• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.69-80
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• 2022

The anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis for high purity hydrogen production is attracting attention as a next-generation green hydrogen production technology by using inexpensive non-noble metal-based catalysts instead of conventional precious metal catalysts used in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis systems. However, since AEM water electrolysis technology is in the early stages of development, it is necessary to develop research on AEM, ionomers, electrode supports and catalysts, which are key elements of AEM water electrolysis. Among them, current research in the field of catalysts is being studied to apply a previously developed half-cell catalyst for alkali to the AEM system, and the applied catalyst has disadvantages of low activity and durability. Therefore, this review presented a catalyst synthesis technique that promoted oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using a non-noble metal-based catalyst in an alkaline medium.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.7-13
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• 2018

This study investigates the enhancement of the oxygen diffusion rate in the cathode channel of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) by pure oscillating flow, which is the same as the mechanism of human breathe. Three-dimensional numerical simulation, which has the full model of the fuel cell including electrochemical reaction, ion and electronic conduction, mass transfer and thermal variation and so on, is performed to show the phenomena in the channel at the case of a steady state. This model could analysis the oscillating flow as a moving mesh calculation coupled with electrochemical reaction on the catalyst layer, however, it needs a lot of calculation time for each case. The two dimensional numerical simulation has carried on for the study of oscillating flow effect in the cathode channel of PEMFC in order to reduce the calculation time. This study shows the diffusion rate of the oxygen increased and the emission rate of the water vapor increased in the channel by oscillating flow without any forced flow.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.427-436
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• 2023

In the industry, it is recognized that human activities significantly lead to a large amount of wastewater, mainly due to the increased use of water and energy. As a result, the growing field of wastewater resource technology is getting more attention. The common technology for hydrogen production, water electrolysis, requires purified water, leading to the need for desalination and reprocessing. However, producing hydrogen directly from wastewater could be a more cost-effective option compared to traditional methods. To achieve this, a series of first-principle computational simulations were conducted to assess how waste nutrient ions affect standard electrolysis catalysts. This study focused on understanding the adsorption mechanisms of byproducts related to the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolysis, using Co₃O₄ as a typical non-precious metal catalyst. At the same time, efforts were made to develop a comprehensive free energy prediction model for more accurate predictions of OER results.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1071-1077
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• 2009

A novel pretreatment technique was applied to the conventional Pt/alumina catalyst to prepare for the highly efficient catalyst for the preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide in hydrogen-rich condition. Their performance was investigated by selective CO oxidation reaction. CO conversion with the oxygen-treated Pt/Alumina catalyst increased remarkably especially at the low temperature below $100^{\circ}C$. This result is promising for the normal operation of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) without CO poisoning of the anode catalyst. XRD analysis results showed that metallic Pt peaks were not observed for the oxygen-treated catalyst. This implies that well dispersed small Pt particles exist on the catalyst. This result was continued by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis. Consequently, it can be concluded that highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles could be prepared by the novel pretreatment technique and thus, CO conversion could be increased considerably especially at the low temperatures below $100^{\circ}C$.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.288-294
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• 2013

This gas analysis data come from the hydrogen which is produced by proton exchange membrane. Main impurities of hydrogen are methane, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. The concentration of impurities is ranged between 0.0191 to $315{\mu}mol/mol$ for each impurity. Methane contamination is believed from the electrode reaction between carbon doped electrode and produced hydrogen. Nitrogen contamination should take place the sampling process error, not from PEM hydrogen Production system.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.412-419
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• 2023

Anion exchange membrane electrolysis is considered a promising next-generation hydrogen production technology that can produce low-cost, clean hydrogen. However, anion exchange membrane electrolysis technology is in its early stages of development and requires intensive research on electrodes, which are a key component of the catalyst-system interface. In this study, we optimized the pressure conditions of the hot-pressing process to manufacture cobalt oxide electrodes for the development of a high uniformity and high adhesion electrode production process for the oxygen evolution reaction. As the pressure increased, the reduction of pores within the electrode and increased densification of catalytic particles led to the formation of a uniform electrode surface. The cobalt oxide electrode optimized for pressure conditions exhibited improved catalytic activity and durability. The optimized electrode was used as the anode in an AEMWE single cell, exhibiting a current density of 1.53 A cm^-2 at a cell voltage of 1.85 V. In a durability test conducted for 100 h at a constant current density of 500 mA cm^-2, it demonstrated excellent durability with a low degradation rate of 15.9 mV kh^-1, maintaining 99% of its initial performance.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.493-498
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• 2019

In polymer exchange membrane fuel cells, it is crucial to fabricate a highly active and thin Pt catalyst layer for the smooth mass transport of dissolved oxygen and water. Although a highly loaded platinum (Pt) catalyst based on the hydrothermal synthesis has been reported in several studies, its growing behaviors and kinetics were yet to be understood. In this study, we investigated the growth of Pt crystal in suspension after the reduction step depending on a stirring time and evaluated the electrochemical activity. For only a couple of hours in the early stage, Pt colloids were adsorbed on the Pt-carbon catalyst and the Pt crystal was grown. After that, the small Pt colloid was formed by another nucleation step, which did not involve the growth of Pt crystal. We reveal that the Pt-Carbon catalyst with stirring for 6 h showed a high activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.367-374
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• 2014

In the present study, disc-type LSCF/GDC (20 : 80 vol%) dual-phase membranes having porous LSC/GDC (50 : 50 vol%) active layers were prepared and effect of active layers on oxygen ion transport behavior was investigated. Introduction of active layers improved drastically oxygen flux due to enhanced electron conductivity and oxygen surface exchange activity. As firing temperature of active layer increased from $900^{\circ}C$ to $1000^{\circ}C$, oxygen flux increased due to improved contact between membrane and active layer or between grains of active layer. The enhanced contact would improve oxygen ion and electron transports from active layer to membrane. Also, as thickness of active layer increased from 10 to $20{\mu}m$, oxygen flux decreased since thick active layer rather prevented oxygen molecules diffusing through the pores. And, STF infiltration improved oxygen flux due to enhanced oxygen reduction reaction rate. The experimental data announces that coating and property control of active layer is an effective method to improve oxygen flux of dual-phase oxygen transport membrane.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.265-273
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• 2017

Solid-state alkaline water electrolysis is a promising method for producing hydrogen using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Despite active investigations of component development for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE), understanding of the device performance remains insufficient for the commercialization of AEMWE. The study of assembled AEMWE devices is essential to validate the activity and stability of developed catalysts and electrolyte membranes, as well as the dependence of the performance on the device operating conditions. Herein, we review the development of catalysts and membranes reported by different AEMWE companies such as ACTA S.p.A. and Proton OnSite and device operating conditions that significantly affect the AEMWE performance. For example, $CuCoO_x$ and $LiCoO_2$ have been studied as oxygen evolution catalysts by Acta S.p.A and Proton OnSite, respectively. Anion exchange membranes based on polyethylene and polysulfone are also investigated for use as electrolyte membranes in AEMWE devices. In addition, operation factors, including temperature, electrolyte concentration and acidity, and solution feed methods, are reviewed in terms of their influence on the AEMWE performance. The reaction rate of water splitting generally increases with increase in operating temperature because of the facilitated kinetics and higher ion conductivity. The effect of solution feeding configuration on the AEMWE performance is explained, with a brief discussion on current AEMWE performance and device durability.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.319-326
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• 1998

Anodic half-reaction in the $Na^+$ ionic sensors using $Na_2CO_3$ and $MCO_3$ ($M=Cs_2,K_2,Li_2,Ca$) as a sensitive membrane is derived in continuous flow system to explain $CO_2$ sensing characteristics. For various gas-sensitive membranes, a well known overall reaction, $MCO_3\;=\;MO\;+\;CO_2$, cannot be applied for the EMF behaviors of these kinds of sensors. So, the anodic reaction is found to involve $Na_2CO_3$ and $M^{++}$-containing oxide phases by employing the ion exchange reaction at the interface of solid electrolyte and the sensitive membrane to maintain ionic balance in the whole cell. Based on the electrode reaction derived in flow system, differences of cell potentials between continuous and discontinuous flow systems were also discussed. These EMF differences were considerably caused by the partial pressures of oxygen and $CO_2$ as well as irreversible chemical reactions between electrode materials and $CO_2$ atmosphere.