• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.361-370
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• 2021

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is one of the composite materials, which has a unique property that is lightweight but strong. The CFRPs are widely used in various industries where their unique characteristics are required. In particular, electric and unmanned aerial vehicles critically need lightweight parts and bodies with sufficient mechanical strengths. Vehicles using the battery as a power source should simultaneously meet two requirements that the battery has to be safely protected. The vehicle should be light of increasing the mileage. The CFRP has considered as the one that satisfies the requirements and is widely used as battery housing and other vehicle parts. On the other hand, in the battery area, carbon fibers are intensively tested as battery components such as electrodes and/or current collectors. Furthermore, using carbon fibers as both structure reinforcements and battery components to build a structural battery is intensively investigated in Sweden and the USA. This mini-review encompasses recent research trends that cover the classification of structural batteries in terms of functionality of carbon fibers and issues and efforts in the battery and discusses the prospect of structural batteries.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.190-195
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• 2011

To investigate the photon-trapping effect and scattering layer effect of $TiO_2$ multi-layer in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and the degree of recombination of electrons at the electrode treated $TiCl_4$, we formed electrodes of different conditions and obtained the most optimal electrode conditions. To estimate characteristics of the cell, IV curve, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) were measured. As a result, we confirmed that the multi-layer's efficiency was higher than that of monolayer in the IV curve and the performance of $TiCl_4$ treated electrode was increased according to decreasing the impedance of EIS. Among several conditions, the efficiency of the cell with scattering layer is higher than that of a layer with the base electrode about 19%. Because the light scattering layer enhances the efficiency of the transmission wavelength and has long electron transfer path. Therefore, the value of the short circuit current increases approximately 10% and IPCE in the maximum peak also increases about 12%.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.290-298
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• 2021

A purification process was performed for the application of natural graphite as an anode material. The influence of the structural change and impurity content of graphite according to the process on the anode electrochemical characteristics was investigated. Natural graphite was chemically/physically purified by acid-treatment which used different amounts of solution of ammonium fluoride/sulfuric acid in the same ratio and thermal treatment used different temperatures (800~2500 ℃). Acid-treatment had limitation to remove impurities, and identified that all impurity contents was removed except some traces of atom such as Si by after progressed thermal-treatment until 2500 ℃. The anode materials characteristic of graphite treated by purification process was improved, and changes in the structure and impurity contents affected dominantly the capacity, rate property and initial Coulombic efficiency. Consequently, the complex purification process improved the graphite structure and also the performance of lithium ion battery by controlling the excessive formation of solid electrolyte interphase and expanding Li⁺ insertion space originated from the effective removal of impurities.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.47-54
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• 2021

For the bonding of smaller PCB solder bumps of less than 100 microns, an experiment was performed to make up a tin plating solution and find plating conditions in order to produce a bump pattern through tin electroplating, replacing the previous PCB solder bumps process by microballs. After SR patterning, a Cu seed layer was formed, and then, through DFR patterning, a pattern in which Sn can be selectively plated only within the SR pattern was formed on the PCB substrate. The tin plating solution was made based on methanesulfonic acid, and hydroquinone was used as an antioxidant to prevent oxidation of divalent tin ions. Triton X-100 was used as a surfactant, and gelatin was used as a grain refiner. By measuring the electrochemical polarization curve, the characteristics of organic additives in Triton X-100 and gelatin were compared. It was confirmed that the addition of Triton X-100 suppressed hydrogen generation up to -1 V vs. NHE, whereas gelatin inhibited hydrogen generation up to -0.7 V vs. NHE. As the current density increased, there was a general tendency that the grain size became finer, and it was observed that it became finer when gelatin was added.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.184-192
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• 2022

Porous NiO synthesized via hydrothermal synthesis was used in the electrodes of lithium-sulfur batteries to inhibit the elution of lithium polysulfide. The electrode of the lithium-sulfur battery was manufactured as a freestanding flexible electrode using an economical and simple vacuum filtration method without a current collector and a binder. The porous NiO-added S/CNT/NiO electrode exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 877 mA h g^-1 (0.2 C), which was 125 mA h g^-1 higher than that of S/CNT, and also showed excellent retention of 84% (S/CNT: 66%). This is the result of suppressing the dissolution of lithium polysulfide into the electrolyte by the strong chemical bond between NiO and lithium polysulfide during the charging and discharging process. In addition, for the flexibility test of the S/CNT/NiO electrode, the 1.6 × 4 cm² pouch cell was prepared and exhibited stable cycle characteristics of 620 mA h g^-1 in both the unfolded and folded state.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.442-454
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• 2021

The porous transport layer (PTL) is essential to effectively remove oxygen and hydrogen gas from the electrode surface at high current density operation conditions. In this study, the effect of PTL with different characteristics such as pore size, pore gradient, interfacial coating was investigated by multi-layered sintered mesh. A water electrolysis single cell of active area of the 34.56 cm² was constructed, and IV performance and impedance analysis were conducted in the range of 0 to 2.0 A/cm². It was confirmed that the multi-layered sintered mesh PTL, which have an average pore size of 25 to 57 ㎛ and a larger pore gradient, removed bubbles effectively and thus seemed to improve IV performance. Also, it was confirmed that the catalytic metals such as Ni, NiMo coating on the PTL reduced activation overpotential, but increased mass transport overpotential.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.515-521
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• 2023

In this study, waste carbon fiber obtained by pyrolysis of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) was used to produce carbon fluoride through vapor phase fluorination and recycled as a reducing electrode material for lithium primary batteries. First, the physicochemical properties of the waste carbon fiber obtained by pyrolysis were determined, and the structural and chemical properties of carbon fluoride were analyzed to evaluate the effect of vapor phase fluorination on the waste carbon fiber. XRD analysis confirmed that the hexagonal network carbon laminated structure (002 peak) of the waste carbon fiber was gradually converted into a carbon fluoride structure (CF_X, 001 peak) as the temperature of gas phase fluorination increased. The discharge capacity of the lithium primary battery produced using this carbon fluoride was up to 862 mAh/g. This was compared to the discharge capacity of carbon fluoride-based Li-ion batteries made of other carbon materials. These results suggest that carbon fluoride made from waste CFRP-based carbon fibers can be used as a reducing electrode material for Li-ion batteries.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.30-35
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• 2024

In order to improve the efficiency of the water splitting system for hydrogen production, the high overvoltage in the electrochemical reaction caused by the catalyst in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) must be reduced. Among them, transition metal-based compounds are attracting attention as catalyst materials that can replace precious metals such as platinum that are currently used. In this study, nickel foam, an inexpensive metal porous material, was used as a support, and Fe-doped β-Ni(OH)₂ microcrystals were synthesized through a hydrothermal synthesis process. In addition, in order to improve OER properties, changes in the shape, crystal structure, and water splitting characteristics of Fe-Mo co-doped β-Ni(OH)₂ microcrystals synthesized by co-doping with Mo were observed. The changes in the shape, crystal structure, and applicability as a catalyst for water splitting were examined.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.5-5
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• 2011

The research and development of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) are intensified due to the energy crisis and environmental concerns. In order to meet the challenging requirements of powering HEV, PHEV and EV, the current lithium battery technology needs to be significantly improved in terms of the cost, safety, power and energy density, as well as the calendar and cycle life. One new technology being developed is the utilization of composite cathode by mixing two different types of insertion compounds [e.g., spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ and layered $LiMO_2$ (M=Ni, Co, and Mn)]. Recently, some studies on mixing two different types of cathode materials to make a composite cathode have been reported, which were aimed at reducing cost and improving self-discharge. Numata et al. reported that when stored in a sealed can together with electrolyte at $80^{\circ}C$ for 10 days, the concentrations of both HF and $Mn^{2+}$ were lower in the can containing $LiMn_2O_4$ blended with $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_2$ than that containing $LiMn_2O_4$ only. That reports clearly showed that this blending technique can prevent the decline in capacity caused by cycling or storage at elevated temperatures. However, not much work has been reported on the charge-discharge characteristics and related structural phase transitions for these composite cathodes. In this presentation, we will report our in situ x-ray diffraction studies on this mixed composite cathode material during charge-discharge cycling. The mixed cathodes were incorporated into in situ XRD cells with a Li foil anode, a Celgard separator, and a 1M $LiPF_6$ electrolyte in a 1 : 1 EC : DMC solvent (LP 30 from EM Industries, Inc.). For in situ XRD cell, Mylar windows were used as has been described in detail elsewhere. All of these in situ XRD spectra were collected on beam line X18A at National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory using two different detectors. One is a conventional scintillation detector with data collection at 0.02 degree in two theta angle for each step. The other is a wide angle position sensitive detector (PSD). The wavelengths used were 1.1950 ${\AA}$ for the scintillation detector and 0.9999 A for the PSD. The newly installed PSD at beam line X18A of NSLS can collect XRD patterns as short as a few minutes covering $90^{\circ}$ of two theta angles simultaneously with good signal to noise ratio. It significantly reduced the data collection time for each scan, giving us a great advantage in studying the phase transition in real time. The two theta angles of all the XRD spectra presented in this paper have been recalculated and converted to corresponding angles for ${\lambda}=1.54\;{\AA}$, which is the wavelength of conventional x-ray tube source with Cu-$k{\alpha}$ radiation, for easy comparison with data in other literatures. The structural changes of the composite cathode made by mixing spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ and layered $Li-Ni_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ in 1 : 1 wt% in both Li-half and Li-ion cells during charge/discharge are studied by in situ XRD. During the first charge up to ~5.2 V vs. $Li/Li^+$, the in situ XRD spectra for the composite cathode in the Li-half cell track the structural changes of each component. At the early stage of charge, the lithium extraction takes place in the $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ component only. When the cell voltage reaches at ~4.0 V vs. $Li/Li^+$, lithium extraction from the spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ component starts and becomes the major contributor for the cell capacity due to the higher rate capability of $LiMn_2O_4$. When the voltage passed 4.3 V, the major structural changes are from the $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ component, while the $LiMn_2O_4$ component is almost unchanged. In the Li-ion cell using a MCMB anode and a composite cathode cycled between 2.5 V and 4.2 V, the structural changes are dominated by the spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ component, with much less changes in the layered $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ component, comparing with the Li-half cell results. These results give us valuable information about the structural changes relating to the contributions of each individual component to the cell capacity at certain charge/discharge state, which are helpful in designing and optimizing the composite cathode using spinel- and layered-type materials for Li-ion battery research. More detailed discussion will be presented at the meeting.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2020

Metal-impregnated activated carbons were prepared via ultrasonic-assisted impregnation method for regeneration and low ammonia concentration. Magnesium and copper were selected as metals, while chloride (Cl^-) and nitrate (NO₃^-) precursors were used to impregnate the surface of activated carbon. The physical and chemical properties of the prepared adsorbents were characterized by TGA, BET, and NH₃-TPD. The ammonia breakthrough test was carried out using a fixed bed and flowing ammonia gas (1000 mg L^-1 NH₃, balanced N₂) at 100 mL min^-1, under conditions of temperature swing adsorption (TSA) and pressure swing adsorption (PSA, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 Mpa). The adsorption and desorption performance of ammonia were in the order of AC-Mg(Cl) > AC-Cu(Cl) > AC-Mg(N) > AC-Cu(N) > AC through NH₃-TPD and TSA and PSA processes. AC-Mg(Cl) using MgCl₂ showed the average adsorption amount of 2.138 mmol/g at TSA process. Also, AC-Mg(Cl) showed the highest initial adsorption amount of 3.848 mmol/g at PSA 0.9 Mpa. When metal impregnated the surface of the activated carbon, it was confirmed that not only physical adsorption, but also chemical adsorption increased, making enhancement in adsorption and desorption performances possible. Also, the prepared adsorbents showed stable adsorption and desorption performances despite repeated processes, confirming their applicability in the TSA and PSA processes.