the fusion reactor due their ability to have high thermal conductivity and high thermal shock resistance. This paper deals with the application of carbon materials on various nuclear reactors related issues and addresses the current need for focused research on novel carbon materials for future new generation nuclear reactors.

• KSTLE International Journal
• /
• v.10 no.1_2
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2009

This paper reports an investigation on nanotribological properties of silicon nanochannels coated by a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film. The nanochannels were fabricated on Si (100) wafers by using photolithography and reactive ion etching (RIE) techniques. The channeled surfaces (Si channels) were then further modified by coating thin DLC film. Water contact angle of the modified and unmodified Si surfaces was examined by an anglemeter using the sessile-drop method. Nanotribological properties, namely friction and adhesion forces, of the Si channels coated with DLC (DLC-coated Si channels) were investigated in comparison with those of the flat Si, DLC-coated flat Si (flat DLC), and Si channels, using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Results showed that the DLC-coated Si channels greatly increased hydrophobicity of silicon surfaces. The DLC coating and Si channels themselves individually reduced adhesion and friction forces of the flat Si. Further, the DLC-coated Si channels exhibited the lowest values of these forces, owing to the combined effect of reduced contact area through the channeling and low surface energy of the DLC. This combined modification could prove a promising method for tribological applications at small scales.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.12 s.189
• /
• pp.122-127
• /
• 2006

This paper reports on the development of carbon nanotube tip modified with focused ion beam(FIB). We used an electric field which causes dielectrophoresis, to align and deposit CNTs on a metal-coated canning Probe Microscope (SPM) tip. Using the CNT attached SPM tip, we have obtained an enhanced resolution and wear property compared to that from the bare silicon tip through the scanning of the surface of the bio materials. The carbon nanotube tip was aligned toward the source of the ion beam allowing their orientation to be changed at precise angles. By this technique, metal coated carbon nanotube tips that are several micrometer in length are prepared for SPM.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.65 no.10
• /
• pp.1761-1766
• /
• 2016

In this paper, we investigated the fusing current of carbon fiber and thermal properties of carbon fiber and metal shielded cable due to over-current. The fusing current value for the metal-coated carbon fiber was 5.3A in 3K, 7.4K and 13.05A in 12K. And if it exceeds 50% of the fusing current was broken with a rapid voltage rise. In the case of carbon fiber shielded cable, the temperature of the PVC sheath increased somewhat in the allowable current range. However, the temperature of PVC sheath rapidly increased to $128.1^{\circ}C$ in the 2 time allowable current range. This value is $10^{\circ}C$ higher than the temperature of PVC sheath on the metal screen cable, because the resistance of the carbon fiber is high and heat transfer rate is slow.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.269-275
• /
• 2016

Multiscale hybrid composites, which consist of polymeric resins, microscale fibers and nanoscale reinforcements, have drawn significant attention in the field of advanced, high-performance materials. Despite their advantages, multiscale hybrid composites show challenges associated with nanomaterial dispersion, viscosity, interfacial bonding and load transfer, and orientation control. In this paper, carbon nanotube(CNT)/carbon fiber(CF)/polycarbonate(PC) multiscale hybrid composite were fabricated by a solution process to overcome the difficulties associated with controlling the melt viscosity of thermoplastic resins. The dependence of CNT loading was studied by varying the method to add CNTs, i.e., impregnation of CF with CNT/PC/solvent solution and impregnation of CNT-coated CF with PC/solvent solution. In addition, hybrid composites were fabricated through surfactant-aided CNT dispersion followed by vacuum filtration. The morphologies of the surfaces of hybrid composites, as analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, revealed the quality of PC impregnation depends on the processing method. Dynamic mechanical analysis was performed to evaluate their mechanical performance. It was analyzed that if the position of the value of tan ${\delta}$ is closer to the ideal line, the adhesion between polymer and carbon fiber is stronger. The effect of mechanical interlocking has a great influence on the dynamic mechanical properties of the composites with CNT-coated CF, which indicates that coating CF with CNTs is a suitable method to fabricate CNT/CF/PC hybrid composites.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.461-462
• /
• 2006

This paper reports on the development of a scanning probe microscopy(SPM) tip with caborn nanotubes. We used an electric field which causes dielectrophoresis(DEP), to align and deposit CNTs on a metal-coated SPM tip. Using the CNT attached SPM tip, we have obtained an enhanced resolution and wear property compared to that from the bare silicon tip through the scanning of the surface of the bio materials. The carbon nanotube tip align toward the source of the ion beam allowing their orientation to be changed at precise angles. By this technique, metal coated carbon nanotube tips that are several micrometer in length are prepared for scanning probe microscopy.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.15 no.9 s.102
• /
• pp.1077-1083
• /
• 2005

Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) is one of attractive electro-active polymer (EAP) materials for artificial muscles due to its many advantages such as light weight, biologically degradable, low cost, large displacement output, low actuation voltage and low power consumption. However, drawbacks of EAPap actuators include low force output and humidity dependence. To enhance the performance of EAPap, conductive polymer (PPy) and SWNT/conductive polymer (PANI) are coated on EAPap PPy as conductive polymer is coated on cellulose EAPap by means of electrochemical deposition. Two different dopants are used in PPy through conducting polymer processing. SWNTS are mixed with PANI in emeraldine base along with different dopants. The compound materials are coated on cellulose EAPap using spin coating system. The performance of PPy/EAPap and SWNT/PANI/EAPap are evaluated in terms of bending displacement, blocked force, and the effects of dopants, humidity, coaling time, voltage and frequency are investigated. Comparing with EAPap actuators, SWNT/PANI/EAPap actuators show $200\%$ improvement of bending displacement and $300\%$ increment of blocked force.