• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.54-62
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• 2022

The preparation of low-cost, simple, and scalable electrodes is crucial for the commercialization of water electrolyzers for H₂ production. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of cathodes through Mo-modified Zn phosphating of Ni foam (NiF) for water electrolysis, which has been largely utilized in surface coating industry. In situ growth of electrocatalytically active layers in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was occurred after 1 min of phosphating to form ZnNiMoP_i, and subsequent thermal treatment and electrochemical activation resulted in the formation of ZnNiMoPO_xH_y. ZnNiMoPO_xH_y exhibited superior HER performance than NiF, primarily because of the increased electrochemically active surface area of ZnNiMoPO_xH_y compared to that of bare NiF. Although further investigations to improve the intrinsic electrochemical activity toward the HER and detailed mechanistic studies are required, these results suggest that phosphating is a promising coating method and will possibly advance the fabrication procedure of electrodes for water electrolyzers with better practical applications.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.497-503
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• 2022

Spinel ferrites (Ni_xFe_3-xO₄; x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0) have been prepared at 550℃ by egg white auto-combustion route using egg white at 550℃ and characterized by physicochemical (TGA, IR, XRD, and SEM) and electrochemical (CV and Tafel polarization) techniques. The presence of characteristic vibration peaks in FT-IR and reflection planes in XRD spectra confirmed the formation of spinel ferrites. The prepared oxides were transformed into oxide film on glassy carbon electrodes by coating oxide powder ink using the nafion solution and investigated their electrocatalytic performance for OER in an alkaline solution. The cyclic voltammograms of the oxide electrode did not show any redox peaks in oxygen overpotential regions. The iR-free Tafel polarization curves exhibited two Tafel slopes (b₁ = 59-90 mV decade^-1 and b₂ = 92-124 mV decade^-1) in lower and higher over potential regions, respectively. Ni-substitution in oxide matrix significantly improved the electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction. Based on the current density for OER, the 0.75 mol Ni-substituted oxide electrode was found to be the most active electrode among the prepared oxides and showed the highest value of apparent current density (~9 mA cm^-2 at 0.85 V) and lowest Tafel slope (59 mV decade^-1). The OER on oxide electrodes occurred via the formation of chemisorbed intermediate on the active sites of the oxide electrode and follow the second-order mechanism.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.138-143
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• 2011

Nanosized Pt, Pt-Ru and Pt-$CeO_2$ electrocatalysts supported on acid-treated carbon nanotube (CNT) were synthesized by microwave-assisted heating of polyol process using $H_2Cl_6Pt{\cdot}6H_2O$, $RuCl_3$, $CeCl_3$ precursors, respectively, and were characterized by XRD and TEM. And then the electrochemical activity of methanol oxidation for catalyst/CNT nanocomposite electrodes was investigated. The microwave assisted polyol process produced the nano-sized crystalline catalysts particles on CNT. The size of Pt supported on CNT was 7~12 nm but it decreased to 3~5 nm in which 10wt% sodium acetate was added as a stabilizer during the polyol process. This fine Pt catalyst particles resulted in a higher current density for Pt/CNT electrode. It was also found that 10 nm size of PtRu alloys were formed by polyol process and the onset potential decreased with Ru addition. Cyclic voltammetry analysis revealed that the $Pt_{75}Ru_{25}/CNT$ electrode had the highest electrochemical activity owing to a higher ratio of the forward to reverse anodic peak current. And the chronoamperemetry test showed that $Pt_{75}Ru_{25}$ catalyst had a good catalyst stability. The activity of Pt was also found to be improved with the addition of $CeO_2$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제34권12호
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• pp.3695-3702
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• 2013

A nickel(II) complex $[Ni(H_2biim)_2(H_2O)_2](ClO_4)_2{\cdot}H_2O$ (1) of biimidazole ligand has been synthesized and characterized (Where $H_2biim$ = 2,2'-biimidazole). The single crystal X-ray diffraction of the complex shows a dimeric structure with six coordinated psudo-octahedral geometry. The cyclic voltammograms of complex exhibited one quasireversible reduction wave ($E_{pc}=-0.61V$) and an irreversible oxidation wave ($E_{pa}=1.28V$) in DMF solution. The interaction of the complex with Calf-Thymus DNA (CT-DNA) has been investigated by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The complex is an avid DNA binder with a binding constant value of $1.03{\times}10^5M^{-1}$. The results suggest that the nickel(II) complex bind to CT-DNA via intercalative mode and can quench the fluorescence intensity of EB bind to CT-DNA with $K_{app}$ value of $3.2{\times}10^5M^{-1}$. The complex also shown efficient oxidative cleavage of supercoiled pBR322 DNA in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as oxidizing agent. The DNA cleavage by complex in presence of quenchers; viz. DMSO, KI, $NaN_3$ and EDTA reveals that hydroxyl radical or singlet oxygen mechanism is involved. The complex showed invitro antimicrobial activity against four bacteria and two fungi. The antimicrobial activity was nearer to that of standard drugs and greater than that of the free ligand.

• 전기화학회지
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• 제23권4호
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• pp.90-96
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• 2020

수소의 화학반응 에너지를 직접 전기 에너지로 변환하는 Polymer electolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)는 친환경 미래 운송수단 에너지원의 한 종류이다. PEMFCs의 내부에 산소 환원 반응이 매우 느리고 고가의 백금을 사용하기 때문에 이를 대체하려는 연구가 국내외에서 매우 활발히 연구되고 있다. 하지만 백금이외에 값싼 재료를 이용한 촉매의 경우 여전히 성능이 매우 상이하며 활성 향상에 대한 지표 등이 다양하다. 이에 본 총설은 non-precious metal catalyst (NPMC)의 활성 지표 등을 정리하고 최근 5년간의 자료를 요약하였다. 이를 통해 촉매재료의 선별, 합성시 주안점, 조촉매 등을 설명하며, 촉매 활성에 대한 연구의 필요성을 상기 시킬 수 있다. 이를 통해 귀금속 촉매가 널리 사용되는 분야에 적용할 수 있는 NPMC의 연구 및 개발에 기여할 수 있을 것으로 보인다. 또한 향후 연구개발의 최종적인 목표를 기술한다.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.283-289
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• 2016

In this study, electrochemical characterizations of PdCu/C catalysts that are synthesized by modified polyol method are investigated. Most of all, amount of ethylene glycol (EG) that is used as main component for catalyst synthesis is mainly modulated to optimize synthetic condition of the PdCu/C catalyst, For evaluations about catalytic activity and performance of direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC), half cell and full cell tests are implemented. As a result, when amount of EG is 4M, catalytic activities of the PdCu/C catalyst such as peak current of formic acid oxidation and active surface area are best, while maximum power density of DFAFC using the optimized PdCu/C catalyst is better than that using commercial Pd/C (30 wt%) by 6%. Based on that, PdCu/C catalyst synthesized by modified polyol method plays a critical role in improving (i) catalytic activity for formic acid oxidation and (ii) DFAFC performance by employing as anodic catalyst.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.308-320
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• 2022

The high internal resistance (R_int) that develops across the sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFC) limits their power production (~4/10 mW m^-2) that can be recovered from an initial oil-contaminated sediment (OCS). In the anolyte, R_int is related to poor biodegradation activity, quality and quantity of contaminant content in the sediment and anode material. While on the catholyte, R_int depends on the properties of the catholyte, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and the cathode material. In this work, the main factors limiting the power output of the SMFC have been minimized. The power output of the SMFC was increased (47 times from its initial value, ~4 mW m^-2) minimizing the SMFC R_int (28 times from its initial value, 5000 ohms), following the main modifications. Anolyte: the initial OCS was amended with several amounts of gasoline and kerosene. The best anaerobic microbial activity of indigenous populations was better adapted (without more culture media) to 3 g of kerosene. Catholyte: ORR was catalyzed in birnessite/carbon fabric (CF)-cathode at pH 2, 0.8M Na₂SO₄. At the class level, the main microbial groups (Gammaproteobacteria, Coriobacteriia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria) with electroactive members were found at C-anode and were associated with the high-power densities obtained. Gasoline is more difficult to biodegrade than kerosene. However, in both cases, SMFC biodegradation activity and power output are increased when ORR is performed on birnessite/CF in 0.8 M Na₂SO₄ at pH 2. The work discussed here can focus on bioremediation (in heavy OCS) or energy production in future work.

• 대한화학회지
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• 제60권5호
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• pp.310-316
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• 2016

Oxidation-reduction cycling (ORC) procedures are widely used for cleaning nanoparticle surfaces when investigating their electrocatalytic activities. In this work, the effect of ORC on the surface structures and electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity of Au electrodes is analyzed. Different structural changes and variations in electrocatalysis are observed depending on the initial structure of the Au electrodes, such as flat bulk, nanoporous, nanoplate, or dendritic Au. In particular, dendritic Au structures lost their sharp-edge morphology during the ORC process, resulting in a significant decrease in its electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity. The results shown in this paper provide an insight into the pretreatment of nanoparticle-based electrodes during investigation of their electrocatalytic activities.

• 한국응용과학기술학회지
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.69-73
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• 2009

Copper alloy metal fiber was incorporated into the conventional water-soluble metal working fluids to increase the antimicrobial activity. Fluid treated by copper alloy metal fiber is shown that bacteria is disappeared whereas that untreated metal fiber is increased bacteria as increasing the life time. When the electrochemical potential of Cu/Zn ion is -268mV, radicals with molecular oxygen are easily made. Especially, hydroperoxide radical shows strong toxicity to the strains, leading to the conformational change of plasma membrane. As a result antimicrobial activity of copper alloy metal fiber in metal working fluid is superior to that of copper fiber.

• 한국분말재료학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.63-71
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• 2020

It is necessary to fabricate uniformly dispersed nanoscale catalyst materials with high activity and long-term stability for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with excellent electrochemical characteristics of the oxygen reduction reaction and hydrogen oxidation reaction. Platinum is known as the best noble metal catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells because of its excellent catalytic activity. However, given that Pt is expensive, considerable efforts have been made to reduce the amount of Pt loading for both anode and cathode catalysts. Meanwhile, the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method shows excellent uniformity and precise particle size controllability over the three-dimensional structure. The research progress on noble metal ALD, such as Pt, Ru, Pd, and various metal alloys, is presented in this review. ALD technology enables the development of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with excellent reactivity and durability.