• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.489-496
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• 2018

Fuel cells are seen as eco-friendly energy resources that convert chemical energy into electrical energy. However, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have problems such as the use of expensive platinum catalysts for the reduction of conductivity under high temperature humidification conditions. Thus, an anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) is attracting a great attention. Anion exchange fuel cells use non - Pt catalysts and have the advantage of better efficiency because of the lower activation energy of the oxygen reduction reaction. However, there are various problems to be solved including problems such as the electrode damage and reduction of ion conductivity by being exposed to the carbon dioxide. Therefore, this mini review proposes various solutions for different problems of anion exchange fuel cells through a wide range of research papers.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.26-31
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• 2023

For durability improvement of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) polymer membrane, accelerated durability evaluation methods that can evaluate durability in a short time have been researched and developed. However, the lifespan of fuel cells for large commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses is more than three times that of passenger cars, and the chemical accelerated stress test (AST) time is also longer, reaching 1,500 hours or more. Therefore, in this study, as a method to evaluate the chemical durability of a membrane within a short time, it was examined whether the durability could be predicted by the pristine membrane characteristics. Hydrogen crossover current density (HCCD) and short resistance (SR) were estimated as initial characteristics, and AST time was predicted through the Fenton experiment, which was possible as an out-of-cell experiment for 3 hours. As the HCCD and fluoride ion emission concentration increased, the AST time tended to be linearly shortened, but there was a deviation (R² ≒0.65). When the SR decreased, the AST time showed a linear increase, and the accuracy was high (R² =0.93), so the AST time could be predicted with the initial SR of the membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.336-344
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• 2008

This manuscript deals with the investigation of the possibility of the crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes with both poly(styrene sulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) and 3-(trihydroxysilyl)-1-propanesulfonic acid (THS-PSA) for the fuel cell application. The studies were focused on the characterization of the resulting membranes through water content, thermal gravimetric analysis, ion exchange capacity, ion conductivity and methanol permeability measurements and then compared with the existing Nafion membrane. Typically, the ion conductivity lied in the range of $10^{-3}$ to $10^{-2}\;S/cm$ while the methanol permeability showed the range of $10^{-6}$ to $10^{-8}\;cm^2/s$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.566-566
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• 2013

종래의 흑연 위주 연료전지 분리판에서 최근 고분자 전해질 막 연료전지가 높은 전력, 낮은 작동 온도로 자동차 산업에서 상당한 주목을 받고 있다. 분리판의 기술적 요구사항은 높은 전기 전도도, 높은 내식성, 가스 밀봉성, 경량성, 가공성, 저비용 등이다. 후보 물질로는 전기 전도성을 갖는 질화물계가 고려되고 있다. 기판으로는 스테인레스강이 가장 유력하며 Fe에 첨가된 Ni, Cr이 존재하므로 Cr 또는 CrN를 박막의 형태로 전자빔 증발법, 마그네트론 스퍼터링법으로 고속 증착하려는 시도가 있었다. 본 연구에서는, 스테인리스 강박(0.1 mm 이하)에 보호막으로 CrN을 선택하고 고속, 고품질증착을 위해서 새로운 방법인 스퍼터 승화법을 개발하였다. 박막의 품질을 개선할 수 있는 고밀도 유도 결합 플라즈마 영역 내에 Cr 소스를 직류 바이어스 함으로써 가열 및 스퍼터링이 일어나도록 하였다. 5 mTorr의 Ar 유도 결합 플라즈마를 2.4 MHz, 500 W로 유지하면서 직류 바이어스 전력을 30 W (900 V, 0.02 A) 인가하고, $N_2$의 유량을 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 SCCM로 변화를 주어 반응성 증착 공정의 결과로 얻어지는 CrN 박막의 특성을 분석하였다. N2의 유량이 증가할수록 $Cr_2N$이 감소하고, CrN이 증가하는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 부식성과 접촉저항을 측정하였다. 부식 전위는 N20 SCCM 보다 모두 상승하는 것을 확인하였고, $N_21$ SCCM에서 부식 전류 밀도가 2.097E-6 (at 0.6V) $A/cm^2$로 나타났다. 접촉저항 에서는 시료 당 3군데(top, center, bottom)를 측정하였다. 전기전도도 측면에서 가장 좋은 결과는 $N_21$ SCCM 일 때 $28.8m{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$의 접촉저항을 갖는 경우였다. 미국 에너지성의 기준은 부식 전류밀도 1.E-6 $A/cm^2$이하, 접촉 저항 $0.02{\Omega}m^2$이므로 매우 근접한 결과를 보이고 있다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.186-186
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• 2013

종래의 흑연 위주 연료전지 분리판 개발되어 최근 고분자 전해질 막 연료전지가 높은 전력, 낮은 배기 가스 배출, 낮은 작동 온도로 자동차 산업에서 상당한 주목을 받고 있다. 요구사항은 높은 전기 전도도, 높은 내식성, 낮은 가스 투과성, 낮은 무게, 쉬운 가공, 낮은 제조비용이다. Thin film Cr 장비로 저항가열 furnace, sputter 등이 사용된다. 연료전지 분리판의 고전도도, 내부식성 보호막의 고속 증착을 위한 새로운 증착원으로 스퍼터 - 승화형 소스의 가능성을 유도 결합 플라즈마에 금속 봉을 직류 바이어스 함으로써 시도하였다. 유도 결합 플라즈마를 이용하여 승화증착 시스템을 사용하여 OES (SQ-2000)와 QMS (CPM-300)를 사용하여 $N_2$ flow에 따른 유도 결합 플라즈마를 이용한 스퍼터-승화증착 시스템을 사용 하여도 균일한 공정을 하는 것을 확인 하였다. 5 mTorr의 Ar 유도 결합 플라즈마를 2.4 MHz, 500 W로 유지하면서 직류 바이어스 전력을 30 W (900 V, 0.02 A) 인가하고, $N_2$의 유량을 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 SCCM로 변화를 주어 특성을 분석하였다. MID (Multiple Ion Detection) mode에서 유도결합 플라즈마를 이용한 스퍼터-승화 증착 장비를 사용하여 CrN thin flim 성장시켰고, deposition rate은 44.8 nm/min으로 얻을 수 있었다. 또한 $N_2$의 유량이 증가할 수록 bias voltage가 증가하는 것을 확인 할 수 있었다. OES time acquisition을 이용한 공정 분석에서는 $N_2$ 유량을 off 하였을 때 Ar, Cr의 중성 intensity peak이 상승하였고, 시간 경과에 따라 sublimation에 의한 영향이 없는 것을 확인 할 수가 있었다. XRD data에서는 질소 유량이 증가함에 따라 $Cr_2N$이 감소하고, CrN이 증가하는 것을 확인할 수가 있었다. 결정배향성과 Morphology는 다결정 재료의 경도에 영향을 주는 인자이다. CrN 결정 구조의 경우는 (200)면이 경도가 제일 높은데 (200)면에서 성장한 것을 확인 할 수 있었다. 잔류가스 분석 결과로는 일정한 Ar의 유량을 흘렸을 때 $N_2$의 변화량이 비례적인 경향이 보이는 것을 확인 할수 있었다. 또한 $N_2$가 흐르면서도 유도 결합 플라즈마를 이용한 스퍼터-승화 증착 시스템을 사용하면 일정한 공정을 하는 것을 확인 할 수 있었다. 질소의 분압이 유량에 따라서 $3.0{\times}10^{-10}$ Torr에서 $1.65{\times}10^{-9} $Torr까지 일정한 비율로 증가한다. 즉, 이 시스템으로 양산장비 설계를 하여도 가능 하다는 것을 말해준다.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.313-321
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• 2008

Dynamics of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell is specially important when the system is frequently working on transient conditions. Even though the dynamics of proton exchange membrane fuel cell for residential power generation is less critical than that of PEMFC for transportation application, the system dynamics of PEMFC for RPG can be very important for daily start-up and stop. In particular, thermal management of the PEMFC for RPG is very important because the heat generation from electrochemical reaction is delivered to the home for hot water usages. Additionally, the thermal management is also very important for heat balance of the system and temperature control of the fuel cell. The objective of this study is to develop a dynamic system model for the study of PEMFC performance over various BOP options. Basic simulation results will be presented.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.36-41
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• 2016

The development need of new renewable energy is more and more important to resolve exhaustion of chemical fuels and environmental pollution. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell has been widely studied to the extent that it can be used commercially. But there are many problems to be solved. One of them is to enhance the stability of fuel cell stacks. This paper proposes a new fault diagnosis method using Least Square Method (LSM) which is one of parameter estimation methods. The proposed method extracts equivalent circuit parameters from on-line measurements. Parameters of the circuit are estimated according to normal and abnormal states using simulation. The variation of parameters estimated in each states enables the estimation of state in fuel cells. Thus the LSM presented can be a suitable on-line parameter estimation method in PEMFC.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2016

Fuel cells are regarded as a representative energy source expected to replace fossil fuels particularly used in internal combustion engines. One of the most important components is polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) acting as a proton conducting barrier to prevent fuel gas crossover. Since water channels act as proton pathways through PEMs, many researchers have been focused on the 'good phase-separation of hydrophilic moiety' which ensures high water retention under low humidity enough to keep the water channel for good proton conduction. Here, we summarized the strategies which have been adopted to synthesize sulfonated PEMs having high proton conductivities even under low humidified conditions, and hope this review will be helpful to design high performance hydrocarbon PEMs.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.299-305
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• 2011

This study deals with the preparation of polymeric electrolyte membranes having high durability for the application of fuel cells. The membranes under investigation were prepared the impregnation to porous polyethylene membranes with poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA), poly(styrene sulfonic acid-co-maleic acid), and (PSSA-MA)3-(trihydroxysilyl)-1-propanesulfonic acid (THS-PSA). To characterize the resulting membranes, the water contents, the contact angles, FT-IR, the proton conductivity and the the modulus were measured. The proton conductivity of 30% content of THS-PSA at $55^{\circ}C$ gave excellent $1.27{\times}10^{-1}S/cm$ and the mechanical strength was improved 7 times higher up to the THS-PSA content 15%, as a result, the durability was elevated extensively.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.44-48
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• 2014

Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)-cerium composite membranes with improved oxidative stability were prepared for proton exchange membrane fuel cell application. Oxidative stability of the composite membranes changed depending on the amount of incorporated metal. Their water uptake, IEC and proton conductivity were also affected. ICP analysis confirmed trace of cerium ion in the composite membranes and $^1H$-NMR indicated successful coordination of sulfonic acid groups with the metal ions. Increasing amount of the cerium ion resulted in decrease in proton conductivities and water uptake, but enhanced oxidative stabilities. A hydrogen peroxide exposure equipment was used for the test of oxidative stability of the composite membranes, which enabled to mimic fuel cell operating condition compared with conventional Fenton's test.