• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.157-160
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• 2007

The catalyst layer of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a mixture of polymer, carbon, and platinum. The characteristics of the catalyst layer play critical role in determining the performance of the PEM fuel cell. This research investigates the role of catalyst layer composition using a Central Composite Design (CCD) experiment with two factors which are Nafion content and carbon loading while the platinum catalyst surface area is held constant. For each catalyst layer composition， polarization curves are measured to evaluate cell performance at common operating conditions, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) are then applied to investigate the cause of the observed variations in performance. The results show that both Nafion and carbon content significantly affect MEA performance. The ohmic resistance and active catalyst area of the cell do not correlate with catalyst layer composition, and observed variations in the cell resistance and active catalyst area produced changes in performance that were not significant relative to compositions of catalyst layers.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2022

Fibrous supercapacitors (FSs), owing to their high power density, good safety characteristic, and high flexibility, have recently been in the spotlight as energy storage devices for wearable electronics. However, despite these advantages, FCs face many challenges related to their active material of carbon fiber (CF). CF has low surface area and poor wettability between electrode and electrolyte, which result in low capacitance and poor long-term stability at high current densities. To overcome these limits, fibrous supercapacitors made using surface-activated CF (FS-SACF) are here suggested; these materials have improved specific surface area and better wettability, obtained by introducing porous structure and oxygen-containing functional groups on the CF surface, respectively, through surface engineering. The FS-SACF shows an improved ion diffusion coefficient and better electrochemical performance, including high specific capacity of 223.6 mF cm^-2 at current density of 10 ㎂ cm^-2, high-rate performance of 171.2 mF cm^-2 at current density of 50.0 ㎂ cm^-2, and remarkable, ultrafast cycling stability (96.2 % after 1,000 cycles at current density of 250.0 ㎂ cm^-2). The excellent electrochemical performance is definitely due to the effects of surface functionalization on CF, leading to improved specific surface area and superior ion diffusion capability.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.132-137
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• 2016

Based on mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA), a novel technique to fabricate carbon nanowire (CNW) arrays is presented for a possible use of porous carbon electrode in electrochemical energy storage applications. PDA can give more porosity and nitrogen-doping effect to carbon electrodes, since it has high graphitic carbon yield characteristic and rich amine functionalities. Using such outstanding properties, the applicability of PDA for electrochemical energy storage devices was investigated. To achieve this, the decoration of the CNW arrays on carbon fiber surface was performed to increase the surface area for storage of electrical charge and the chemical active sites. Here, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire (NW) arrays were hydrothermally grown on the carbon fiber surface and then, PDA was coated on ZnO NWs. Finally, high temperature annealing was performed to carbonize PDA coating layers. For higher energy density, manganese oxide ($MnO_x$) nanoparticles (NPs), were deposited on the carbonized PDA NW arrays. The enlarged surface area induced by carbon nanowire arrays led to a 4.7-fold enhancement in areal capacitance compared to that of bare carbon fibers. The capacitance of nanowire-decorated electrodes reached up to $105.7mF/cm^2$, which is 59 times higher than that of pristine carbon fibers.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2023

This study is a basic research for the development of high performance flexible electrode material. To enhance its electrochemical property, CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were introduced and dispersed on surface of CNT fiber through electrochemical deposition method. The CNT fiber/CuO NPs electrode was fabricated and applied to electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensor. Surface morphology and elemental composition of the CNT fiber/CuO NPs electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). And its electrochemical characteristics were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry. The CNT fiber/CuO NPs electrode exhibited the good sensing performance for glucose detection such as high sensitivity, wide linear range, low detection limit and good selectivity due to synergetic effect of CNT fiber and CuO NPs. Based on the unique property of CNT fiber, CuO NPs were provide large surface area, enhanced electrocatalytic activity, efficient electron transport property. Therefore, it is expected to develop high performance flexible electrode materials using various nanomaterials.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.112-116
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• 2010

Fractal property of the passivated steel surface was investigated on the basis of scaling analysis with a special focus on its relationship with corrosion resistance. For this purpose, the surface of stainless steel was intentionally oxidized under a variety of passivation conditions and its scaling property was analyzed by a triangulation method. The morphology of the passivated steel surface was satisfactorily evaluated with fractal dimension. From the chronoamperometry and impedance measurement, it proved that lower fractal dimension leads to more enhanced corrosion resistance. The higher passivity of the steel surface with lower fractal dimension was discussed in terms of active area and structural imperfection.

• Carbon letters
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• v.28
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• pp.105-110
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• 2018

Owing to their scalability, flexible operation, and long cycle life, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have gained immense attention over the past few years. However, the VRFBs suffer from significant polarization, which decreases their cell efficiency. The activation polarization occurring during vanadium redox reactions greatly affects the overall performance of VRFBs. Therefore, it is imperative to develop electrodes with numerous catalytic sites and a long cycle life. In this study, we synthesized heteroatom-rich carbon-based freestanding papers (H-CFPs) by a facile dispersion and filtration process. The H-CFPs exhibited high specific surface area (${\sim}820m^2g^{-1}$) along with a number of redox-active heteroatoms (such as oxygen and nitrogen) and showed high catalytic activity for vanadium redox reactions. The H-CFP electrodes showed excellent electrochemical performance. They showed low anodic and cathodic peak potential separation (${\Delta}E_p$) values of ~120 mV (positive electrolyte) and ~124 mV (negative electrolyte) in cyclic voltammetry conducted at a scan rate of $5mV\;s^{-1}$. Hence, the H-CFP-based VRFBs showed significantly reduced polarization.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.208-211
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• 2007

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)의 촉매로는 주로 carbon을 지지체로 사용한 Pt/C 흑은 Pt alloy/C을 사용하게 된다. 이때 PEMFC의 상용화에 있어 촉매의 안정성은 상용화 실현에 있어 중요한 요인으로 인식되고 있다. 촉매의 성능 저하는 Pt의 활성 면적(Active surface area)의 감소가 원인으로 얘기되어 지고 있으며 이는 지지체로 사용한 탄소에 나노 크기로 분산되어 있던 Pt 입자가 커지면서 활성 면적이 감소되어 지기 때문이다. 이번 연구에서는 상용 Pt/C를 사용하여 Cyclic Voltammetry(CV)의 장기간 운전 및 다양한 조건 변화를 통하여 Pt입자의 크기 증가에 미치는 요인에 대한 연구를 진행하였다. 이와 더불어 Linear Sweep Voltammety(LSV), TEM, 등을 통한 분석이 진행되었다.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.480-487
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• 2015

In this study, several kinds of active carbons with high specific surface area and micro pore structure were prepared from the coconut shell charcoal using chemical activation method. The physical property of prepared active carbon was investigated by experimental variables such as activating chemical agents to char coal ratio, flow rate of inert gas and temperature. It was shown that chemical activation with KOH and NaOH was successfully able to make active carbons with high surface area of $1900{\sim}2500m^2/g$ and mean pore size of 1.85~2.32 nm. The coin cell using water-based binder in the electrolyte of LiPF6 dissolved in mixed organic solvents (EC:DMC:EMC=1:1:1 vol%) showed better capacity than that of oil-based binder. Also, it was found that the coin cell of water-based binder shows an improved cycling performance and coulombic efficiency.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.331-337
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• 2010

This study compared the macro and micro electrochemical characteristics at the local area of welding metal on dissimilar welding parts for type 304 stainless steel (SS) and type 316L SS. The materials are used for double wall gas pipe of duel fuel engine for a ship. The various potentiodynamic experiments were performed several times in 10% ${H_2C_2O_2}{\cdot}{H_2O}$ solution using macro and micro methods, respectively. The micro electrochemical experiments conducted to resolve at local area on cross-section of dissimilar welding materials by micro-droplet cell device. The micro-droplet cell techniques can be used almost electrochemical experiments to resolve corrosion characteristics of the limited electrode area of the metallic surface between wetted spot of working electrode and tip of sharpened capillary tube. The results of macro electrochemical experiments show that resistance of active dissolution reaction at welding zone was high due to low current density by formation of passivation protection film at passive region. According to the micro electrochemical experiment, the corrosion current density of welding zone and bond zone were relatively high.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.209-215
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• 2014

We report on the electrocatalytic activities at Pt nanostructure surfaces electrodeposited with different deposition charges on indium tin oxide electrodes for oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation reactions. The surface properties of Pt nanostructures depending on deposition charges were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical surface area measurement, X-ray diffraction, and CO stripping analysis, which were correlated to the electrocatalytic activities. Pt nanostructures with deposition charge of 0.03 C exhibited the highest electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation. The sharp sites of Pt nanostructure and the presence of highly active facet play a key role, whereas the electrochemical surface area does not significantly affect the electrocatalytic activity. The results obtained in this work with regard to the dependence of electrocatalytic activity on the variation of the Pt nanostructures will give insights into the development of advanced electrocatalytic systems.