• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.204-210
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• 2013

Thin pore-filled cation and anion-exchange membranes (PFCEM and PFAEMs, $t_m=25-30{\mu}m$) were prepared using a porous polymeric substrate for efficient all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). The electrochemical and charge-discharge performances of the membranes have been systematically investigated and compared with those of commercially available ion-exchange membranes. The pore-filled membranes were shown to have higher permselectivity as well as lower electrical resistances than those of the commercial membranes. In addition, the VRBs employing the pore-filled membranes exhibited the respectable charge-discharge performances, showing the energy efficiencies (EE) of 82.4% and 84.9% for the PFCEM and PFAEM, respectively (cf. EE = 87.2% for Nafion 1135). The results demonstrated that the pore-filled ion-exchange membranes could be successfully used in VRBs as an efficient separator by replacing expensive Nafion membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.441-448
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• 2017

In this study, the effects of membrane characteristics on the power generation performance in reverse electrodialysis (RED) have been investigated with pore-filled ion-exchange membranes (PFIEMs) prepared by employing a porous polyethylene substrate and the mixtures of three cross-linking agents. As a result, it was confirmed through the correlation analyses that the cross-linking degree and free volume of the PFIEMs were effectively controlled by mixing the cross-linking agents having different molecular sizes, influencing complexly the electrochemical characteristics of the membranes and the power generation performance in RED. In particular, the pore-filled cation-exchange membranes at the optimum cross-linking conditions exhibited the power generation performance superior to that of the commercial membranes and the pore-filled anion-exchange membranes also showed the excellent performance close to that of the commercial membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.293-303
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• 2024

In this study, we studied the fabrication of a cation-exchange membrane (CEM) with high permselectivity for monovalent ions that can be applied to an electrodialysis (ED) process for efficient separation of acid-metal ions from acid wastewater. The pore-filled cation-exchange membranes (PFCEMs) were fabricated by filling a porous substrate with sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate (NaSS) monomers having sulfonic acid groups and vinylphosphonic acid (VPA) monomers having phosphonic acid groups together with a crosslinker into an asymmetric structure and in-situ photopolymerization. The fabricated PFCEMs had a slightly lower ion-exchange capacity than that of a commercial membrane, but they exhibited electrical resistance and mechanical properties suitable for practical applications. The permselectivity of the PFCEMs fabricated with various NaSS:VPA molar ratios and a commercial membrane (CSE, Astom, Japan) in H⁺/Fe²⁺ mixed solutions was measured. The best permselectivity was confirmed at the condition of NaSS:VPA = 25:75, which was more than 10 higher than that of the commercial membrane. In addition, the ED results of H⁺/Fe²⁺ mixed solution using the optimally fabricated membrane showed excellent acid-metal ion separation performance compared to the commercial membrane. The CEM including both sulfonic acid groups with excellent ion conductivity and phosphonic acid groups with strong binding affinity for metal ions is expected to be effective in separating various valuable metal ions in addition to Fe²⁺ from acid waste solutions.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2016

In this study, we have prepared engineering polymer-based ionomers and pore-filled ion-exchange membranes (PFIEMs) employing a porous polyethylene substrate and combined them to fabricate the ionomer-PFIEM composite membranes for the reverse electrodialysis (RED) application. Both the electrochemical properties comparable to those of the commercial ion-exchange membranes (AMX/CMX, Astom Corp., Japan) and the physical stability adaptable to the practical uses have been achieved by integrating the ionomers having a high ion conductivity and the PFIEMs with an excellent mechanical strength. The RED performances have been evaluated by employing the prepared ionomer-PFIEM composite membranes and therefore excellent power generation performances were shown as the levels of 86.4% and 104.8% for the anion-exchange membrane and cation-exchange membrane, respectively, compared with those of the commercial membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2015

In this study, novel pore-filled anion-exchange membranes (PFAEMs) with low electrical resistance, high permselectivity, and low water-splitting flux property under a concentration polarization condition have been developed for the enhancement in the efficiency of electrochemical water treatment processes. The base membranes have been prepared by filling a copolymer containing quaternary ammonium groups with an excellent ion-exchange capability into a porous polyolefin substrate, showing a high performance superior to that of a commercial membrane. In addition, it was confirmed that the electrochemical membrane performances are preserved while the water-splitting flux is effectively controlled by coating an imidazolium polymer onto the surface of the base membrane. The prepared PFAEMs revealed remarkably low electrical resistances of about 1/6~1/8 compared to those of a commercial membrane, and simultaneously low water-splitting flux comparable with that of cation-exchange membranes under a concentration polarization condition.