• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.445-453
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• 2007

The effect of an electrochemically generated oxidation-reduction potential and electric pulse on ethanol production and growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 26603 was experimented and compared with effects of electron mediators (neutral red, benzyl viologen, and thionine), chemical oxidants (hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite), chemical reductants (sulfite and nitrite), oxygen, and hydrogen. The oxidation (anodic) and reduction (cathodic) potential and electric pulse activated ethanol production and growth, and changed the total soluble protein pattern of the test strain. Neutral red electrochemically reduced activated ethanol production and growth of the test strain, but benzyl viologen and thionine did not. Nitrite inhibited ethanol production but did not influence growth of the test strain. Hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorite, and sulfite did not influence ethanol production and growth of the test strain. Hydrogen and oxygen also did not influence the growth and ethanol production. It shows that the test strain may perceive electrochemically generated oxidation-reduction potential and electric pulse as an environmental factor.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.390-394
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• 2018

Metallic tantalum powder is manufactured by reducing tantalum oxide ($Ta_2O_5$) with magnesium gas at 1,073-1,223 K in a reactor under argon gas. The high thermodynamic stability of magnesium oxide makes the reduction reaction from tantalum oxide into tantalum powder possible. The microstructure after the reduction reaction has the form of a mixture of tantalum and magnesium oxide, and the latter could be entirely eliminated by dissolving in weak hydrochloric acid. The powder size in SEM microstructure for the tantalum powder increases after acid leaching in the range of 50-300 nm, and its internal crystallite sizes are observed to be 11.5 to 24.7 nm with increasing reduction temperatures. Moreover, the optimized reduction temperature is found to be 1,173 K as the minimum oxygen concentration is approximately 1.3 wt.%.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.260-266
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• 2018

To enhance catalyst activity of the palladium (Pd) towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), iridium (Ir) and yttrium (Y) were alloyed by polyol method. Due to the low reduction potential of Y, it is hard to reduce Y ion completely by polyol method. In XPS spectra, the binding energy of the Pd is shifted to a lower value, which indicates the d-electron of Pd is filled by the electron from the Y. And other phases of Y are observed by the XPS. Among the catalysts, the $Pd_4IrY_{0.1}/C$ showed the best activity towards ORR, which indicates the metallic Y is effective for improving the catalytic activity. Thus, for further enhancing ORR activity, the novel method for complete reduction of Y is needed.

• Carbon letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.53-64
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• 2016

Nitrogen (N)-doped ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) with a dual transition metal system were synthesized as non-Pt catalysts for the ORR. The highly nitrogen doped OMCs were prepared by the precursor of ionic liquid (3-methyl-1-butylpyridine dicyanamide) for N/C species and a mesoporous silica template for the physical structure. Mostly, N-doped carbons are promoted by a single transition metal to improve catalytic activity for ORR in PEMFCs. In this study, our N-doped mesoporous carbons were promoted by the dual transition metals of iron and cobalt (Fe, Co), which were incorporated into the N-doped carbons lattice by subsequently heat treatments. All the prepared carbons were characterized by via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). To evaluate the activities of synthesized doped carbons, linear sweep was recorded in an acidic solution to compare the ORR catalytic activities values for the use in the PEMFC system. The dual transition metal promotion improved the ORR activity compared with the single transition metal promotion, due to the increase in the quaternary nitrogen species from the structural change by the dual metals. The effect of different ratio of the dual metals into the N doped carbon were examined to evaluate the activities of the oxygen reduction reaction.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.385-391
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• 1997

Diffusion Coefficient$(D_0)$ and electrode reaction rate Constant$(K_0)$ of Co$(dimethyl bipyridine)_3(ClO_4)_2$ were determined by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It was also investigated that the effects of solvent, concentration, and scan rate, etc. on the diffusion coefficient and the temperature effect on the rate constant. The peak currents and diffusion coefficients were dcreased as increasing the viscosity of solvent. Diffusion coefficient was $5.54{\times}10^{-6 }cm^2/sec$ and the reaction rate constant was $2.39{\times}10^{-3 }/s$ at 25$^{\circ}C$. The thermodynamic parameters such as ${\Delta}G^{\neq},\;{\Delta}H^{\neq},\;and\;{\Delta}S$ were calculated from plotting the reaction rate constants versus the solution temperatures. This compound was shown the catalytic effect on the oxygen reduction that the reduction peak current of oxygen was greatly enhanced and the peak potential was shifted to +0.2 volt.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.667-673
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• 2009

The electrocatalytic characteristics of oxygen reduction reaction of the $PtxM_{(1-x)}$ (M = Co, Cu, Ni) supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been evaluated in a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). The $Pt_xM_{(1-x)}$/MWNTs catalysts with a Pt : M atomic ratio of about 3 : 1 were synthesized and applied to the cathode of PEMFC. The crystalline structure and morphology images of the $Pt_xM_{(1-x)}$ particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The results showed that the crystalline structure of the Pt alloy particles in Pt/MWNTs and $Pt_xM_{(1-x)}$/MWNTs catalysts are seen as FCC, and synthesized $Pt_xM_{(1-x)}$ crystals have lattice parameters smaller than the pure Pt crystal. According to the electrochemical surface area (ESA) calculated with cyclic voltammetry analysis, $Pt_{0.77}Co_{0.23}$/MWNTs catalyst has higher ESA than the other catalysts. The evaluation of a unit cell test using Pt/MWNTs or $Pt_xM_{(1-x)}$/MWNTs as the cathode catalysts demonstrated higher cell performance than did a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Among the MWNTs-supported Pt and $Pt_xM_{(1-x)}$ (M = Co, Cu, Ni) catalysts, the $Pt_{0.77}Co_{0.23}$/MWNTs shows the highest performance with the cathode catalyst of PEMFC because they had the largest ESA.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.633-639
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• 2018

In anion exchange membrane fuel cells, Pd nanoparticles are extensively studied as promising non-Pt catalysts due to their electronic structure similar to Pt. In this study, to fabricate Pd nanoparticles well dispersed on carbon support materials, we propose a synthetic strategy using mixed organic ligands with different chemical structures and functions. Simultaneously to control the Pd particle size and dispersion, a ligand mixture composed of oleylamine(OA) and trioctylphosphine(TOP) is utilized during thermal decomposition of Pd precursors. In the ligand mixture, OA serves mainly as a reducing agent rather than a stabilizer since TOP, which has a bulky structure, more strongly interacts with the Pd metal surface as a stabilizer compared to OA. The specific roles of OA and TOP in the Pd nanoparticle synthesis are studied according to the mixture composition, and the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) activity and durability of highly-dispersed Pd nanocatalysts with different particles sizes are investigated. The results of this study confirm that the Pd nanocatalyst with large particles has high durability compared to the nanocatalyst with small Pd nanoparticles during the accelerated degradation tests although they initially indicated similar ORR performance.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.640-645
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• 2018

The design of non-precious electrocatalysts with low-cost, good stability, and an improved oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) to replace the platinium-based electrocatalyst is significant for application of fuel cells and metal-air batteries with high energy density. In this study, we synthesize iron-carbide($Fe_3C$) embedded nitrogen(N) doped carbon nanofiber(CNF) as electrocatalysts for ORRs using electrospinning, precursor deposition, and carbonization. To optimize electrochemical performance, we study the three stages according to different amounts of iron precursor. Among them, $Fe_3C$-embedded N doped CNF-1 exhibits the most improved electrochemical performance with a high onset potential of -0.18 V, a high $E_{1/2}$ of -0.29 V, and a nearly four-electron pathway (n = 3.77). In addition, $Fe_3C$-embedded N doped CNF-1 displays exellent long-term stabillity with the lowest ${\Delta}E_{1/2}=8mV$ compared to the other electrocatalysts. The improved electrochemical properties are attributed to synergestic effect of N-doping and well-dispersed iron carbide embedded in CNF. Consequently, $Fe_3C$-embedded N doped CNF is a promising candidate for non-precious electrocatalysts for high-performance ORRs.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.137-145
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• 2021

Among the non-precious metal catalysts, iron-nitrogen doped carbon (Fe-N/C) catalysts have been recognized as the most promising candidates for an alternative to Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under alkaline and acidic conditions. In this study, the nano replication method using mesoporous silica, which features tunable primary particle sizes and shape, is employed to prepare the mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts with different shapes. Platelet SBA-15, irregular KIT-6, and spherical silica particle (SSP) were selected as a template to generate three different kinds of shapes of the mesoporous Fe-N/C catalyst. Physicochemical properties of mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts are characterized by using small-angle X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and scanning electron microscopy images. According to the electrochemical evaluation, there is no morphological preference of mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts toward the ORR activity with half-cell configuration under alkaline electrolyte. By implementing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of Fe and N atoms in the mesoporous Fe-N/C catalysts, it is possible to verify that the activity towards ORR highly depends on the portions of "Fe-N" species in the catalysts regardless of the shape of catalysts. It was suggested that active site distribution in the Fe-N/C is one important factor towards ORR activity.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.151-158
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• 2022

Iron and nitrogen coordinated carbon catalyst (Fe-N-C) is the most promising non-precious metal catalyst (NPMC) studied to alternate the Pt-group oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst. In this work, Fe/N/C type catalysts are prepared by four different nitrogen precursors; N, N, N', N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA), 1,2-ethylenediamine (EDA), m-dicyanobenzene (DCB), dicyandiamide (DCDA) which can chelate a transition metal; In addition, the catalysts conducted the pyrolysis process at four different temperatures of 700, 800, 900, 1000 ℃ to investigate the ORR activities depend on pyrolysis temperature and to find an appropriate temperature. The characterizations of catalysts were investigated by scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and element analysis (EA). The electrocatalytic activity was measured by ORR polarization, also the electron transfer number was calculated from the slope of the K-L plot. The FeNC-EDA-800 which were prepared at pyrolysis temperature of 800 ℃ with EDA showed better ORR activity than the other catalysts.