• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.75-80
• /
• 2009

The effect of polyoxometalate monolayers on the electrodeposition of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) on glassy carbon (GC) surfaces was examined by electrochemical and scanning electron microscope techniques. The presence of $SiMo_{12}O^{4-}_{40}$-layers resulted in average particle sizes of ca. 60 nm, which is larger than AuNPs deposited on bare GC surfaces. AuNPs electrodeposited on $SiMo_{12}O^{4-}_{40}$-modified GC surfaces for 20 s exhibited the best electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction. This system exhibited similar or slightly better efficiency for oxygen reduction than a bare Au electrode. Rotating disk electrode experiments were also performed and revealed that the catalytic reduction of oxygen on AuNPs deposited on $SiMo_{12}O^{4-}_{40}$-modified GC electrodes is a two-electron process.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.831-836
• /
• 2013

Platinized counter electrode is common in most of the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) researches because of its high catalytic activity and corrosion stability against iodine in the electrolyte. Platinum (Pt) film coating on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass surface by using alcoholic solution of hexachloroplatinic acid ($H_2PtCl_6$), paste containing Pt precursors or sputtering are widely used techniques. This paper presents a novel application of Pt ink containing nanoparticles for making platinized counter electrode for DSSC. The characteristics of Pt films coated on FTO glass surface by different chemical methods were compared along with the performance parameters of the DSSCs made by using the films as counter electrodes. The samples coated with Pt inks were sintered at $300^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes whereas Pt-film and Pt-paste were sintered at $400^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. The Pt ink diluted in n-hexane was found to a promising candidate for the preparation of platinized counter electrode. The ink may also be applicable for DSSC on flexible substrates after optimization its sintering temperature.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.34-39
• /
• 2017

Under a corrosive environment, electrodes that are applied in the water-treatment system need not only very high electrochemical activity for fast reactions, but also high durability for cost saving. Therefore, the fabrication condition of iridium electrodes was examined to produce a more durable iridium electrode in this study. Tantalum was selected as a binder to enhance the durability of the iridium electrode. Investigation of the weight ratio between the catalyst and the binder to improve electrochemical activity was performed. Also, to compare the effect of the different coating amounts of the catalyst, the results of CV (Cyclic Voltammetry) and EIS (Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy) were discussed. Furthermore, an ALT(Accelerated Lifetime Test) was designed and applied to the electrodes to determine the conditions for highly durable electrode fabrication.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.94-99
• /
• 2017

Dinickel-silicide $(Ni_2Si)/glass$ was employed as a counter electrode for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. $Ni_2Si$ was formed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at $700^{\circ}C$ for 15 seconds of a 50 nm-Ni/50 nm-Si/glass structure. For comparison, $Ni_2Si$ on quartz was also prepared through conventional electric furnace annealing (CEA) at $800^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. XRD, XPS, and EDS line scanning of TEM were used to confirm the formation of $Ni_2Si$. TEM and CV were employed to confirm the microstructure and catalytic activity. Photovoltaic properties were examined using a solar simulator and potentiostat. XRD, XPS, and EDS line scanning results showed that both CEA and RTA successfully led to tne formation of nano $thick-Ni_2Si$ phase. The catalytic activity of $CEA-Ni_2Si$ and $RTA-Ni_2Si$ with respect to Pt were 68 % and 56 %. Energy conversion efficiencies (ECEs) of DSSCs with $CEA-Ni_2Si$ and $RTA-Ni_2Si$catalysts were 3.66 % and 3.16 %, respectively. Our results imply that nano-thick $Ni_2Si$ may be used to replace Pt as a reduction catalytic layer for a DSSCs. Moreover, we show that nano-thick $Ni_2Si$ can be made available on a low-cost glass substrate via the RTA process.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.581-584
• /
• 2020

The effect of a chemical pretreatment on the surface carbon was investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrochemical methods. Primitive carbon has a reducing power likely due to incompletely oxidized functional groups on the surface. We aim to control this reducing power by chemical treatment and apply for the spontaneous deposition of nanoparticles (NPs). Highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was initially treated with a reducing agent, NaBH4 or an oxidizing agent, KMnO₄, for 5 min. Subsequently, the pretreated carbon was immersed in a platinum (Pt) precursor. Unexpectedly, SEM images showed that the reducing agent increased spontaneous PtNPs deposition while the oxidizing agent decreased Pt loading more as compared to that of using bare carbon. However, the amount of Pt on the carbon obviously decreased by NaBH₄ treatment for 50 min. Secondly, spontaneous reduction on pretreated glassy carbon (GC) was investigated using the catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). GC electrode treated with NaBH4 for a short and long time showed small (onset potential: -640 mV vs. MSE) and large overpotential for the HER, respectively. Although the mechanism is unclear, the electrochemistry results correspond to the optical data. As a proof-of-concept, these results demonstrate that chemical treatments can be used to design the shapes and amounts of deposited catalytic metal on carbon by controlling the surface state.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.24 no.10
• /
• pp.565-571
• /
• 2014

Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites were prepared using electrospinning. As the relative amounts of N-doped ZnO nanoparticles in the composites were controlled to levels of 3.4, 9.6, and 13.8 wt%, the morphological, structural, and chemical properties of the composites were characterized by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In particular, the carbon nanofiber composites containing 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited superior catalytic properties, making them suitable for use as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This result can be attributed to the enhanced surface roughness of the composites, which offers sites for $I_3{^-}$ ion reductions and the formation of Zn3N2 phases that facilitate electron transfer. Therefore, DSSCs fabricated with 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites showed high current density ($16.3mA/cm^2$), high fill factor (57.8%), and excellent power-conversion efficiency (6.69%); at the same time, these DSSCs displayed power-conversion efficiency almost identical to that of DSSCs fabricated with a pure Pt counter electrode (6.57%).

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.250-257
• /
• 2016

Octahedral $Co_3O_4$/carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites are fabricated using electrospinning and hydrothermal methods. Their morphological characteristics, chemical bonding states, and electrochemical properties are used to demonstrate the improved photovoltaic properties of the samples. Octahedral $Co_3O_4$ grown on CNFs is based on metallic Co nanoparticles acting as seeds in the CNFs, which seeds are directly related to the high performance of DSSCs. The octahedral $Co_3O_4$/CNFs composites exhibit high photocurrent density ($12.73mA/m^2$), superb fill factor (62.1 %), and excellent power conversion efficiency (5.61 %) compared to those characteristics of commercial $Co_3O_4$, conventional CNFs, and metallic Co-seed/CNFs. These results can be described as stemmnig from the synergistic effect of the porous and graphitized matrix formed by catalytic graphitization using the metal cobalt catalyst on CNFs, which leads to an increase in the catalytic activity for the reduction of triiodide ions. Therefore, octahedral $Co_3O_4$/CNFs composites can be used as a counter electrode for Pt-free dye-sensitized solar cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Applied Microbiology Conference
• /
• 2000.10a
• /
• pp.181-188
• /
• 2000

The electrocatalytic reduction of NAD$^{＋}$ using diaphorase was studied. methyl viologen (MV$^{2＋}$) mediator between an electrode and the enzyme. Steady-state currents could be obtained under the conditions of slow scan rate, low MV$^{2＋}$concentration, and high NAD$^{＋}$ concentration as the electrode reaction was converted to an electrochemical-catalytic (EC') reaction. The biomecular rate constant for the reaction of the reduced methyl viologen with the oxidized diaphorase was estimated as 7.5$\times$10$^3$M$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$ from the slope of the current versus [MV$^{2＋}$] plot. And the optimal concentrations of diaphorase, MV$^{2＋}$ and NAD$^{＋}$ in the mediated electrocatalytic reduction of NAD$^{＋}$ were decided by applying the cyclic voltammetry. The optimal concentrations of the species were obtained by finding the conditions which gave the highest and steady-state current at a gold-amalgam electrode. The highest and steady-state catalytic current was achieved under the conditions of 1.5 U/ml diaphorase, 0.2 mM MV$^{2＋}$, and 4.8 mM NAD$^{＋}$ at the scan rate of 2 mV s$^{-1}$ , suggesting that the rate of the electrocatalytic reation is the higest under the former conditions. The electrochemical procedure under the conditions of 1.5 U/ml diaphorase,0.2 mM MV$^{2＋}$, and 4.8 mM NAD$^{＋}$ was used favorably to drive an enzymatic reduction of pyruvate to D-lactate.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.2 no.3
• /
• pp.131-135
• /
• 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.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.412-419
• /
• 2023

Anion exchange membrane electrolysis is considered a promising next-generation hydrogen production technology that can produce low-cost, clean hydrogen. However, anion exchange membrane electrolysis technology is in its early stages of development and requires intensive research on electrodes, which are a key component of the catalyst-system interface. In this study, we optimized the pressure conditions of the hot-pressing process to manufacture cobalt oxide electrodes for the development of a high uniformity and high adhesion electrode production process for the oxygen evolution reaction. As the pressure increased, the reduction of pores within the electrode and increased densification of catalytic particles led to the formation of a uniform electrode surface. The cobalt oxide electrode optimized for pressure conditions exhibited improved catalytic activity and durability. The optimized electrode was used as the anode in an AEMWE single cell, exhibiting a current density of 1.53 A cm^-2 at a cell voltage of 1.85 V. In a durability test conducted for 100 h at a constant current density of 500 mA cm^-2, it demonstrated excellent durability with a low degradation rate of 15.9 mV kh^-1, maintaining 99% of its initial performance.