• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.178-186
• /
• 2023

Three activation methods (constant voltage, current cycling, and hydrogen pumping) were applied to investigate the effects on the performance of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) loaded with PtCo/C catalyst. The current cycling protocol took the shortest time to activate the MEA, while the performance after activation was the worst among the all activation methods. The constant voltage method took a moderate activation time and exhibited the best performance after activation. The hydrogen pumping protocol took the longest time to activate the MEA with moderate performance after activation. According to the distribution of relaxation time analysis, the improved performance after the activation mainly comes from the decrease of charge transfer resistance rather than the ionic resistance in the cathode catalyst layer, which suggests that the existence of water on the electrode is the key factor for activation.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.162-169
• /
• 2009

Pure titanium and its alloys are drastically used in implant materials due to their excellent mechanical properties, high corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility. However, the widely used Ti-6Al-4V is found to release toxic ions (Al and V) into the body, leading to undesirable long-term effects. Ti-6Al-4V has much higher elastic modulus than cortical bone. Therefore, titanium alloys with low elastic modulus have been developed as biomaterials to minimize stress shielding. For this reason, Ti-30Ta-xZr alloy systems have been studied in this study. The Ti-30Ta containing Zr(5, 10 and 15 wt%) were 10 times melted to improve chemical homogeneity by using a vacuum furnace and then homogenized for 24 hrs at $1000^{\circ}C$. The specimens were cut and polished for corrosion test and Ti coating and then coated with TiN, respectively, by using DC magnetron sputtering method. The analyses of coated surface were carried out by field emission scanning electron microscope(FE-SEM). The electrochemical characteristics were examined using potentiodynamic (- 1500 mV~+ 2000 mV) and AC impedance spectroscopy(100 kHz~10 mHz) in 0.9% NaCl solution at $36.5{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. The equiaxed structure was changed to needle-like structure with increasing Zr content. The surface defects and structures were covered with TiN/Ti coated layer. From the polarization behavior in 0.9% NaCl solution, The corrosion current density of Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys decreased as Zr content increased, whereas, the corrosion potential of Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys increased as Zr content increased. The corrosion resistance of TiN/Ti-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys were higher than that of the TiN-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys. From the AC impedance in 0.9% NaCl solution, polarization resistance($R_p$) value of TiN/Ti coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys showed higher than that of TiN-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys.

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

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.498-505
• /
• 2020

Aggregate occupies about 70-85% of the concrete volume and is an important factor in reducing the drying shrinkage of concrete. However, when constructing high-rise buildings, it acts as a problem due to the high load of natural aggregates. If the load becomes large during the construction of a high-rise building, creep may occur and the ground may be eroded. Material costs increase and there are financial problems. In order to reduce the load on concrete, we are working to reduce the weight of aggregates. However, artificial lightweight aggregates affect the interface between the aggregate and the paste due to its higher absorption rate and lower adhesion strength than natural aggregates, affecting the overall strength of concrete. Therefore, in this study, in order to grasp the interface between natural aggregate and lightweight aggregate by type, we adopted a method of measuring electrical resistance using an EIS measuring device, which is a non-destructive test, and lightweight bone. The change in the state of the interface was tested on the outside of the material through a blast furnace slag coating. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the electric resistance was about 90% lower than that in the air-dried state through the electrolyte immersion, and the electric resistance differs depending on the type of aggregate and the presence or absence of coating. As a result of the experiment, the difference in compressive strength depending on the type of aggregate and the presence or absence of coating was shown, and the difference in impedance value and phase angle for each type of lightweight aggregate was shown.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.442-454
• /
• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.593-598
• /
• 2016

We report on the preparation of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) electrodes deposited onto flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) via spray coating technique. The highest capacitance value of the unbent rGO/SWNTs electrode was $82Fg^{-1}$ in 1 M $H_2SO_4$ at $100mVs^{-1}$, which decreased to $38Fg^{-1}$ after 500 bending cycle. Further characterization, including galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), showed that the rGO/SWNTs electrode retained a well-defined capacitive response after repetitive bending cycle. Overall, the rGO/SWNTs composite electrode showed reasonable electrochemical properties even prolonged bending cycle. Approximately 50% of the initial capacitance for the rGO/SWNTs composite electrode is remained after 500 bending cycle, making the electrode a potential option for flexible energy storage applications.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.259-266
• /
• 2010

Porous poly(propylene) supported gel polymer electrolytes (GPE) were synthesized by thermal polymerization of DEGDMA [Di(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate] in electrolyte solutions (1 M solution of $LiPF_6$ in EC/DEC 1 : 1 mixture) at $70^{\circ}C$. AC impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to evaluate its ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability window of the GPE membranes. Lithium ion battery (LIB) cells were also fabricated with $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_2$/graphite and GPE membranes via thermal polymerization process. Through the thermal polymerization, self sustaining GPE membranes with sufficient ionic conductivities (over $10^{-3}\;S/cm$) and electrochemical stabilities. The LIB cell with 5% monomer showed the best rate-capability and cycleability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2016.02a
• /
• pp.417-417
• /
• 2016

Global environmental deterioration has become more serious year by year and thus scientific interests in the renewable energy as environmental technology and replacement of fossil fuels have grown exponentially. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell consisting of semiconductor photoelectrodes that can harvest light and use this energy directly to split water, also known as photoelectrolysis or solar water splitting, is a promising renewable energy technology to produce hydrogen for uses in the future hydrogen economy. A major advantage of PEC systems is that they involve relatively simple processes steps as compared to many other H2 production systems. Until now, a number of materials including TiO2, WO3, Fe2O3, and BiVO4 were exploited as the photoelectrode. However, the PEC performance of these single absorber materials is limited due to their large charge recombinations in bulk, interface and surface, leading low charge separation/transport efficiencies. Recently, coupling of two materials, e.g., BiVO4/WO3, Fe2O3/WO3 and CuWO4/WO3, to form a type II heterojunction has been demonstrated to be a viable means to improve the PEC performance by enhancing the charge separation and transport efficiencies. In this study, we have prepared a triple-layer heterojunction BiVO4/WO3/SnO2 photoelectrode that shows a comparable PEC performance with previously reported best-performing nanostructured BiVO4/WO3 heterojunction photoelectrode via a facile solution method. Interestingly, we found that the incorporation of SnO2 nanoparticles layer in between WO3 and FTO largely promotes electron transport and thus minimizes interfacial recombination. The impact of the SnO2 interfacial layer was investigated in detail by TEM, hall measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. In addition, our planar-structured triple-layer photoelectrode shows a relatively high transmittance due to its low thickness (~300 nm), which benefits to couple with a solar cell to form a tandem PEC device. The overall PEC performance, especially the photocurrent onset potential (Vonset), were further improved by a reactive-ion etching (RIE) surface etching and electrocatalyst (CoOx) deposition.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.251-259
• /
• 2005

In order to characterize the influence of the reaction-site density on the cathodic polarization property of LSCF, we chose the porosity of LSCF as a main controlling variable, which is supposed to be closely related with active sites for the cathode reaction. To control the porosity of cathodes, we changed the mixing ratio of fine and coarse LSCF powders. The porosity and pore perimeter of cathodes were quantitatively analyzed by image analysis. The electrochemical half cell test for the cathodic polarization was performed via 3-probe AC-impedance spectroscopy. According to the investigation, the reduction of oxygen at LSCF cathode was mainly controlled by following two rate determining steps; i) surface diffusion and/or ionic conduction of ionized oxygen through bulk LSCF phase, ii) charge transfer of oxygen ion at cathode/electrolyte interface. Moreover, the overall cathode polarization was diminished as the cathode porosity increased due to the increase of the active reaction sites in cathode layer.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.116-120
• /
• 2015

$La_2NiO_{4+{\delta}}$ based oxides, a mixed electronic-ionic conductors (MIECs) with $K_2NiF_4$ type structure, have been considerably investigated in recent decades as electrode materials for advanced solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) due to their high electrical conductivity, and oxidation reduction reaction (ORR). In this study, structure properties of $La(Ca)_2Ni(Cu)O_{4+{\delta}}$ were studied as a potential cathode for intermediate temperature SOFCs (IT-SOFCs).