• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.336-340
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• 2020

In this study, carbon aerogels (CA) were prepared by sol-gel polycondensation of resorcinol and furfural in isopropanol using hexamethylenetetramine as a catalyst, and then directly drying the organic gels under isopropanol freeze-drying conditions, followed by carbonization under a nitrogen atmosphere. The preparation conditions of the CA were explored by changing the mole ratio of resorcinol to furfural. The effect of the preparation conditions on the pore structure of the CA was studied by nitrogen adsorption isotherms. The characteristics of the CA were studied by scanning and transition electron microscopy, and infrared spectrometry. The accessibility of pores and performance of the CA as an electrode in electric double layer capacitors were also electrochemically investigated. As a result, BET surface area and specific capacitance increased with the molar ratio of resorcinol to catalyst (R/C) ratio; the maximum values of 765 ㎡/g and 132 F/g were achieved at the R/C ratio of 200, respectively. Consequently, it was confirmed that increasing the R/C ratio increased the average pore size of the CA electrode, which improved the rate capability of the system.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.491-496
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• 2017

The hydrogen($H_2$) is promising energy carrier of renewable energy in the microgrid system such as small village and military base due to its high energy density, pure emission and convenient transportation. $H_2$ can be generated by photocatalytic water splitting, gasification of biomass and water electrolysis driven by solar cell or wind turbine. Solid oxide electrolysis cells(SOECs) are the most efficient way to mass production due to high operating temperature improving the electrode kinetics and reducing the electrolyte resistance. The SOECs are consist of nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia(NiO-YSZ) fuel electrode / YSZ electrolyte / lanthanum strontium manganite-YSZ(LSM-YSZ) air electrode due to similarity to Solid Oxide Fuel Cells(SOFCs). The Ni-YSZ most widely used fuel electrode shows several problems at SOEC mode such as degradation of the fuel electrode because of Ni particle's redox reaction and agglomeration. Therefore Ni-YSZ need to be replaced to an alternative fuel electrode material. In this study, We studied on the Double perovskite $PrBrMnO_{5+{\delta}}$(PBMO) due to its high electric conductivity, catalytic activity and electrochemical stability. PBMO was impregnated into the scaffold electrolyte $La_{0.8}Sr_{0.2}Ga_{0.85}Mg_{0.15}O_{3-{\delta}}$(LSGM) to be synthesized at low temperature for avoiding secondary phase generated when it exposed to high temperature. The Half cell test was conducted at SOECs and SOFCs modes.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2021

In this study, we tried to develop a method of accelerated degradation of the electrode by simply using a electronic loader without using a potentiostat to evaluate the durability of the electrode catalyst. To this end, the durability of the electrode was evaluated by repeating the stepwise voltage change using the self-generated voltage by introducing oxygen without introducing nitrogen into the cathode. For accurate electrode durability evaluation, that is, in order not to deteriorate the polymer membrane, the high voltage was lowered to 0.9 V in stepwise voltage change and the relative humidity was 100% to suppress degradation of the polymer membrane due to radicals. After 30,000 cycles (50 hours) of voltage change, the electrode active area decreased by 41.4%. It was confirmed that the electrode was deteriorated, but the polymer membrane was not deteriorated, that there was no increase in hydrogen permeability, no decrease in membrane thickness, and no increase in HFR(High Frequency Resistance).

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.3261-3266
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• 2014

A pellet of polycrystalline $CuGaO_2$ with a delafossite structure was prepared from $Ga_2O_3$ and CuO by high-temperature solid-state synthesis. The $CuGaO_2$ pellet was a p-type semiconductor for which the electrical conductivity, carrier density, carrier mobility and Seebeck coefficient were $5.34{\times}10^{-2}{\Omega}^{-1}cm^{-1}$, $3.5{\times}10^{20}cm^{-3}$, $9.5{\times}10^{-4}cm^2V^{-1}s^{-1}$ at room temperature, and $+360{\mu}V/K$, respectively. It also exhibited two optical transitions at about 2.7 and 3.6 eV. The photoelectrochemical properties of the $CuGaO_2$ pellet electrode were investigated in aqueous electrolyte solutions. The flat-band potential of this electrode, determined using a Mott-Schottky plot, was +0.18 V vs SCE at pH 4.8 and followed the Nernst equation with respect to pH. Under UV light illumination, a cathodic photocurrent developed, and molecular hydrogen simultaneously evolved on the surface of the electrode due to the direct reduction of water without deposition of any metal catalyst.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.190-194
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• 1999

Etched Nafion membrane and electrode assemblies were fabricated and those performances were observed in PEMFC. Adhesion of membrane to electrode increased with abrasion of membrane surface. Membrane surface ething results in reduction of hot pressing temperature, as a consequence, in improving of cell performance. It was found that Nafion etching was effective in painting method. The optimum content of electrode catalyst should be selected according to etching intensity.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.154-157
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• 2006

The counter electrode widely used in DSCs (Dye-sensitized Solar Cells) is constructed of conducting glass substrates coated with Pt films, where the platium acts as a catalyst. Pt counter electrodes in DSCs are one important component. It is expected that characteristics of Pt electrodes strongly depend on fabrication process and its surface condition. In this study, Pt counter electrode surface of DSC is deposited by reactive RF magnetron sputtering under the conditions of Ar 5mtorr, RF power of 120w and substrate temperature of $100^{\circ}C$. Surface morphology of Pt electrodes was investigated by FE-SEM and AFM. And this paper shows our recent results and technology to fabricate the new designed cell with Pt electrodes deposited by sputtering method. We have achieved fill factor 65% and photoelectric conversion efficiency around 2.6% as the best results of new designed DSCs structure.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.109-114
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• 2012

The cathode catalyst layer in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) was fabricated with anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and its structure was characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The SEM analysis showed that the catalyst layer was fabricated the Pt nanowire with uniform shape and size. The BET analysis showed that the volume of pores in range of 20-100 nm was enhanced by AAO template. The electrochemical properties with the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) were evaluated by current-voltage polarization measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the MEA with AAO template reduced the mass transfer resistance and improved the cell performance by approximately 25% through controlling the structure of catalyst layer.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2008

The influence of the particle size of platinum(Pt) on the stability and activity was studied. The particle size of platinum was controlled in the range of $3.5{\sim}9\;nm$ by heat treatment of commercial Pt/C and confirmed by XRD and TEM. An accelerated degradation test was performed to evaluate the stability of platinum catalysts. Oxygen reduction reaction was monitored for the measurement of activity. As increasing the Pt particle size, the stability of Pt/C electrode was enhanced and the activity was reduced. It was confirmed that the stability of Pt/C electrode was in inverse proportion to the activity. PtCo/C alloy catalyst was used to improve the activity and stability of large-sized platinum particle. The maximum power density of commercial Pt/C was $507.6\;mV/cm^2$ and PtCo/C alloy catalyst was $585.8\;mV/cm^2$. The decrement of electrochemical surface area showed Pt/C(60%) and PtCo/C alloy catalyst(24%). It was possible to enhance both of stability and activity of catalyst by the combination of particle size control and alloying.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.148-154
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• 2009

With respect to the durability of large scale ($150cm^2$) membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), degradation phenomena at cathode is monitored and analyzed according to the position on the cathode surface. After constant current mode operation of large scale MEA for 500 hr, the MEA is divided into three parts along the cathode channel; (close to) inlet, middle, and (close to) outlet. The performance of each MEA is tested and it is revealed that the MEA from the cathode outlet of large MEA shows the worst performance. This is due to the catalyst degradation and GDL delamination caused by flooding at cathode outlet of large MEA during the 500 hr operation. Particularly on the catalyst degradation, the loss of electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) of catalyst gets worse along the cathode channel from inlet to outlet, of which the reason is believed to be loss of catalysts by dissolution and migration rather than their agglomeration. The extent of loss in the performance and catalyst degradation has strong relation to the cathode flooding and it is required to develop proper water management techniques and separator channel design to control the flooding.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2020

The intermittent characteristics of renewable energy complicates the process of balancing supply with demand. Electrolysis technology can provide flexibility to grid management by converting electricity to hydrogen. Alkaline electrolysis has been recognized as established technology and utilized in industry for over 100 years. However, high overpotential of oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline water electrolysis reduces the overall efficiency and therefore requires the development of anode catalyst. In this study, Raney Ni-Zn-Fe electrode was prepared by electroplating and the electrode characteristics was studied by varying electroplating parameters like electrodeposition time, current density and substrate. The prepared Raney Ni-Zn-Fe electrode was electrochemically evaluated using linear sweep voltammetry. Physical and chemical analysis were conducted by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction. The plating time did not changed the morphology and composition of the electrode surface and showed a little effect on overpotential reduction. As the plating current density increased, Fe content on the surface increased and cauliflower-like structure appeared on the electrode surface. In particular, the overpotential of the electrode, which was prepared at the plating current density of 320 mA/㎠, has showed the lowest value of 268 mV at 50 mA/㎠. There was no distinguishable overpotential difference between the type of substrate for the electrodes prepared at 80 mA/㎠.