• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.60-68
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• 2011

[ $ZrO_2-TiO_2$ ]binary oxides with various Zr:Ti molar ratios were prepared by sol-gel method and Nafion$^{(R)}$/$ZrO_2-TiO_2$ composite membranes were fabricated for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) at high temperature and low humidity. Water uptake, Ion exchange capacity (IEC), and proton conductivity of Nafion$^{(R)}$/$ZrO_2-TiO_2$ composite membranes were characterized and these composite membranes were tested in a single cell at $120^{\circ}C$ with various relative humidity (R.H.) conditions. The obtained results were compared with the unmodified membranes (Nafion$^{(R)}$ 112 and Recast Nafion$^{(R)}$). A Nafion$^{(R)}$/$ZrO_2-TiO_2$ composite membrane with 1:3 of Zr:Ti molar ratio showed the highest performance. The performance showed 500 mW/$cm^2$ (0.499V) at $120^{\circ}C$, 50% R. H., and 2 atm.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.95.2-95.2
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• 2011

In order to achieve high performance and low cost for commercial applications, the development of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), in which the electrochemical reactions actually occur, must be optimized. Expensive platinum is currently used as an electrochemical catalyst due to its high activity. Although various platinum alloys and non-platinum catalysts are under development, their stabilities and catalytic activities, especially in terms of the oxygen reduction (ORR), render them currently unsuitable for practical use. Therefore, it is important to decrease platinum loading by optimizing the catalysts and electrode microstructure. In this study, we prepared several different MEAs (non-uniform Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer loading electrode) which have dual catalyst layers to find the optimal Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer distribution in the electrodes. We changed Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer content in the layers to find the ideal composition of the binder and Pt/C in the electrode. For MEAs with various ionomer contents in the anodes and cathodes, the electrochemical activity (activation overpotential) and the mass transport properties (concentration overpotential) were analyzed and correlated with the single cell performance. The dual catalyst layers MEA showed higher cell performance than uniformly fabricated MEA, especially at the high current density region.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.47-47
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• 2001

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.2657-2662
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• 2013

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-g-poly (aniline-co-2,5-diaminobenzenesulfonic acid) (DABSA) reinforced Nafion$^{(R)}$ nanocomposite membranes were prepared and characterized for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The nanocomposite membranes with approximately $90{\mu}m$ thickness were prepared by the water assisted solution casting method. To evaluate the properties of nanocomposite membranes for DMFC applications, the nanocomposite membranes were characterized by methanol and water uptake, thermal stability, and ion exchange capacity (IEC). Furthermore, oxidative stability measurements in terms of the hydrogen peroxide decomposition rate that represent the oxidative stability of the membranes were examined. The methanol uptake values of the nanocomposite membranes were dramatically decreased compared to the cast Nafion$^{(R)}$ membranes. The IEC values of the nanocomposite membranes were increased about 30% compared to the cast Nafion$^{(R)}$ membrane.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.3123-3127
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• 2010

A highly sensitive electrochemical detection method for dopamine (DA) has been developed by relying on a multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT)-sol-gel titania-Nafion composite film modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards DA. Therefore, the CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode showed improved voltammetric and amperometric responses for DA compared to those obtained with both titania-Nafion/GC and Nafion/GC electrodes. The CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode gave a linear response ($R^2$ = 0.999) for DA from $0.5\;{\mu}M$ to 0.5 mM with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of $0.1\;{\mu}M$ and a good sensitivity of 150 mA/M while other electrodes such as CNT-Nafion/GC, titania-Nafion/GC, and a bare GC gave a sensitivity of 89, 39, and 36 mA/M, respectively. Besides, the CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode displayed very fast response time within 2 s. The modified electrode showed good selectivity against ascorbic acid. The modified electrode showed good stability and reproducibility. The CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode was applied to the determination of DA in urine and serum samples.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.118-124
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• 2005

In this study, a novel deposition method of Pt catalysts onto Nafion membranes modified with polypyrrole (PPy) has been proposed for PEMFC application. The PPy/Nafion composite membranes were fabricated by chemical polymerization of pyrrole using $FeCl_3$ and $Na_2S_2O_8$ as initiator. The proton conductivity and water uptake of the chemically prepared PPy/Nafion composites were investigated. The ionic conductivity and water uptake of PPy/Nafion composite membrane prepared with $Na_2S_2O_8$ were decreased with polymerization time of pyrrole. In the case of $FeCl_3$, the ionic conductivity was almost retained and the water uptake was decreased with polymerization time of pyrrole. When the Pt particle was deposited on PPy/Nafion composites membrane by chemical reduction of $H_2PtCl_6$, the Pt loading on Nafion membrane was enhanced by polypyrrole due to electronic conduction property. The performance evaluation with membrane electrode assembly composed of Pt/PPy/Nafion composite and diffusion electrode was carried out using a single cell. As a result of fuel cell test, current density of $569mA/cm^2$ at 0.3 V has been obtained for MEA contained with Pt/PPy/Nafion composite. This study shows that direct deposition of Pt catalysts on Nafion impregnated polypyrrole is a promising method to prepare thin catalyst layer for the PEMFC.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2008

The FAS(Fluoroalkylsilane)/Nafion inorganic-organic composite electrolyte membrane was successfully fabricated through sol-gel method. The FAS having hydrophobic functional group and silanol ligands is impregnated in $Nafion^{(R)}$ membrane to reduce methanol crossover. The prepared FAS/Nafion inorganic-organic composite electrolyte membrane consist of the hydrophobic FAS-derived silicate nano-particles and $Nafion^{(R)}$ matrix showed decrease of methanol crossover and reduction of humidity dependence without large sacrifice of proton conductivity. The microstructural analysis of the composite membranes was performed using FESEM and FTIR. And the effect of the incorporation of the hydrophobic FAS-derived silicate nano-particles into $Nafion^{(R)}$ membrane was investigated via solvent uptake, membrane expansion rate, humidity dependency of proton conductivity and contact angle measurement.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 1996

Voltage-current profiles are measured when hydrogen-oxygen gas is in contact with solid polymer membrane ($Nafion^{(R)}$) as the electrolyte. The feed gas is prepared by mixing hydrogen and oxygen gas in various ratios. The carbon gas diffusion electrodes contacting the electrolyte are treated by platinum catalyst. The platinum surface is impregnated with a 5% $Nafion^{(R)}$ solution to ensure its good surface contact with the electrolyte. The constant voltage between anode and cathode was applied by a DC power supply. The results on the profiles show that the energy efficiency critically depends on the hydrogen concentration in $H_2/O_2$ mixture gas.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.07a
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• pp.237-240
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• 2002

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2023

In this work, we developed a Nafion polymer-coated impedance sensor with two gold electrode configurations to measure the ion concentration in solution samples. The gold electrodes were fabricated through the sputtering process, followed by surface modification using Nafion polymer. The resulting sensors enable the prevention of the polarization phenomenon on the electrode surface, resulting in stable measurement of electrochemical signals. Spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy measurements revealed that the thin film of Nafion was coated uniformly onto the surface of the gold electrode. The Nafion-coated sensor exhibited more stable impedance signals than the conventional gold electrode. It showed a highly reliable calibration curve (R² = 0.983) of the impedance sensor using a standard sodium chloride solution. In addition, a comparison experiment between the impedance sensor and a commercial conductivity sensor was performed to measure the ion concentration of artificial tears, showing similar results for the two sensors.