• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.86.2-86.2
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• 2010

In order to improve polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) durability, the durability of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), in which the electrochemical reactions actually occur, is one of the vital issues. Many articles have dealt with catalyst layer degradation of the durability-related factors on MEAs in relation to loss of catalyst surface area caused by agglomeration, dissolution, migration, formation of metal complexes and oxides, and/or instability of the carbon support. Degradation of catalyst layer during long-term operation includes cracking or delamination of the layer which result either from change in the catalyst microstructure or loss of electronic or ionic contact with the active surface, can result in apparent activity loss in the catalyst layer. Membrane degradation of the durability-related factors on MEAs can be caused by mechanical or thermal stress resulting in formation of pinholes and tears and/or by chemical attack of hydrogen peroxide radicals formed during the electrochemical reactions. All of these effects, the mechanical damage of membrane and degradation of catalyst layers are more facilitated by uneven stress or improper MEA fabrication process. In order to improve the PEMFC durability, therefore, it is most important to minimize the uneven stress or improper MEA fabrication process in the course of the fabrication of MEA. We analyzed the effects of the MEA fabrication condition on the PEMFC durability with MEA produced using CCM (catalyst coated membrane) method. This paper also investigated the effects of MEA fabrication condition on the PEMFC durability by adding additional treatment process, hot pressing and pressing, on the MEA produced using CCM method.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.7
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• pp.998-1003
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• 1998

$BaTiO_3$ thin film was electrochemically deposited on Ti electrode in a 0.4 M $Ba(OH)_2$ solution of $85^{\circ}C$ using a current pulse waveform. Both $BaTiO_3$ crystallinity and faradaic efficiency for the film formation were enhanced with the increase of cathodic current density and pulse time. Based on the surface analysis and electrochemical studies, it was suggested that, during cathodic pulsed, the surface pH increase due to the reduction of $H_2O$ accelerates the structural changes of Ti oxides which were formed during anodic cycle. Prior to experiments, Ti oxides were intentionally grown in 0.1 M $H_2SO_4$ solution and the effect of initial oxide film thickness on the $BaTiO_3$ film formation was investigated. The migration of $Ti^{+4}$ ions through the oxide film was retarded with the increase of film thickness and it was observed that the crystallization of $BaTiO_3$ was only limited to the defect area of surface oxides.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.361-368
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• 2023

In lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, encapsulation of sulfur in activated carbon (AC) materials is a promising strategy for preventing the dissolution of lithium polysulfide into electrolytes and enhancing cycle life, because instead of solid-liquid-solid reactions, quasi-solid-state (QSS) reactions occur in the AC micropores. While a high weight fraction of sulfur in S/AC composites is essential for achieving a high energy density of Li-S cells, the deterioration mechanisms under such conditions are still unclear. In this study, we report the deterioration mechanisms during charge-discharge cycling when the discharge products overflow from the AC. Analysis using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry confirms that the sulfur in the S/AC composites migrates outside the AC as cycling progresses, and it is barely present in the AC after 20 cycles, which corresponds to the capacity decay of the cell. Impedance analysis clearly shows that the electrical resistance of the S/AC composite and the charge-transfer resistance of QSS reactions significantly increase as a result of sulfur migration. On the other hand, the charge-discharge cycling performance under limited-capacity conditions, where the discharge products are encapsulated inside the AC, is extremely stable. These results reveal the degradation mechanism of a Li-S cell with micro-porous carbon and provide crucial insights into the design of a S/AC composite cathode and its operating conditions needed to achieve stable cycling performance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.103.1-103.1
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• 2014

Due to their excellent optical and electrochemical properties, conjugated polymers have attracted much attention over the last two decades and employed to opto-electrical devices. In particular, conjugated polymers possess many attractive features that make them suitable for a variety of sensing task. For example, their delocalized electronic structures can be strongly modified by varying the surrounding environment, which significantly affected molecular energy level. In other word, conjugated polymers can detect and transduce the environmental information into a fluorescence signal. Conjugated polymers also display amplified quenching compared to small molecule counterparts. This amplified fluorescence quenching is attributed to the delocalization and migration of the excitons along the conjugated polymer backbones. Long backbones of conjugated polymer provide the transporting path for electron as a conduit, allowing that excitons migrate rapidly into quencher site along the backbone. This is often referred to as the molecular wire effect or antenna effect. Moreover, structures of conjugated polymers can be easily tailored to adjust solubility, absorption/emission properties, and regulation of electron/energy transfer. Based on this versatility, conjugated polymers have been utilized to many novel sensory platforms as a promising material. In this tutorial, I will highlight a variety of fluorescence sensors base on conjugated polymer and explain their sensory mechanism together with selected examples from reference literatures.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.261-270
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• 2015

Purpose: Cold storage is the most popular method used to preserve highly perishable foods such as beef and fish. However, at refrigeration temperatures, the shelf life of these foods is limited, and spoilage leads to massive food waste. Moreover, freezing significantly affects the food's properties. Ice crystallization and growth during freezing can cause irreversible textural damage to foods through volumetric expansion, moisture migration induced by osmotic pressure gradients, and concentration of solutes,which can lead to protein denaturation. Methods: Although freezing can preserve perishable foods for months, these disruptive changes decrease the consumer's perception of the food's quality. Therefore, the development and testing of new and improved cold storage technologies is a worthwhile pursuit. Results: The process of maintaining a food product in an unfrozen state below its equilibrium freezing temperature is known as supercooling. As supercooling has been shown to offer a considerable improvement over refrigeration for extending a perishable product's shelf life, implementation of supercooling in households and commercial refrigeration units would help diminish food waste. Conclusions: A commercially viable supercooling unit for all perishable food items is currently being developed and fabricated. Buildup of this technology will provide a meaningful improvement in the cold storage of perishable foods, and will have a significant impact on the refrigeration market as a whole.

• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1431-1435
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• 2018

Using first-principles calculations, we successfully investigate the electrochemical performance of the monoclinic $NaMnO_2$ for the sodium ion batteries. $NaMnO_2$ possesses a voltage window of 3.54-2.52 V and theoretical reversible capacity of $136mAh\;g^{-1}$. Besides, we find that the metallicity of the monoclinic $NaMnO_2$ gradually increases during Na extraction. Moreover, the computational Na migration energy barrier in the monoclinic $NaMnO_2$ is 0.18 eV, ensuring ideal conductivity and reversible capacity. Although the Jahn-Teller distortion effects limit the enhancement of the reversible capacity of the monoclinic $NaMnO_2$, it is still a right cathode material for the sodium ion batteries. The computational results are well in consistent with the experimental investigations.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.231-238
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• 2011

In this work, the numerical analysis for the zincate behavior at a zinc electrode with an electrolyte flow was carried out for a ZAFC. The Nernst-Planck equation with a boundary condition of Butler-Volmer type was adopted to describe electrochemical effects of mass transfer, migration, kinetics of electrode. The Navier-Stokes equation, coupling to the Nernst-Planck equation, is also applied to describe the internal electrolyte flow fields. The validity of the numerical model is proved through the comparative analysis between numerical and experimental results. The concentration of zincate and the current density were also investigated at a zinc anode according to various electrolyte velocities. We have found the concentration of zincate decreased and the current density increased with an increase in the electrolyte velocity.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.162-167
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• 2005

Using Pechini method, we synthesized the $La_{0.6}Ca_{0.41}CrO_3$ (LCC41) and $La_{0.8}Sr_{0.05}Ca_{0.15}CrO_3$ (LSCC) powders for slurry dip coating, and $La_{0.75}Ca_{0.27}CrO_3$ (LCC27) powder for air plasma spray coating. The sintering property of the powders and their coating properties were investigated. The average particle sizes of the LCC41, LSCC, LCC27 were 0.6, 0.9, $1.5{\mu}m$, respectively. The relative density of LCC41 bulk was to be found about 98%. The LSCC coating on anode support prevented Ca migration of the coated LCC41 on the anode some or less, which was confirmed from EDS result. The air plasma spray-coated LCC27 with the dip-coated LCC41 were more dense and showed better electrical conductivity than those of the air plasma spray-coated LCC27 and the dip-coated LSCC and LSCC41. The LCC41 and LCC27 showed good electrical conductivities, but the LSCC had a poor electrical conductivity probably due to low sinterability

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.489-493
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• 2013

The most common carbonaceous anode materials of lithium ion batteries (natural graphite, artificial graphite, hard carbon, and mesocarbon microbeads) were utilized as an electrode in lithium ion capacitors. It could be able to enhance the energy density of capacitors due to the intercalation of lithium ion. In this work, the properties of capacitors using the symmetric electrode were measured by organizing coin cell typed capacitors. Also, we made other capacitors having pre-intercalated lithium ions at one side of the electrode. The results of electrochemical measurements for these capacitors show that the storage capacitance was appeared. In other words, if the migration of lithium ions is supplied continuously in the electrolytes, lithium ions can be diffused into the carbonaceous materials. And it results in the improvement of capacitance compared to only using symmetric carbonaceous electrodes. Also, we conducted the same measurement with graphene oxide having a the large specific area in the same condition. Herein, we recognized that the large specific area is extremely important for supercapacitors.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.646-652
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• 2018

During a long-term operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs), the fuel cell performance may degrade due to severe agglomeration and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in the cathode. To enhance the electrochemical durability of metal catalysts and to prevent the particle agglomeration in PEMFC operation, this paper proposes a hybrid catalyst structure composed of PtCo alloy nanoparticles encapsulated by porous carbon layers. In the hybrid catalyst structure, the dissolution and migration of PtCo nanoparticles can be effectively prevented by protective carbon shells. In addition, $O_2$ can properly penetrate the porous carbon layers and react on the active Pt surface, which ensures high catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. Although the hybrid catalyst has a much smaller active surface area due to the carbon encapsulation compared to a commercial Pt catalyst without a carbon layer, it has a much higher specific activity and significantly improved durability than the Pt catalyst. Therefore, it is expected that the designed hybrid catalyst concept will provide an interesting strategy for development of high-performance fuel cell catalysts.