• Membrane Journal
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.104-112
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• 2009

Ultrafiltration membranes (UF) were manufactured by the conventional phase inversion method using an additives with N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone as a solvent. Characteristics of performance could be controlled by the preparation conditions and the operating methods. The fouling resistance was observed by the relative ratio of permeate flux $(J_t)$/pure water flux $(J_o)$. Compared with the anion charged membranes and its original polyamide membrane, fouling resistance to the protein was increasing in proportion to the ion exchange capacity. The relative flux for the bovin serum albumin (BSA) solution increased as pH value further away from isoelectric point of BSA. The hydrophilicity of a membrane, the pH condition, and the operating temperature played the important role in the membrane permeations.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2009

The sulfonated poly(styrene-divinylbenzene-acrylonitrile) (ST-DVB-AN) composite polymer electrolyte membrane based on the original PVC film was successfully synthesized to improve oxidative stability using semi-interpenetrated polymer network (semi-IPN). Weight gain ratio after copolymerization was enhanced by the DVB and AN contents, and the sulfonated membranes were characterized in terms of proton conductivity (k), ion exchange capacity (IEC), and water uptake ($W_U$). The effect of DVB content and AN addition were thoroughly investigated by comparing the resulted properties including oxidative stability. The obtained ST-DVB-AN composited semi-IPN membranes showed relatively high proton conductivity and IEC compared with Nafion117, and greatly improved oxidative stability of the synthesized membrane was obtained. This study demonstrated that a semi-interpenetrated sulfonated ST-DVB-AN composited membrane reinforced by PVC polymer network is a promising candidate as an inexpensive polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell applications.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.71.2-71.2
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• 2012

There are rising demands for developing more efficient energy materials to stem the depletion of fossil fuels, which have prompted significant research efforts on proton exchange fuel cells (PEFCs) and lithium ion batteries (LIBs). To date, both PEFCs and LIBs are being widely developed to power small electronics, however, their utilization to medium-large sized electric power resources such as vehicle and stationary energy storage systems still appears distant. These technologies increasingly rely upon polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) that transport ions from the anode to the cathode to balance the flow of electrons in an external circuit, and therefore play a central role in determining the efficiency of the devices; as ion transport is a kinetic bottleneck compared to electrical conductivity, enormous efforts have been devoted to improving the transport properties of PEMs. In present study, we carried out an in-depth analysis of the morphology effects on transport properties of PEMs. How parameters such as self-assembled nanostructures, domain sizes, and domain orientations affect conductivities of PEMs will be presented.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.413-422
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• 2015

Proton exchange membrane (PEM), which transfers proton from the anode to the cathode, is the key component of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Nafion is widely used as PEM due to its high proton conductivity as well as excellent chemical and physical stabilities. However, its high cost and the environmental hazards limit the commercial application in PEMFCs. To overcome these disadvantages, various alternative polymer electrolytes have been investigated for fuel cell applications. We used densely sulfonated polymers to maximize the ion conductivity of the corresponding membrane. To overcome high swelling, dipole-dipole interaction was used by introducing nitrile groups into the polymer backbone. As a result, physically-crosslinked membranes showed improved swelling ratio despite of high water uptake. All the membranes with different hydrophilic-hydrophobic compositions showed higher conductivity, despite their lower IEC, than that of Nafion-117.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.355-362
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• 2005

A PFCB-containing biphenylene ether polymer was synthesized and sulfonated using chlorosulfonic acid and then cast into membranes from their solutions for fuel cell applications. Sulfonation reactions were carried out by changing the molar ratio of chlorosulfonic acid and the PFCB-containing biphenylene ether polymer under fixed time and temperature. The resulting sulfonated polymers showed different sulfonation degree (SD), ion exchange capacity (IEC), and water uptake. With the increment of the content of chlorosulfonic acid, the SD, IEC, water uptake of the sulfonated polymer membranes increased. The ion conductivity of the sulfonated PFCB-containing biphenylene ether polymers was compared with that of Nafion 115.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.217-221
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• 2010

In order to overcome the drawback of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), solid alkalime membrane fuel cells (SAMFCs) have been studied. In this report, we synthesized new sulfonated polybenzimidazole derivatives for SAMFCs. The polyimidazole derivatives were doped by KOH, and base-doped polybenzimidazoles showed high hydroxy ion conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. Especially, sPBI-co-PBI (75 : 25 for molar ratio of sulfonated and non-sulfonated moiety) showed good possibility for the anion exchange membrane. It has $2.98{\times}10^{-2}\;S/cm$ at $90^{\circ}C$ under 100% relative humidity.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.348-356
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• 2022

With the development of the bio industry, membrane chromatography with a high adsorption efficiency is emerging to replace the existing column chromatography used in the downstream processes of pharmaceuticals, food, etc. In this study, through the deacetylation reaction of two commercial cellulose acetate (CA) membranes with different pore sizes, the porous regenerated cellulose (RC) supports for membrane chromatography were obtained to attach the anion exchange ligands. The adsorptive membranes for anion exchange were prepared by attaching an anion exchange ligand ([3-(methacryloylamino) propyl] trimethylammonium chloride) containing quaternary ammonium groups on the RC supports by grafting and UV polymerization. The protein adsorption capacities of the prepared membranes were obtained through both the static binding capacity (SBC) and the dynamic adsorption capacity (DBC) measurement. As a result, the membrane chromatography with the smaller the pore size, the larger the surface area showed the highest protein adsorption capacity. Membrane chromatography which was prepared by using deacetylated commercial CA support with MAPTAC ligand (i.e., RC 0.8 + MAPTAC: 43.69 mg/ml, RC 3.0 + MAPTAC: 36.33 mg/ml) showed a higher adsorption capacity compared to commercial membrane chromatography (28.38 mg/ml).

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.489-496
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• 2018

Fuel cells are seen as eco-friendly energy resources that convert chemical energy into electrical energy. However, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have problems such as the use of expensive platinum catalysts for the reduction of conductivity under high temperature humidification conditions. Thus, an anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) is attracting a great attention. Anion exchange fuel cells use non - Pt catalysts and have the advantage of better efficiency because of the lower activation energy of the oxygen reduction reaction. However, there are various problems to be solved including problems such as the electrode damage and reduction of ion conductivity by being exposed to the carbon dioxide. Therefore, this mini review proposes various solutions for different problems of anion exchange fuel cells through a wide range of research papers.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2018

In order to improve current efficiency and decrease energy consumption in the electrosynthesis of ammonium persulfate, electrolytic properties of four cation exchange membranes, namely, the $JCM-II^{(R)}$ membrane, $Nafion^{(R)}$ 324 membrane CMI-$7000^{(R)}$ membrane and a self-made perfluorosulfonic ion exchange membrane (PGN membrane) were investigated using a sintered platinized titanium anode and a Pb-Sb-Sn alloy cathode in a self-made electrolytic cell. The effect of cell voltage and electrolyte flow rate on the current efficiency and the energy consumption were investigated. The results indicated that the PGN membrane could improve current efficiency to 94.85% and decrease energy consumption to $1119kWh\;t^{-1}$ (energy consumption per ton of the ammonium persulfate generated) under the optimal operating conditions and the highest current efficiency of the $JCM-II^{(R)}$ membrane, $Nafion^{(R)}$ 324 membrane and CMI-$7000^{(R)}$ membrane were 80.73%, 77.76% and 73.22% with their lowest energy consumption of $1323kWh\;t^{-1}$, $1539kWh\;t^{-1}$ and $2256kWh\;t^{-1}$, respectively. The PGN membrane has the advantages of high current efficiency and energy power consumption and has sufficient mechanical strength with the reinforced mesh. Therefore the PGN membrane will has good value in popularization in the industrial electrosynthesis of ammonium persulfate in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.101-109
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• 2005

In order to produce only a pH-controlled solution without discharging any unused solution, this work has developed a continuous electrolytic system with a pH-adjustment reservoir being placed before an ion exchange membrane-equipped electrolyzer, where as a target solution was fed into the pH-adjustment reservoir, some portion of the solution in the pH-adjustment reservoir was circulated through the cathodic or anodic chamber of the electrolyzer depending on the type of the ion exchange membrane used, and some other portion of the solution in the pH-adjustment reservoir was discharged from the electrolytic system through other counter chamber with its pH being controlled as acid or base. The phenomena of the pH being controlled in the system could be explained by the electro-migration of the ion species in the solution through the ion exchange membrane under a cell potential difference between anode and cathode and its consequently-occurring non-charge equilibriums and electrolytic water- split reactions in the anodic and cathodic chambers.