• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.88-94
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• 2022

The anion exchange membrane used in alkaline membrane fuel cells transports hydroxide ions, and ion conductivity affects fuel cell performance. Thus, the measurement of absolute hydroxide ion conductivity is essential. However, it is challenging to accurately measure hydroxide ion conductivity since hydroxide ions are easily poisoned in the form of bicarbonate by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In this study, we applied electrochemical ion exchange treatment to measure the absolute hydroxide ion conductivity of the anion exchange membrane. In addition, we investigated the effect of carbon dioxide poisoning of hydroxide ions on electrochemical performance by measuring bicarbonate conductivity. Commercial anion exchange membranes (FAA-3-50 and Orion TM1) and polyphenylene-based block copolymer (QPP-6F) were used.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.230-236
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• 2021

Ionic conduction mechanism of Mg-Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs) intercalated with CO₃^2- (Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH) was studied. The electromotive force for the water vapor concentration cell using Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH as electrolyte showed water vapor partial pressure dependence and obeyed the Nernst equation, indicating that the hydroxide ion transport number of Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH is almost unity. The ionic conductivity of Mg(OH)₂, MgCO₃ and Al₂(CO₃)₃ was also examined. Only Al₂(CO₃)₃ showed high hydroxide ion conductivity of the order of 10^-4 S cm^-1 under 80% relative humidity, suggesting that Al₂(CO₃)₃ is an ion conducting material and related to the generation of carrier by interaction with water. To discuss the ionic conduction mechanism, Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH having deuterium water as interlayer water (Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH(D₂O)) was prepared. After the adsorbed water molecules on the surface of Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH(D₂O) were removed by drying, DC polarization test for dried Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH(D₂O) was examined. The absorbance attributed to O-D-stretching band for Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH(D₂O) powder at around the positively charged electrode is larger than that before polarization, indicating that the interlayer in Mg-Al CO₃^2- LDH is a hydroxide ion conduction channel.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.458-465
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• 2018

This study reports the fabrication of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) containing two kinds of functional groups: i) trimethylphosphite (TMP) and ii) trimethylamine (TMA). We carried out the synthesis of polymers to enhance thermal stability and ion conductivity. The alternative polymer was prepared using 2,2-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)propane and decafluorobiphenyl. The membrane was fabricated by solution casting method. The thermal stability of membranes was examined by TGA. The physiochemical properties of membranes were also investigated in terms of water uptake, swelling ratio, ion exchange capacity, and ion conductivity. The hydroxide ion conductivity of the membranes reached about 20.2 mS/cm for quaternary ammonium poly(arylene ether) (QA-PAE) containing TMA moiety and 5.1 mS/cm for quaternary phosphonium PAE (QP-PAE) containing TMP moiety at $90^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.56-63
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• 2013

This study was aimed at developing and evaluating a diffusive sampling method using a barium hydroxide solution as an absorbent for measuring carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) in ambient air. The collected $CO_2$ concentration was calculated by the change of conductivity resulted in the reaction of $CO_3{^{2-}}$ and $Ba^{2+}$ in aqueous solution. The sampling rate for the diffusive sampler was determined 0.218 mL/min, as obtained from the slope of the linear correlation between the $CO_2$ mass collected by the diffusive sampler and the time-weighted $CO_2$ concentration with the active sampling method. The unexposed blank sampler sealed in aluminium foil-polyethylene laminated packets has remained stable during at least one-month storage period. A good correlation was observed between the diffusive sampler and active sampler with a coefficient of determination of 0.956. This diffusive sampler would be suitable for the indoor $CO_2$ concentration monitoring.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.57-67
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• 2017

This study was conducted to develop an analytical technique for determination of chlorite and chlorate concentrations in fresh-cut food and dried fish products by an ion chromatography/conductivity detection method using a hydroxide mobile phase. Deionized water was added to homogenized samples, which were then extracted by ultrasound extraction and centrifuged at high speed (8,500 rpm). Subsequently, a Sep-Pak tC18 cartridge was used to purify the supernatant. Chlorite and chlorate ions were separated using 20 mM KOH solution as the mobile phase and Dionex IonPac AS27 column as the stationary phase. Ethylenediamine was used as sample preservative and dibromoacetate was added to adjust for the disparity in extraction efficiencies between the food samples. The method detection limit) for chlorite and chlorate were estimated to be 0.2 mg/kg and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively, and the coefficient of determination ($r^2$) that denotes the linearity of their calibration curves were correspondingly measured to be 0.9973 and 0.9987. The recovery rate for each ion was 92.1 % and 96.3 %, with relative standard deviations of 7.47 % and 6.18 %, respectively. Although neither chlorite nor chlorate was detected in the food samples, the analytical technique developed in this study may potentially be used in the analysis of disinfected food products.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.603-606
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• 2020

A hydrophilic alkaline room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte (RT-IL) carrying hydroxide ion as an anion and 1-benzyl-3-butylimidazolium as a cation was synthesized. Electrochemical, physical and structural properties of the synthesized RT-IL were characterized using cyclic voltammetry, ionic conductivity, viscosity, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), FT-IR, and 1H-NMR measurements. High ionic conductivity and low viscosity characteristics comparable to 0.1 M KCl electrolyte solution were achieved for the RT-IL in addition to a wide electrochemical potential window of about 4.4 V. The results indicate that the RT-IL is promising for future applications as an alternative electrolyte to energy and environmental research fields.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.524-533
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• 2021

In this study, a series of anion conductive organic/inorganic composite membranes with excellent ionic conductivity and chemical stability were prepared by introducing graphene oxide (GO) inorganic nanofiller into the quaternized poly(phenylen oxide (Q-PPO) polymer matrix. The fabricated organic/inorganic composite membranes showed higher ionic conductivity than the pristine membrane. In particular, Q-PPO/GO 0.7 showed the highest ionic conductivity value of 143.2 mS/cm at 90℃, which was 1.56 times higher than the pristine membrane Q-PPO (91.5 mS/cm). In addition, the organic/inorganic composite membrane showed superior dimensional stability and alkaline stability compared to the pristine membrane, and the physicochemical stability was improved as the content of inorganic fillers increased. Therefore, we suggest that the as-prepared organic/inorganic composite membranes are very promising materials for anion exchange membrane applications with high conductivity and alkaline stability.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.154-162
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• 2024

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are essential components in water electrolysis systems, serving to physically separate the generated hydrogen and oxygen gases while enabling the selective transport of hydroxide ions between electrodes. Key characteristics sought in AEMs include high ion conductivity and robust chemical and mechanical stability in alkaline. In this study, quaternized Poly(terphenyl piperidinium)/cellulose nanocrystals (qPTP/CNC) mixed matrix membrane was fabricated. The polymer matrix, PTP, was synthesized via super-acid polymerization, known for its excellent ion conductivity and alkaline durability. The qPTP/CNC membrane showed a dense and uniform morphology without significant voids or large aggregates at the polymer-nanoparticle interface. The qPTP/CNC membrane containing 2 wt% CNC demonstrated a high ion exchange capacity of 1.90 mmol/g, coupled with low water uptake (9.09%) and swelling ratio (5.56%). Additionally, the qPTP/CNC membrane showed significantly lower resistance and superior alkaline stability (384 hours at 50℃ in 1 M KOH) compared to the commercial FAA-3-50 membrane. These results highlight the potential of hydrophilic additive CNC in enhancing ion conductivity and alkaline durability of ion exchange membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.77-86
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• 2023

In this study, pore-filled ion exchange membranes with low membrane resistance and high hydroxide ion conductivity was developed. To improve alkali durability, a porous substrate made of polytetrafluoroethylene was used, and a copolymer was prepared using monomers 2-(dimethyl amino) ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and vinyl benzyl chloride (VBC) for pores. divinyl benzene (DVB) was used as the cross-linker, and ion exchange membranes were prepared for each cross-linking agent content to study the effect of the cross-linker content on DMAEMA-DVB and VBC-DMAEMA-DVB copolymers. As a result, chemical stability is improved by using a PTFE material substrate, and productivity can be increased by enabling fast photo polymerization at a low temperature by using a low-pressure UV lamp. To confirm the physical and chemical stability of the ion exchange membrane required for an anion exchange membrane fuel cell, tensile strength, and alkali resistance tests were conducted. As a result, as the cross-linking degree increased, the tensile strength increased by approximately 40 MPa, and finally, through the silver conductivity and alkali resistance tests, it was confirmed that the alkaline stability increased as the cross-linking agent increased.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.371-383
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• 2021

Anion exchange membranes have been used for water electrolysis, which can produce hydrogen, and fuel cells, which can generate electrical energy using hydrogen fuel. Anion exchange membranes operate based on hydroxide ion (OH^-) conduction under alkaline conditions. However, since the anion exchange membrane shows relatively low ion conductivity and alkaline stability, there is still a limit to its commercialization in water electrolysis and fuel cells. To address these issues, it is important to develop novel anion exchange membrane materials by rationally designing a polymer structure. In particular, the polymer structure and synthetic method need to be controlled. By doing so, for polymers, the physical properties, ionic conductivity, and alkaline stability can be maintained. Among many anion exchange membranes, poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) is commercially available and easily accessible. In addition, the PPO has relatively high mechanical and chemical stability compared to other polymers. In this review, we introduce the recent development strategy and characteristics of PPO-based polymer materials used in anion exchange membranes.