• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.450-457
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• 2018

To design the practical core-shell electrocatalysts, combination of core and shell materials is important to meet catalytic activity and durability target. In general, Pd is considered as a good core material due to its best activity caused by strain/ligand effect. Preparing Pd nanoparticles can be a starting point in fabricating core-shell type electrocatalysts, much simplified Pd preparing process is suggested by using carbon monoxide (CO) as a reducing agent and/or capping agent. The solvent composition and reaction temperature can control to nanosheet, tetrahedron, and sphere without using additional stabilizer. Among them, Pd nanosheet which has mainly (111) plane showed about 3 times higher electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to the spherical Pd nanoparticles. The enhanced ORR activity of Pd nanosheets can be attributed to the exposure of Pd (111) surface and the high electrochemical surface area. Therefore, we demonstrated that the shape of Pd nanomaterials is easily controlled via a facile reduction method using CO, and (111) plane-oriented Pd nanosheets can be a promising ORR catalysts and core material for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs).

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.531-539
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• 2019

The development of cost-effective electrocatalysts with high durability is one of the most important challenges for the commercialization of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). The durability of the electrocatalyst has been studied in terms of structural change in the active metal and the support. In particular, in fuel cell vehicles, degradation of the carbon-based support is known to have a significant effect on the electrocatalyst deterioration since the start-up/shut-down cycle is frequently repeated. The requirements for the support of the electrocatalyst include high surface area, electrical conductivity, chemical stability, and so on. In this study, we propose the evaluation methods for choosing better support materials and present the physicochemical properties that promising carbon supports should have. Three kinds of carbon materials with different crystallinity are compared. From in-depth study using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and accelerated stress test, it is clearly confirmed that the durability of carbon-supported electrocatalysts is closely related to the physicochemical properties of the carbon supports.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2016

The hydrogen has been recognized as a clean, nonpolluting and unlimited energy source that can solve fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution problems at the same time. Water electrolysis has been the most attractive technology in a way to produce hydrogen because it does not emit any pollutants compared to other method such as natural gas steam reforming and coal gasification etc. In order to improve efficiency and durability of the water electrolysis, comprehensive studies for highly active and stable electrocatalysts have been performed. The platinum group metal (PGM; Pt, Ru, Pd, Rh, etc.) electrocatalysts indicated a higher activity and stability compared with other transition metals in harsh condition such as acid solution. It is necessary to develop inexpensive non-noble metal catalysts such as transition metal oxides because the PGM catalysts is expensive materials with insufficient it's reserves. The optimization of operating parameter and the components is also important factor to develop an efficient water electrolysis cell. In this study, we optimized the operating parameter and components such as the type of AEM and density of gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the temperature/concentration of the electrolyte solution for the anion exchange membrane water electrolysis cell (AEMWEC) with the transition metal oxide alloy anode and cathode electrocatalysts. The maximum current density was $345.8mA/cm^2$ with parameter and component optimization.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.10
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• pp.377-384
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• 2023

Exploring earth-abundant, highly effective and stable electrocatalysts for electrochemical water splitting is urgent and essential to the development of hydrogen (H₂) energy technology. Iron-cobalt layered double hydroxide (FeCo-LDH) has been widely used as an electrocatalystfor OER due to its facile synthesis, tunable components, and low cost. However, LDH synthesized by the traditional hydrothermal method tends to easily agglomerate, resulting in an unstable structure that can change or dissolve in an alkaline solution. Therefore, studying the real active phase is highly significant in the design of electrochemical electrode materials. Here, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are used as template precursors to derive FeCo-LDH from different iron sources. Iron salts with different anions have a significant impact on the morphology and charge transfer properties of the resulting materials. FeCo-LDH synthesized from iron sulfate solution (FeCo-LDH-SO₄) exhibits a hybrid structure of nanosheets and nanowires, quite different from other electrocatalysts that were synthesized from iron chloride and iron nitrate solutions. The final FeCo-LDH-SO₄ had an overpotential of 247 mV with a low Tafel-slope of 60.6 mV dec^-1 at a current density of 10 mA cm^-2 and delivered a long-term stability of 40 h for the OER. This work provides an innovative and feasible strategy to construct efficient electrocatalysts.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.67-95
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• 2024

Direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) have gained much attention as promising energy conversion devices due to their ability to utilize alcohol as a fuel source. In this regard, Molybdenum-based electrocatalysts (Mo-ECs) have emerged as a substitution for expensive Pt and Ru-based co-catalyst electrode materials in DAFCs, owing to their unique electrochemical properties useful for alcohol oxidation. The catalytic activity of Mo-ECs displays an increase in alcohol oxidation current density by several folds to 1000-2000 mA mg_Pt^-1, compared to commercial Pt and PtRu catalysts of 10-100 mA mg_Pt^-1. In addition, the methanol oxidation peak and onset potential have been significantly reduced by 100-200 mV and 0.5-0.6 V, respectively. The performance of Mo-ECs in both acidic and alkaline media has shown the potential to significantly reduce the Pt loading. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the bifunctional mechanism involved in the oxidation of alcohols and factors affecting the electrocatalytic oxidation of alcohol, such as synthesis method, structural properties, and catalytic support materials. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of Mo-ECs for DAFCs anode materials are discussed. This in-depth review serves as valuable insight toward enhancing the performance and efficiency of DAFC by employing Mo-ECs.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.96-110
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• 2024

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are green energy conversion devices, for which commercial markets have been established, owing to their application in fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Development of cathode electrocatalysts, replacing commercial Pt/C, plays a crucial role in factors such as cost reduction, high performance, and durability in FCVs. PtNi octahedral catalysts are promising for oxygen reduction reactions owing to their significantly higher mass activity (10-15 times) than that of Pt/C; however, their application in membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) is challenged by their low stability. To overcome this durability issue, various approaches, such as third-metal doping, composition control, halide treatment, formation of a Pt layer, annealing treatment, and size control, have been explored and have shown promising improvements in stability in rotating disk electrode (RDE) testing. In this review, we aimed to compare the features of each strategy in terms of enhancing stability by introducing a stability improvement factor for a direct and reasonable comparison. The limitations of each strategy for enhancing stability of PtNi octahedral are also described. This review can serve as a valuable guide for the development of strategies to enhance the durability of octahedral PtNi.

• Clean Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.320-326
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• 2013

Nano-sized PtRu-Ni/VC and PtRu-Sn/VC electrocatalysts were synthesized by a one-step radiation-induced reduction (RIR) (30 kGy) process using distilled water as the solvent and Vulcan XC-72 as the supporting material. The obtained electrocatalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope energy dispersive spectroscopic (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The catalytic efficiency of electrocatalysts was examined for oxygen reduction, MeOH oxidation and CO stripping decreased in the following order, Hydrogen stripping : PtRu-Sn/VC > PtRu-Ni/VC > PtRu/VC$^{(R)}$ (E-TEK). MeOH oxidation : PtRu-Sn/VC > PtRu-Ni/VC > PtRu/ VC$^{(R)}$ (E-TEK). Unit cell performance : PtRu-Sn/VC > PtRu-Ni/VC > PtRu/VC$^{(R)}$ (E-TEK) catalysts.

• Proceedings of the Korean Magnestics Society Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.248.2-248.2
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• 2007

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.663-663
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1999.07d
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• pp.1824-1826
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• 1999

In order to develop key technologies for a kW class for polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), various membranes (Nafion(112, 115, 117), Dow, Flemion, Gore, and Hanwha), and electrocatalysts (Pt/C, PtNi/C PtNiCo/C and PtRu/C) were used in the fabrication of the MEAs by using transfer printing technique. The effects of the thickness of Nafion membranes, electrocatalysts and the operating conditions (e.g. temperature, reactant gas pressure, and composition) on the performance of the MEA were investigated in the PEFC single cell($O_2/H_2$, and Air/$H_2$ cell). The performances of the MEAs for $O_2/H_2$ and Air/$H_2$ cells has been evaluated.