• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.203-215
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• 2015

Chlor-alkali (CA) membrane process is based on salined water electrolysis employing cation condutive polymer electrolytes, which has been used for the conventional production of both sodium hydroxide and chlorine gas. The CA membrane process has advantages such as relatively low environmental impacts and fairly reduced energy consumption, when compared with diaphragm and mercury process. In this review articles, basic concepts, fundamental characteristics, key technologies of CA membrane process are dealt with in detail. In addition, advanced technologies associated with CA membrane process are described. They include zerogap and oxygen depolarized cathode technologies to improve energy efficiency during the electrolysis. Carbon dioxide mineralization technology will also be introduced as an example of hybridization with different technologies. Finally, current market trend in CA membrane process will be presented.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.413-422
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• 2015

Proton exchange membrane (PEM), which transfers proton from the anode to the cathode, is the key component of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Nafion is widely used as PEM due to its high proton conductivity as well as excellent chemical and physical stabilities. However, its high cost and the environmental hazards limit the commercial application in PEMFCs. To overcome these disadvantages, various alternative polymer electrolytes have been investigated for fuel cell applications. We used densely sulfonated polymers to maximize the ion conductivity of the corresponding membrane. To overcome high swelling, dipole-dipole interaction was used by introducing nitrile groups into the polymer backbone. As a result, physically-crosslinked membranes showed improved swelling ratio despite of high water uptake. All the membranes with different hydrophilic-hydrophobic compositions showed higher conductivity, despite their lower IEC, than that of Nafion-117.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.131-136
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• 2008

Silica- or titania-filled poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)-based polymer electrolytes were prepared by phase inversion technique using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and dimethyl acetamide as solvent and water as non-solvent. The polymer electrolytes were adopted to the lithium metal polymer battery using high-capacity cathode $Li[Ni_{0.15}Co_{0.10}Li_{0.20}Mn_{0.55}]O_2$ and lithium metal anode. After the repeated charge-discharge test for the cell, it was proved that the cell adopting the polymer electrolyte based on the phase-inversion membrane containing 40~50 wt% silica showed the highest discharge capacity (180 mAh/g) until 80th cycle and then abrupt capacity fade was just followed. The capacity fade might be due to the deposition of lithium dendrite on the polymer electrolyte, in which the capacity retention was no longer sustainable.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.3 no.6
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• pp.598-605
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• 1993

Methacryloxyethyl dimethyl alkyl($C_{1}\sim C_{12}$, benzyl and 2, 2-diethoxy ethyl) ammonium bromide monomers were prepared to investigate the relative humidity characteristics for polymer electrolytes with different chemical structures. They were coated on the alumna substrate printed comblike gold electrode by photopolymerization after micro-syringe injection. As the thickness of rhe humid membrane increased, the impendance decreased, whereas the impedance ~ncreased as the carbon cham of alkyl substituent in the monomer increased. The impendance of the polymeric electrolytes with $C_6\sim C_8$ substituents were varied from 19M$\Omega$ to 5K$\Omega$ for the range of 30-90% Mi. The temperature depedence coefficient in the range of 15-$35^{\circ}C$ was found to be -0.45% $RH/^{\circ}C$and the hysteresis falled within the range of $\pm$2% RH. The response time was 35 second for varying humldity from 33% to 85% RH.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.222-228
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• 2011

Poly(vinyl chloride)-g-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PVC-g-POEM) graft copolymer was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and used as an electrolyte for electrochromic device. Plasticized polymer electrolytes were prepared by the introduction of propylene carbonate (PC)/ethylene carbonate (EC) mixture as a plasticizer. The effect of salt was systematically investigated using lithium tetrafluoroborate ($LiBF_4$), lithium perchlorate ($LiClO_4$), lithium iodide (LiI) and lithium bistrifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI). Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements showed that the structure and glass transition temperature ($T_g$) of polymer electrolytes were changed due to the coordinative interactions between the ether oxygens of POEM and the lithium salts, as supported by FT-IR spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the microphase-separated structure of PVC-g-POEM was not greatly disrupted by the introduction of PC/EC and lithium salt. The plasticized polymer electrolyte was applied to the electrochromic device employing poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) conducting polymer.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.294-302
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• 2006

Silver polymer electrolytes are very promising membrane materials for the separation of olefin/paraffn mixtures. Olefin molecules are known to be transported through reversible complex formation with silver ions entrapped iii polymer matrix. However, they have poor long-term stability, which is very important fur the industrial application; the selectivity through the membrane decreases gradually with time mostly due to the reduction of silver ions ($Ag^+$) into silver nanoparticles ($Ag^0$). In this study, the stability of silver polymer electrolyte was investigated for poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and $AgBF_4$ system containing a surfactant, i.e. $C_{18}H_{35}(OCH_2CH_2)_{20}OH$ (Brij98) as a stabilizer. The reduction behavior of silver ions to silver nanoparticles in PVP was also investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-visible spectroscopy. It was found that the growth of silver nanoparticles was slower and selectivity of polymer electrolyte for propylene in propylene/propane was maintained longer time when Brij98 was added as a stabilizer.

• 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.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.213-221
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• 2011

Using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as a polymer host, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a plasticizer, potassium iodide and iodine as sources of $I^-/I_3^-$, polymer electrolyte membranes were prepared. Based on the polymer electrolytes, solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)s were fabricated. The content of PEG in the electrolyte was controlled to be 95%. The mole number of KI per 1 mole of EO ([KI]/[EO] ratio) in the electrolyte was changed to be 0.022, 0.044, 0.066 and 0.088. The electrolyte membrane showed wax phase in ambient temperature. The ionic conductivity increased with increasing KI content to reach the maximum value at which [KI]/[EO] ratio is 0.066. After the maximum value, the ionic conductivity decreased with increasing KI content. In the case of DSSC, the Voc decreased continuously with increasing KI content in the polymeric electrolyte membrane. The $J_{SC}$ increased with increasing KI content to show maximum value at which [KI]/[EO] ratio is 0.044. In the higher KI content region, $J_{SC}$ value decreased with increasing KI content.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.165-174
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• 2005

Sulfonated poly(styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene) (SSEBS)-clay hybrid membranes were prepared by solution method. In the preparation of hybrid membrane, the amount of clay content was fixed to 5 phr and montmorillonite (MMT) was fully exfoliated by the SEBS and it was confirmed by X-ray diffraction method. D-spacing of the characteristic peak from MMT plate in WAXD was fully diminished. Gas permeability, mechanical properties and thermal properties of the SSEBS-clay hybrid membranes were investigated. Gas permeability through the SSEBS-clay hybrid membranes decreased due to increased tortuosity made by exfoliation of clay in SEBS.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.212-220
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• 2015

The engineering plastic of sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) as a polymer matrix has been developed in this lab to replace Nafion, solid polymer electrolytes of perfluorosulfonic acid membrane which has several flaws such as high cost, and limited operational temperature above $80^{\circ}C$. The SPEEK was prepared in the sulfonation reaction of polyether ether ketone (PEEK). The organic-inorganic blended composite membranes were prepared by sol-gel casting method with loading the highly dispersed ceria and cesium-substituted tungstosilicic acid (Cs-TSiA) with cross-linking agent contents of 0.01 mL. In conclusion, CL-SPEEK/Cs-TSiA/ceria 1% membrane showed the optimum results such as 0.1882 S/cm of proton conductivity at $80^{\circ}C$, and 99.61 MPa of tensile strength which were better than Nafion 117 membrane.