• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.310-316
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• 2016

Oxidation-reduction cycling (ORC) procedures are widely used for cleaning nanoparticle surfaces when investigating their electrocatalytic activities. In this work, the effect of ORC on the surface structures and electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity of Au electrodes is analyzed. Different structural changes and variations in electrocatalysis are observed depending on the initial structure of the Au electrodes, such as flat bulk, nanoporous, nanoplate, or dendritic Au. In particular, dendritic Au structures lost their sharp-edge morphology during the ORC process, resulting in a significant decrease in its electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity. The results shown in this paper provide an insight into the pretreatment of nanoparticle-based electrodes during investigation of their electrocatalytic activities.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.172-177
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• 1985

The semiconducting property of Sb-doped tin oxide thin film electrode was investigated and the electrocatalytic effect of this electrode for $SO_2$ (or sulfite, bisulfite ions) oxidation reaction was studied under various conditions. The anodic oxidation of $SO_2$ at tin oxide thin film electrode commenced at lower potential with increasing pH, and good electrocatalytic effect was shown of $SO_3^=$ oxidation in basic solution. In the acidic solutions the electrocatalytic effect of platinum-or palladium-incorporated tin oxide electrode was found to be due to the sites of Pt or Pd exposed on the electrode surface. The electrocatalytic effect of tin oxide electrode was distinctive from that of Pt-or Pd-containing electrodes.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.369-372
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• 2009

In the present study, the effect of chemical treatment on graphite nanofibers (GNFs) supports with various concentrated nitric acids was investigated for methanol oxidation. To optimize the electrocatalytic activity, PtRu catalysts were deposited on GNF supports by impregnation method. The surface and structural properties of the GNF supports were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), element analyzer (EA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology of the catalysts was observed by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrocatalytic activity of PtRu/GNF catalysts was investigated by cyclic voltammetry measurement. As a result, the oxygen functional groups were introduced on the GNF supports and were gradually increased with increasing of concentrated nitric acid, causing the smaller particle size and higher loading level. And the electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts for methanol oxidation was gradually improved. Consequently, it was found that chemical treatments could influence on surface properties of the carbon supports, resulting in enhancing the electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts for DMFCs.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.24-28
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• 2012

The electrocatalytic activities and surface roughness of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrodes have been investigated after thermal treatment at 100, 150, or $200^{\circ}C$ for 30 min, 2 h, or 8 h. To check electrocatalytic activities, the electrochemical behavior of four electroactive species (p-hydroquinone, $Ru(NH_3){_6}^{3+}$, ferrocenemethanol, and $Fe(CN){_6}^{4-}$) has been measured. The electron transfer rate for p-hydroquinone oxidation and ferrocenemethanol oxidation increases with increasing the incubation temperature and the incubation period of time, but the rate for $Ru(NH_3){_6}^{3+}$ is similar irrespective of the incubation temperature and period because $Ru(NH_3){_6}^{3+}$ undergoes a fast outer-sphere reaction. Overall, the electrocatalytic activities of ITO electrodes increase with increasing the incubation temperature and period. The surface roughness of ITO electrodes increases with increasing the incubation temperature, and the thermal treatment generates many towering pillars as high as several tens of nanometer.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.617-622
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• 1995

Electrocatalytic reduction of dioxygen has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry at glassy carbon electrode modified with new Co(II)-Schiff base complexes in aqueous solutions of various pH. The reduction potentials of dioxygen at chemically adsorbed electrodes show the dependence of pH between pH 4 and 14. The catalytic effect is large and the reaction occurs via two or four electron transfer in various pH solution.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.70-73
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• 2013

Iridium oxide is well known as an electrocatalyst for the water oxidation. Recently, Dr. Bard's group observed the electrocatalytic behavior of individual nanoparticle of Iridium oxide using the electrochemical amplification method by detecting the single nanoparticle collisions at the ultramicroelectrode (UME). However, the electrocatalytic current is decayed as a function of time. In this study, we investigated that the reason of electrocatalytic current decay of water oxidation at Iridium oxide nanoparticles. We identified it is due to the bubble overpotential because the cyclic current decay and recovery were synchronized to the oxygen bubble growth and coming away from an Iridium disk electrode.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.417-422
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• 1998

The electrocatalytic reduction of molecular oxygen was investigated with a Co(II)-glyoxal bis(2-hydroxyanil) complex coated-glassy carbon (GC) electrode in aqueous media. The reduction of $O_2$ at the modified electrode was an irreversible and diffusion-controlled reaction. The complex coated-GC electrode demonstrated an excellent electrocatalytic effect for $O_2$ reduction in an acetate buffer solution of pH 3.2. The coated electrode made the $O_2$ reduction potential shift of 60-510 mV in a positive direction compared to the bare GC electrode depending on pH. The Co(II)-glyoxal bis(2-hydroxyanil) coated electrode converted about 51% of the $O_2$ to $H_2O_2$ via a two-electron reduction pathway, with the balance converted to H_2O$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.331-334
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• 2010

In the present study, carbon supports mixed with purified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and carbon blacks (CBs) were used to improve the cell performance of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Additionally, the effect of $O_2$ plasma treatment on CBs/MWNTs supports was investigated for different plasma RF powers of 100, 200, and 300 W. The surface and structural properties of the CBs/MWNTs supports were characterized by FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and inductive coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The electrocatalytic activity of PtRu/CBs/MWNTs catalysts was investigated by cyclic voltammetry measurement. In the experimental results, the oxygen functional groups of the supports were increased with increasing plasma RF power, while the average Pt particle size was decreased owing to the improvement of dispersibility of the catalysts. The electrochemical activity of the catalysts for methanol oxidation was gradually improved by the larger available active surface area, itself due to the introduction of oxygen functional groups. Consequently, it was found that $O_2$ plasma treatments could influence the surface properties of the carbon supports, resulting in enhanced electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts for DMFCs.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.1829-1833
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• 2012

Titania spheres were synthesized using binary ionic liquids to examine the electrocatalytic activity in acid solution. The morphology of $TiO_2$ particles was significantly different with the composition of ionic liquids. Among the binary ionic liquids, four set of mixtures led to the formation of $TiO_2$ sphere with various sizes. The morphology and structure of $TiO_2$ particles were characterized by XRD, $N_2$ physisoption and SEM analysis. All samples possessed an anatase phase after calcinations at $500^{\circ}C$. The structural properties of the samples were varied significantly with the morphology. In cyclic voltammograms, the morphology of $TiO_2$ spheres affected the electrocatalytic activity in water electrolysis. Among the samples, [Omim][$BF_4$]+[Hmim][$BF_4$] was the most effective ionic liquid to synthesize $TiO_2$ sphere with optimum morphology showing the highest electocatalytic performance.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.95-103
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• 2009

In order to improve the electrochemical, mechanical and electrocatalytic characteristics, engineering plastic of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) as polymer matrix was sulfonated (SPEEK) and the organic-inorganic blend composite membranes has been prepared by loading heteropoly acids (HPAs), including tungstophosphoric acid (TPA), molybdophosphoric acid (MoPA), and tungstosilicic acid (TSiA). And then these were covalently cross-linked (CL-SPEEK/HPA) as the electrolyte and MEA of polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis (PEME). As a result, the optimum reaction conditions of CL-SPEEK/HPA was established and the electrochemical characteristics such as ion conductivity ($\sigma$) were in the order of magnitude: CL-SPEEK /TPA30 (${\sigma}=0.128\;S/cm^{-1}$) < /MoPA40 (${\sigma}=0.14\;S/cm^{-1})$ < /TSiA30 (${\sigma}=0.22\;S/cm^{-1}$) at $80^{\circ}C$, and mechanical characteristics such as tensile strength: CL-SPEEK /TSiA30 $\fallingdotseq$ /MoPA40 < /TPA30. Consequently, in regards of above characterisitics and oxidation durability, the CL-SPEEK/TPA30 exhibited a better performance in PEME than the others, but CL-SPEEK/MoPA40 showed the best electrocatalytic activity of cell voltage 1.71 V among the composite membranes. The dual effect of higher proton conductivity and electrocatalytic activity with the addition of HPAs, causes a synergy effect.