• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.498-504
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• 2011

In this research, hollow fiber membranes were used in order to investigate to permeation and selectivity of the $CH_4$ and $N_2$. Polyimide and polyethersulfone hollow fiber membrane were prepared by the dry-wet phase inversion method and the module was manufactured by fabricating fibers after surface coating with silicone elastomer. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies showed that the produced fibers typically had an asymmetric structure. The permeance of $CH_4$ and $N_2$ were increased with pressure and temperature. However, the selectivity was decreased with increasing temperature. The permeances of $CH_4$ and $N_2$ were decreased with increasing the air gap and the effect of post-treatment on membrane showed the increase in permeance up to 3.2~7.0 times.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2004

In a continuation of our previous studies on blood compatibility profiles of anion-substituted poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes, in which hydroxyl groups have been replaced with carboxymethyl (C-PVA) and sulfonyl groups (S-PVA), we have studied the activation of complement components and the changes in white cell and platelet count in vitro and compared them with those of unmodified PVA, Cuprophane, and low-density polyethylene. Complement activation of fluid phase components, C3a, Bb, iC3b, and SC5b-9, and of bound phases, C3c, C3d, and SC5b-9, were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot, respectively. The changes in the number of white cells and platelets following complement activation were counted using a Coulter counter. C-PVA and S-PVA activated C3 to a lesser extent than did PVA, which we attribute to the diminished level of surface nucleophiles of the samples. In addition, C- and S-PVA exhibit increased inhibition of Bb production, resulting in a decrease in the extent of C5 activation. Consequently, because of the reduced activation of C3 and C5, C- and S-PVA samples cause marked decreases in the SC5b-9 levels in plasma. We also found that the negatively charged sulfonate and carboxylate groups of the samples cause a greater extent of adsorbtion of the positively charged anaphylatoxins, C3a and C5a, because of strong electrostatic attraction, which in turn provides an inhibition of chemotaxis and activation of leukocytes. The ability to inhibit complement production, together with the binding ability of anaphylatoxins of the C- and S-PVA samples, leads to a prominent decrease in lysis of leukocytes as well as activation of platelets.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.77-81
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• 2019

Recently, as the problem of environmental pollution emerges, various methods of eco-friendly water treatment method are being developed. Polymer membranes, which are currently leading the market, are inexpensive, but have many problems in terms of chemical resistance and durability. Thus, ceramic membrane has been attracted great attention as high-efficiency water treatment due to excellent durability and chemical resistant. In this study, ceramic membranes were developed via pore structure, size control, and surface treatment. The pore size of the membrane was controlled through the formation of $ZrO_2$ and $TiO_2$ coating films. Tape casting and sol-gel process were used to form a ceramic coating film with nanopores on the surface of the membrane. Microstructure analysis of ceramic membrane and pore size analysis of the coating film were conducted and the change of water treatment characteristics was observed.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.372-382
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• 2022

In this study, anion exchange membranes were prepared by synthesizing the main chain into a poly(arylene ether) (PAE) structure, and the structures capable of improving the physical and chemical stability of the membrane by introducing a heterocyclic quaternary ammonium functional groups were studied. The chemical structure and thermal properties of the prepared polymer were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, FT-IR, TGA, and DSC, and surface analysis was performed through AFM measurement. Additionally, dimensional stability and chemical properties was studied by measuring water uptake and swelling ratio, IEC and ionic conductivity. At 90℃, the quaternized poly(arylene ether) (QPAE)/1-methylpiperidine (MP) membrane exhibited the highest ionic conductivity of 27.2 mS cm^-1, while the QPAE/1-methylimidazole (MI) membrane and QPAE/1-methylmorpholine (MM) membrane exhibited values of 14.5 mS cm^-1 and 11.5 mS cm^-1, respectively. In addition, the prepared anion exchange membrane exhibited high chemical stability in alkaline solution.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.85-95
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• 2024

Direct air capture (DAC) technology plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Reports from the International Energy Agency and climate change emphasize its significance, aiming to limit global warming to 1.5 ℃ despite continuous carbon emissions. Despite initial costs, DAC technology demonstrates potential for cost reductions through research and development, operational learning, and economies of scale. Recent advancements in high-permeance polymer membranes indicate the potential of membrane-based DAC technology. However, effective separation of CO₂ from ambient air requires membranes with high selectivity and permeability to CO₂. Current research is focusing on membrane optimization to enhance CO₂ capture efficiency. This study underscores the importance of direct air capture, evolving cost trends, and the pivotal role of membrane development in climate change mitigation efforts. Additionally, this research delved into the theoretical background, conditions, composition, advantages, and disadvantages of permeance and selectivity in membrane-based DAC.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 2024

The asymmetric polylactic acid (PLA) membrane was prepared via phase inversion method using non-solvent induced separation (NIPS) technique. This study aims to synthesized as well as to characterize the PLA membrane and evaluating the membrane performance on water flux and permeability. In addition, this research also studied the removal performance of methylene blue dye. The polymer solution has been prepared using 12 wt.% of PLA and dissolved in 88 wt.% of Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as a solvent. Then, the cast film was immersed in different ratio of coagulant bath medium (distilled water: methanol: ethanol) ranging from 100:0:0, 75:25:0, 75:0:25 and 75:12.5:12.5, respectively). Several characterizations were performed which include, membrane contact angle and membrane porosity. Performance PLA membranes were determined in terms of water flux and permeability at 1 bar transmembrane pressure using dead-end permeation cell. Finally, methylene blue (MB) removal efficiency was tested at the same transmembrane pressure. The findings revealed that the increase of alcohol concentration in coagulant bath resulted in higher porosity and lower contact angle. In short, MB dye rejection efficiency is also closely related to the amount of alcohol ratio used in coagulant baths. Increases in concentration of methanol and ethanol in coagulant bath medium increases the membrane porosity thus increased in efficiency of methylene blue rejection.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.137-143
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• 2010

A series of partially fluorinated, sulfonated poly(biphenylene-co-sulfone)ether containing perfluorocyclobutane(PFCB) groups were prepared for fuel cell applications through three synthetic steps: synthesis of trifluorovinylether-terminated monomers, thermal cycloaddition and post-sulfonation. Two kinds of trifluorovinylether-terminated monomers were synthesized and statistically copolymerized via thermal cycloaddition to obtain a series of polymers containing 20-60 mol% of biphenyl units(PBS-X). The post-sulfonation of PBS-X was carried out using chlorosulfonic acid(CSA) to obtain copolymers with various sulfonation levels(SPBS-X). All the synthesized compounds, monomers and polymers were characterized by $^1H$-NMR, $^{19}F$-NMR and FT-IR. It was confirmed that the ion exchange capacity(IEC), water uptake and ion conductivity of SPBS-X increased with the increment of sulfonated biphenyl units. Particularly, SPBS-60 showed higher ion conductivity compared to Nafion$^{(R)}$-115 at 25~80 $^{\circ}C$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.877-887
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• 1996

The ideal membranes for membrane-covered oxygen probes system should be selectively permeable for oxygen and chemically inert, and have good mechanical strength. Polysulfone(PSf) was selected to develop the membrane for membrane-covered oxygen electrodes system. PSf membranes have properties such as good reproducibility, good mechanical strength, chemical inertness, and high heat resistance. PSf membranes were cast from polymer solution on the glass plate at constant temperature, and casting solvents used were tetrahydrofuran(THF), methylene chloride, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone(NMP). Tricresyl phosphate(TCP) as plasicizer was added to PSf to increase the softness of membrane. The permeation characteristics were observed for pure oxygen and nitrogen through pure PSf membranes by variable volume method and membrane-covered electrode system. The permeability coefficients of oxygen and nitrogen measured by variable volume method were slightly decreased with increasing of upstream pressure. The permeation properties of PSf membrane using methylene choride as casting solvent were not affected by the PSf amount of polymer solution. The permeability coefficients of oxygen and nitrogen for PSf membrane containing TCP were very slightly lower than those for pure PSf membrane, but ideal separation factors were slightly higher. The flexibility of PSf membrane containing 2wt% TCP was better than that of pure PSf membrane. It was expected that this increase in flexibility would solve the difficulty of fixing the membrane to the cathode. The membrane-covered oxygen probes system was composed of anode, cathode and electrolyte. The type of the anode was Ag/AgCl half-cell, that of cathode was Ag, and the electrolyte was 4N KCl solution. The result of sampled current voltametry for PSf membrane showed the plateu region at -0.3V~-1.0V. The correlation coefficient of oxygen partial pressure versus current for PSf membrane was relatively high, 0.99949. It was concluded that PSf membrane was the good candidate for the membrane-covered oxygen probes system.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.240-247
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• 2017

In this study, the heterogeneous ion exchange membranes prepared by the combination of the carbon electrode and mixed the cation and anion exchange polymers and polyvinylidene fluoride as the basic polymer together were made to recognize the efficiency of the salt removal for the application of the membrane capacitive deionization process. The mixing weight ratio of the solvent, basic polymer and ion exchange resin was 7 : 2 : 1 and this mixed solution was directly cast on the electrode. As for the operating conditions of the adsorption voltage and time, feed flow rate, desorption voltage and time of the feed solution NaCl 100 mg/L, the salt removal efficiencies (SRE) were measured. Apart from this NaCl, the $CaCl_2$ and $MgSO_4$ solutions were investigated in terms of SRE as well. Typically, SRE for NaCl 100 mg/L solution under the conditions of adsorption voltage/time, 1.5 V/3 min, desorption voltage/time -0.1 V/3 min, was shown 98%. And for the $CaCl_2$ and $MgSO_4$ solutions, the SREs of 70 and 59% were measured under the conditions of adsorption voltage/time, 1.2 V/3 min, desorption voltage/time -0.5 V/5 min, respectively.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.389-398
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• 2017

The most important characteristic of the polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) for fuel cells, the proton conducting ability is mainly influenced by the distribution and morphology of the water channels inside the PEMs. Non-perfluorinated hydrocarbon PEMs are known to have weaker water channels than perfluorinated PEM, Nafion, and thus relatively low proton conducting ability. In this study, we used a mesoscale simulation technique to observe the water channel formation and phase separation behavior of hydrocarbon PEM, sulfonated polyimides, under the humidification condition. It was observed that the water molecules were distributed evenly through the entire hydrophilic region, and clear water clusters were formed only in the sulfonated polyimide having high sulfonation degree. In addition, it was observed that sulfonated polyimides have a difficulty in forming water channel under the low hydrated condition. These results clearly support the theories of the formation of water channels in non-perfluorinated hydrocarbon PEMs, and also well explain the tendency of proton conducting abilities of sulfonated polyimides. Thus, it is confirmed that mesoscale simulation techniques can be very effective in analyzing phase separation behavior and water channel formation in PEMs for fuel cells and elucidating the ion conducting abilities.