• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.138-145
• /
• 2007

Anabaena sensory rhodopsin is a seven transmembrane protein that uses all-trans/13-cis retinal as a chromophore. About 22 residues in the retinal-binding pocket of microbial rhodopsins are conserved and important to control the quality of absorbing light and the function of ion transport or sensory transduction. The absorption maximum is 550 nm in the presence of all-trans retinal at dark. Here, we mutated Pro206 to Glu or Asp, of which the residue is conserved as Asp among all other microbial rhodopsins, and the absorption maximum and pKa of the proton acceptor group were measured by absorption spectroscopy at various pHs. Anabaena rhodopsin was expressed best in Escherichia coli in the absence of extra leader sequence when exogenous all-trans retinal was added. The wild-type Anabaena rhodopsin showed small absorption maximum changes between pH4 and 11. In addition, Pro206Asp showed 46 nm blue-shift at pH7.0. Pro206Glu or Asp may change the contribution to the electron distribution of the retinal that is involved in the major role of color tuning for this pigment. The critical residue Ser86 (Asp 96 position in bacteriorhodopsin: proton donor) for the pumping activity was replaced with Asp, but it did not change the proton pumping activity of Anabaena rhodopsin.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2008

A Pt-layer was deposited on the anode side of a Nafion membrane via a sputtering method in order to reduce methanol crossover in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The methanol permeation and the proton conductivity through the modified membranes were investigated. The performances of the direct methanol fuel cell were also tested using single cells with a Nafion membrane and the modified membranes. The Pt-layers on the membrane blocked both methanol crossover and proton transport through the membranes. Methanol permeability and proton conductivity decreased with an increase of the platinum layer thickness. At methanol concentration of 2 M, the DMFC employing the modified membrane with a platinum layer of 66 nm-thickness showed similar performance to that of a DMFC with a bare Nafion membrane in spite of the lower proton conductivity of the former. The maximum power density of the cell using the modified membrane with a platinum layer of 66 nm-thickness increased slightly while that of the cell with the bare membrane decreased abruptly when a methanol solution of 6M was supplied.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
• /
• 2010.04a
• /
• pp.38.3-39
• /
• 2010

While major solar proton events (SPEs) come from the coronal mass eject (CME)-driven shocks in solar wind, there are many evidences that potentiality of CMEs to generate SPEs depends on its early evolution near the Sun and on different solar activities observed around the CME liftoff time. To decipher origin of SPE release, we have investigated onset time comparison of the SPE with CME, metric type II radio burst, and hard X-ray flare. For this, we select 30 SPEs observed from 1997 to 2006 by using the particle instrument ERNE onboard SOHO, which allows proton flux anisotropy measurement in the energy range ~10 - 50MeV. Onset time of the SPEs is inferred by considering the energy-dependent proton transport time. As results, we found that (1) SPE onset time is comparable to that of type II but later than type III onset time and HXR start time, (2) SPE onset time is mostly later than the peak time of HXR flare, (3) almost half of the SPE onsets occurred after the HXR emission, and (4) there are two groups of CME height at the onset time of SPE; one is the height below 5 Rs (low corona) and the other is above 5Rs (high corona). In this talk, we will present the onset time comparison and discuss about the origin of the SPE onset.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2006.10a
• /
• pp.127-128
• /
• 2006

Nafion/basic polymer composite membranes were prepared to reduce the methanol crossover for the application of direct methanol fuel cell. The thermal and mechanical properties increased with increasing basic polymer contents due to the formation of complex via acid/basic interaction. The water uptake, proton conductivity, methanol permeability decreased with increasing basic polymer concentration by reduction of acidity associated with the formation of acid/base complex. The molecular effect on those properties was not considerable.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.76-79
• /
• 2003

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
• /
• 2000.10a
• /
• pp.266.1-266.1
• /
• 2000

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2011.05a
• /
• pp.98.1-98.1
• /
• 2011

We present here an isothermal, one-dimensional, steady-state model for a solid alkaline fuel cell (SAFC) with an anion exchange membrane. The conducting ions now move from the cathode to the anode in SAFC. The water is produced at the anode and is also a stoichiometric reactant at the cathode as well as hydrogen and oxygen. In the present model, a net-water-per-proton flux ratio can be predicted and the water transport in the SAFC is explained for various operating conditions.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2011.05a
• /
• pp.96.2-96.2
• /
• 2011

Water transport through the microporous membrane was modeled considering capillary condensation as well as capillary flow in porous media as a function of pore diameter and relative humidity at the surface. The present model was adopted by the numerical simulation of non-isothermal, non-homogenous flow in a shell and tube typed gas to gas membrane humidifier for PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) and the result shows good agreement with experimental data.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.28 no.9
• /
• pp.367-372
• /
• 2016

Gas diffusion layer (GDL) of PEMFCs plays a role that it diffuses the reactant gases to the catalyst layer on the membrane and discharge water from the catalyst layer to the channel. Physical parameters related to the mass transport of GDL are mostly from the uncompressed GDLs while actual GDLs in the assembled stacks are compressed. In this study, the relation of compression and strain of GDLs with various Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) loading is measured experimentally and In-plane gas permeability is measured at the condition that the GDLs are in compressive strain. The gas permeability decreased with the loading of PTFE and the presentation of gas permeability under compressive stain is expected to improve the accuracy of modeling work of mass transport in the GDL.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.620-626
• /
• 2018

Recently, fuel cell field is receiving much attention as an environmentally friendly energy in the world. Among the various types of fuel cells, in the case of PEMFC, ions move through the membrane in the middle of the unit cell. Therefore, proper moisture is required inside the PEMFC. In the case of membrane type humidifier, flat membrane or hollow fiber membrane is mainly used. Since various parameters can change the performance, the performance investigation has to be carried out with parameters. In this study, water transport of hollow fiber membrane was investigated in terms of principle operating conditions such as temperature and flow rate.