• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

Polymer electrolyte membranes containing polysilsesquioxane (PSQ) spheres were prepared with the blend of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) (60%) and poly(ether sulfone) (PES) (40%). The amount of PSQ spheres was fixed at 10 wt%. The prepared polymer electrolyte membranes were characterized in terms of methanol permeability, proton conductivity, and ion exchange capacity. In all cases, both methanol permeability and proton conductivity of the polymer electrolyte membranes containing PSQ spheres were lower than the values of Nafion 117 and higher than those of SPEEK/PES (6:4) blend without PSQ spheres. The experimental results indicated that the polymer electrolyte membranes containing MS64 and VTMOS spheres were the best choice in terms of the ratio of proton conductivity to methanol permeability.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.338-345
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• 2015

Poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) and polyether imide (PEI) were sulfonated and aminated to create sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) (SPPO) and aminated polyether imide (APEI), respectively. Characterization of the SPPO and APEI were performed via measurements of FTIR, thermogravimetry (TGA), swelling degree, ion exchange capacity (IEC), and ion conductivity. Next, the surfaces of these membranes were modified by surface fluorination at room temperature. The surface fluorinated SPPO and APEI membranes underwent characterization again for the mentioned measurements to determine any differences. The 3 types of bi-polar membranes were prepared by varying the IEC of the APEI at a fixed SPPO IEC value, which were applied to the low and high NaCl concentration of feed solution at the different current density, respectively. The hypochlorite concentration derived from the surface fluorinated membranes was dependent on the IEC of the APEI and ranged from 491 to 692 ppm at $80mA/m^2$. At low current density of $5mA/m^2$, the hypochlorite concentrations ranged from 18 to 28 ppm for the 4 hrs surface fluorinated membranes and their durability increased greatly.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.202-209
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• 2010

Aromatic copolyamides were prepared and their applicability to proton exchange membrane wasstudied. The copolymer contains thermally stable and mechanically strong poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) segments, and easily processable and good film forming polysulfone segments. For the copolymer, amineterminated sulfonated ether sulfone monomer, m-phenylene diamine, and isophthaloyl chloride were reacted, and the obtained copolymer was transformed into crosslinkable prepolymer by the reaction with acryloyl chloride. The prepolymer was thermally cured and converted into proton exchange membranes for fuel cell application. Each reaction step and the molecular characteristics of precursor copolymers were monitored and confirmed by $^1H$ NMR, FTIR, and titration. The performance of the membranes was measured in terms of water uptake, proton conductivity, and thermal stability. The water uptake, ion exchange capacity (IEC), and proton conductivity of the membranes increased with the increase of sulfonated ether sulfone segment content. Membrane containing 30 mol% sulfonic acid sulfone segment showed 1.57 meq/g IEC value. Water uptake was limited less than 44 wt% and the highest proton conductivity up to $3.93{\times}10^{-2}S/cm$ ($25^{\circ}C$, RH= 100%) was observed.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.106-112
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• 2011

Aromatic copolyamides were prepared and their applicability to proton exchange membrane was studied. The copolymers contain two segments; thermally stable and mechanically strong poly (p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA), and easily processable and good film-forming polysulfone. For the copolymers, different ratios of amine-terminated sulfonated ether sulfone monomer, terephthaloyl chloride, and p-phenylene diamine were sequentially reacted. The obtained copolymers were mixed with trimethylolpropane triglycidyl ether (TMPTGE), thermally cured, and converted into proton exchange membranes for fuel cell application. The reactions at each step and the molecular characteristics of precursor copolymers were confirmed by $^1H$ NMR, FTIR, and titration. The performance of the membranes was measured in terms of water uptake and proton conductivity. The water uptake, ion exchange capacity (IEC), and proton conductivity of the membranes increased with the increase of sulfonated ether sulfone segment content. Membrane containing 60 mol% sulfonic acid sulfone segment showed 1.88 meq/g IEC value. Water uptake was limited less than 110 wt% and the highest proton conductivity was up to $7.4{\times}10^{-2}$ S/cm ($25^{\circ}C$, RH=100%).

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2000

Sulfonated Polysulfone (SPSF) cation-exchange membranes were synthesized by introducing various ratio of chlorosulfuric acid (CSA) onto the main chain of polysulfone (PSF). Properties such as ion exchange capacity, water content, liked ion concentration, and partition coefficient were measured, respectively. Through the analysis of DSC and TGA, it has been shown that glass transition temperature increased and weight loss decreased as sulfuric acid group concentration increased. Structure of membrane measured by AFM and SEM was seen to be asymmetric. Apparent diffusion coefficient of sodium ions through SPSF membrane by AC impedance was increased as sulfuric acid group concentration increased.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.525-530
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• 2012

In this study, silane-crosslinked organic/inorganic composite membranes were prepared by simultaneous irradiation grafting of binary monomer mixtures (styrene and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM)) with various compositions onto a poly(ethylene-alt-tetraethylene) (ETFE) film and followed by sol-gel processing and sulfonation to provide a silane-crosslinked structure and a proton conducting ability, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) were utilized to confirm the crosslinking of ETFE-g-PS/PTMSPM films. The prepared membranes with similar ion exchange capacity but a different TMSPM content were selected and their membrane properties were compared. The ETFE-g-PSSA/PTMSPM membranes were characterized by water uptake, dimensional stability, and proton conductivity after sulfonation. The membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) of the prepared membranes were fabricated and their single cell performances were measured.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

A graft copolymer, i.e. poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene )-g-poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (P(VDF-co-CTFE)-g-PSSA) with 47 wt% of PSSA was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). This copolymer was combined with titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) to produce graft copolymer/$TiO_2$ nanocomposite membranes via sol-gel process. $TiO_2$ precursor (TTIP) was selectively incorporated into the hydrophilic PSSA domains of the graft copolymer and grown to form $TiO_2$ nanoparticles, as confirmed by FT-IR and UV-visible spectroscopy. Water uptake and ion exchange capacity (IEC) decreased with TTIP contents due to the decrease in number of sulfonic acid in the membranes. At 5 wt% of TTIP, the mechanical properties of membranes increased while maintaining the proton conductivity.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.245-257
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• 2017

The separation of nicotine and tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines is a tough problem in tobacco industry. In this study, separation of nicotine from 4-(methylnitrosamino) -1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) mixtures was investigated using electrodialysis by taking the principle of the protonation status difference between these two components. The results indicated that the solution pH has a dominant impact on the separation process. In a pH range of 5-7, nicotine molecules are existed as mono- and di-protonated ions and can be separated from the uncharged NNK molecules. The acidic electrolyte is conducive to the separation process from the point of flux and energy consumption; while the alkaline electrolyte has negative impact on the separation process. A current density of $10mA/cm^2$ is an appropriate value for the separation process. The lowest energy consumption of the separation process is 0.58 kWh/kg nicotine with the process cost to be estimated at only $0.208 /kg nicotine. Naturally, electrodialysis is a high-efficiency, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly process to separate and purify nicotine from tobacco juice.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.549-554
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• 2008

Proton conducting crosslinked membranes were prepared using polymer blends of polystyrene-b-poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate)-b-poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PS-b-PHEA-b-PSSA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). PS-b-PHEA-b-PSSA triblock copolymer at 28:21:51 wt% was synthesized sequentially using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). FT-IR spectroscopy showed that after thermal ($120^{\circ}C$, 2 h) and chemical (sulfosuccinic acid, SA) treatments of the membranes, the middle PHEA block of the triblock copolymer was crosslinked with PVA through an esterification reaction between the -OH group of the membrane and the -COOH group of SA. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) decreased from 1.56 to 0.61 meq/g with increasing amount of PVA. Therefore, the proton conductivity at room temperature decreased from 0.044 to 0.018 S/cm. However, the introduction of PVA resulted in a decrease in water uptake from 87.0 to 44.3%, providing good mechanical properties applicable to the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of fuel cells. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the membrane was microphase-separated with a nanometer range with good connectivity of the $SO_3H$ ionic aggregates. The power density of a single $H_2/O_2$ fuel cell system using the membrane with 50 wt% PVA was $230\;mW/cm^2$ at $70^{\circ}C$ with a relative humidity of 100%. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) also showed a decrease in the thermal stability of the membranes with increasing PVA concentration.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.391-396
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• 2014

Ultrapure water (UPW) is water containing nothing but water molecule ($H_2O$). The use of UPW is increasing in many industries such as the thermal and nuclear power plants, petrochemical plants, and semiconductor manufacturers. In order to produce UPW, several unit processes such as ion exchange, reverse osmosis (RO), ultraviolet (UV) oxidation should be efficiently arranged. In particular, RO process should remove not only ions but also low molecular weight (LMW) organic matters in UPW production system. But, the LMW organic matter removal data of RO membranes provided by manufacturers does not seem to be reasonable because they tested the removal in high concentration conditions like 1,000 ppm of isopropyl alcohol (IPA, MW=60.1). In this study, bench-scale experiments were carried out using 4-inches RO modules. IPA was used as a model LMW organic matter with low concentration conditions less than 1 ppm as total organic carbon (TOC). As a result, the IPA removal data by manufacturers turned out to be trustable because the effect of feed concentration on the IPA removal was negligble while the IPA removal efficiency became higher at higher permeate flux.