• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.189-195
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• 2023

As a PEMFC (Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) cathode catalyst, Pt-Co/C has recently been widely used because of its improved durability. In a fuel cell, electrodes and electrolytes have a close influence on each other in terms of performance and durability. The effect on the electrochemical durability of the electrolyte membrane when Pt-Co/C was replaced in the Pt/C electrode catalyst was studied. The durability of Pt-Co/C MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly) was higher than that of Pt/C MEA in the electrochemical accelerated degradation process of PEMFC membrane. As a result of analyzing the FER (Fluorine Emission Rate) and hydrogen permeability, it was shown that the degradation rate of the membrane of Pt-Co/C MEA was lower than that of Pt/C MEA. In the OCV (Open Circuit Voltage) holding process, the rate of decrease of the active area of the Pt-Co/C electrode was lower than that of the Pt/C electrode, and the amount of Pt deposited on the membrane was smaller in Pt-Co/C MEA than in Pt/C MEA. Pt inside the polymer membrane deteriorates the membrane by generating radicals, so the degradation rate of the membrane of Pt/C MEA with a high Pt deposition rate was higher than Pt-Co/C MEA. When the Pt-Co/C catalyst was used, the electrode durability was improved, and the amount of Pt deposited on the membrane was also reduced, thereby improving the electrochemical durability of the membrane.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.135-148
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• 2012

Ionic liquids are steadily attracting interests throughout a recent decade and their application is expanding into various fields including electrochemistry due to their unique properties such as non-volatility, inflammability, low toxicity, good ionic conductivity, wide electrochemical potential window and so on. These features make ionic liquids become an alternative solution for electrodeposition of metals that cannot be electroplated in aqueous electrolytes. In this review, we classify investigated metals into three categories, which are light (Li, Mg), refractory (Ti, Ta) and noble (Pd, Pt, Au) metals, rather than covering the exhaustive list of metals and try to update the recent development in this area. In electrodeposition of light metals, granular fine Li particles were successfully obtained while the passivation of electrodeposited Mg layers is an obstacle to reversible deposition-dissolution process of Mg. In the case of refractory metals, the quality of Ta and Ti deposit particles was effectively improved with addition of LiF and pyrrole, respectively. In noble metal category, EMIM TFSA ionic liquid as an electrolyte for Au electrodeposition was proven to be effective and BMP TFSA ionic liquid developed a smooth Pd deposit. Pt nanoparticle production from ionic liquid droplet in aqueous solution can be cost-effective and display an excellent electrocatalytic activity.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.41-45
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• 2013

Platinum is a well known element which shows a significant electrocatalytic activity in many important applications. In glucose sensor, because of the poisoning effect of reaction intermediates and the low surface area, the electrocatalytic activity towards the glucose oxidation is low which cause the low sensitivity. So, we fabricate a nanoporous PtZn alloy electrode by deposition-dissolution method. It provides a high active surface and a large enzyme encapsulating space per unit area when it used for an enzymatic glucose sensor. Glucose oxidase was immobilized on the electrode surface by capping with PEDOT composite and PPDA. The composite and PPDA also can exclude the interference ion such as ascorbic acid and uric acid to improve the selectivity. The surface area was determined by cyclic voltametry method and the surface structure and the element were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), respectively. The sensitivity is $13.5{\mu}A/mM\;cm^2$. It is a remarkable value with such simply prepared senor has high selectivity.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.517-522
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• 2023

A chemical/mechanical durability test of polymer membrane evaluation method is used in which air and hydrogen are supplied to the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and wet/dry is repeated in the open circuit voltage (OCV) state. In this protocol, when wet/dry is repeated, voltage increase/decrease is repeated, resulting in electrode degradation. When the membrane durability is excellent, the number of voltage changes increases and the evaluation is terminated due to electrode degradation, which may cause a problem that the original purpose of membrane durability evaluation cannot be performed. In this study, the same protocol as the department of energy (DOE) was used, but oxygen was used instead of air as the cathode gas, and the wet/dry time and flow rate were also increased to increase the chemical/mechanical degradation rate of the membrane, thereby shortening the durability evaluation time of the membrane to improve these problems. The durability test of the Nafion 211 membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was completed after 2,300 cycles by increasing the acceleration by 2.6 times using oxygen instead of air. This protocol also accelerated degradation of the membrane and accelerated degradation of the electrode catalyst, which also had the advantage of simultaneously evaluating the durability of the membrane and the electrode.