• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.131-135
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• 2011

It is, in general, believed that during the activation process, the proton conductivity increases due to wetting effect and the electrochemical resistance reduction, resulting in an increase in the fuel cell performance with time. However, until now, very scant information is available on the understanding of activation processes. In this study, dominant variables that effect on the performance increase of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) during the activation process were investigated. Wetting, pore restructuring and active metal utilization were analyzed systematically. Unexpectedly, the changes for both ohmic and reaction resistance characterized by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) after initial wetting process were much smaller when considering the degree of cell performance increases. However, the EIS spectra represents that the pore opening of electrode turns into gas transportable structure more easily. The increase in the performance with activation cycles was also investigated in a view of active metals. Though the particle size was grown, the number of effective active sites might be exposed more. The impurity removal and catalytic activity enhancement measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) could be a strong evident. The results and analysis revealed that, not merely wetting of membrane but also restructuring of electrodeand catalytic activity increase are important factors for the fast and efficient activation of the polymer electrolyte fuel cells.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.78-85
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• 2019

The effect of various lithium sources such as LiCl, LiOH, and Li-metal on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of granulated $SiO_x$ powders were investigated. Various lithium sources were metallurgically added for a passive pre-lithiation of $SiO_x$ to improve its low initial coulombic efficiency. In spite of using the same amount of Li in various sources, as well as the same process conditions, different lithium silicates were obtained. Moreover, irreversible phases were formed without reduction of $SiO_x$, which might be from additional oxygen incorporation during the process. Accordingly, there were no noticeable electrochemical enhancements. Nevertheless, the $Li_4SiO_4$ phase changes the initial electrochemical reaction, and consequently the relationship between the microstructure and electrochemical properties of metallurgically pre-lithiated $SiO_x$ could provide a guideline for the optimization of the performance of lithium ion batteries.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.165-171
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• 2020

The electrochemical preparation and spectroscopic characterisation of iridium-antimony (Ir-Sb) species is important owing to their potential applications as nanostructure materials. Nanostructures, i.e. nanoflower and nanodisk, of Ir-Sb were electrodeposited on conductive substrates using a practical electrochemical method based on the simultaneous underpotential deposition (UPD) of Ir and Sb from the IrCl₃ and Sb₂O₃ at a constant potential. Electrochemical UPD mechanism of Ir-Sb was studied using cyclic voltammetry and potential-controlled electrochemical deposition techniques. Herein, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the morphological and structural properties of the electrochemically-synthesised Ir-Sb nanostructures.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.301-307
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• 2018

The current study fabricated magnetic functional reduced graphene oxide (MFRGO) by relying on ${FeCl_4}^-$ magnetic anion confined to cationic 1-methyl imidazolium. Furthermore, for improving the electrochemical performance of conductive polymer, hybrid poly ortho aminophenol (POAP)/ MFRGO films have then been fabricated by POAP electropolymerization in the presence of MFRGO nanorods as active electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitors. Surface and electrochemical analyses have been used for characterization of MFRGO and POAP/ MFRGO composite films. Different electrochemical methods including galvanostatic charge discharge experiments, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been applied to study the system performance. Prepared composite film exhibited a significantly high specific capacity, high rate capability and excellent cycling stability (capacitance retention of ~91% even after 1000 cycles). These results suggest that electrosynthesized composite films are a promising electrode material for energy storage applications in high-performance pseudocapacitors.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.346-351
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• 2020

The removal characteristics of copper (Cu) from electrochemical surface by voltage-activated reaction were reviewed to assess the applicability of electrochemical-mechanical polishing (ECMP) process in three types of electrolytes, such as HNO₃, KNO₃ and NaNO₃. Electrochemical surface conditions such as active, passive, transient and trans-passive states were monitored from its current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curves obtained by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) method. In addition, the oxidation and reduction process of the Cu surface by repetitive input of positive and negative voltages were evaluated from the I-V curve obtained using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) method. Finally, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses were used to observe the structural surface states of a Cu electrode. The electrochemical analyses proposed in this study will help to accurately control the material removal rate (MRR) from the actual ECMP process because they are a good methodology for predicting optimal electrochemical process parameters such as current density, operating voltage, and operating time before performing the ECMP process.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.338-343
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• 2017

Activated carbon has lower electrical conductivity and reliability than other carbonaceous materials because of the oxygen functional groups that form during the activation process. This problem can be overcome by doping the material with heteroatoms to reduce the number of oxygen functional groups. In the present study, N, F co-doped activated carbon (AC-NF) was successfully prepared by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method, utilizing commercial activated carbon (AC-R) as the precursor and ammonium tetrafluoroborate as the single source for the co-doping of N and F. AC-NF showed improved electrical conductivity ($3.8\;S\;cm^{-1}$) with N and F contents of 0.6 and 0.1 at%, respectively. The introduction of N and F improved the performance of the pertinent supercapacitor: AC-NF exhibited an improved rate capability at current densities of $0.5-50mA\;cm^{-2}$. The rate capability was higher compared to that of raw activated carbon because N and F codoping increased the electrical conductivity of AC-NF. The developed method for the co-doping of N and F using a single source is cost-effective and yields AC-NF with excellent electrochemical properties; thus, it has promising applications in the commercialization of energy storage devices.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.317-323
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• 2006

Electric conductive material should be homogeneously mixed with sulfur in sulfur electrode fabrication of lithium/sulfur battery, because sulfur is electric insulator. In this paper electrochemical properties of Li/S battery was studied with various compositions of sulfur electrodes. When content of sulfur changed from 40 wt.% to 80 wt.%, the 60 wt.% sulfur electrode showed the maximum capacity of 1489 mAh/g-sulfur. Electrochemical properties of Li/S battery using 60 wt.% sulfur was also investigated with various carbon contents. The discharge capacity changed as a function of carbon contents. The optimum composition was 25 wt.% carbon for 60 wt.% sulfur electrode.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.309-315
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• 2000

The changes of Np oxidation state in nitric acid and the effect of nitrous acid on the oxidation state were analyzed by spectrophotometry, solvent extraction, and electrochemical methods. An enhancement of Np extraction to 30 vol.% TBP was carried out through adjustment of Np oxidation state by using a glassy carbon fiber column electrode system. The information of electrolytic behavior of nitric acid was important because the nitrous acid affecting the Np redox reaction was generated during the electrolytic adjustment of the Np oxidation state. The Np solution used in this work consisted of Np（V) and Np（Ⅵ）without （IV）. The composition of Np（V) in the range of 0.5M -5.5 M nitric acid was 32% ~ 19%. The electrolytic oxidation of Np（V) to Np（Ⅵ）in the solution enhanced Np extraction efficiency about five times higher than the case without the electrolytic oxidation. It was confirmed that the nitrous acid of less than about 10-5 M acted as a catalyst to accelerate the chemical oxidation reaction of Np（V) to Np（Ⅵ）.

• 한국진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국진공학회 2014년도 제46회 동계 정기학술대회 초록집
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• pp.442-442
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• 2014

Although electrochemical capacitors (ECs), also known as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors, is one of the most promising energy-storage devices because of its high power density, super-high cycle life, and safe operation. We herein report a synthesis of graphene-based flexible films by kneading method. Thus, a device can be readily made by sandwiching a polymer membrane included ionic liquid electrolytes between two identical graphene-based flexible films. Devices made with these electrodes exhibit ultrahigh energy density values while maintaining the high power density and excellent cycle stability of ECs. Moreover, these ECs maintain excellent electrochemical attributes under high mechanical stress and thus hold promise for high-energy, flexible electronics.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.77-84
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• 2010

상용원자로에서 발생하는 산화물 사용후핵연료의 부피감용과 재활용을 위하여 산화물을 금속으로 환원시키는 공정에 대한 연구가 수행되어 왔다. 다양한 환원법 중에서, 한국원자력연구원은 LiCl-$Li_2O$ 용융염을 반응매질로 사용하는 전해환원공정을 현재 개발 중이다. 파이로 공정의 전단부에 해당하는 전해환원 공정은 PWR 산화물 연료 주기를 소듐냉각 고속로의 금속연료 주기에 연결시켜 준다. 이 논문은 금속전환 공정을 개발/개선하고, 용량 증대를 수행한 한국원자력연구원의 노력을 요약한다.