• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.195-201
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• 2018

To enhance the performance of cathodes at low temperatures, a Cu-coated cathode is prepared, and its electrochemical performance is examined by testing its use in a single cell. At $620^{\circ}C$ and a current density of $150mAcm^{-2}$, a single cell containing the Cu-coated cathode has a significantly higher voltage (0.87 V) during the initial operation than does that with an uncoated cathode (0.79 V). According to EIS analysis, the high voltage of the cell with the Cu-coated cathode is due to the dramatic decrease in the high-frequency resistance related to electrochemical reactions. From XPS analysis, it is confirmed that the Cu is initially in the form of $Cu_2O$ and is converted into CuO after 150 h of operation, without any change in the state of the Ni or Li. Therefore, the high initial cell voltage is confirmed to be due to $Cu_2O$. Because $Cu_2O$ is catalytically active toward $O_2$ adsorption and dissociation, $Cu_2O$ on a NiO cathode enhances cell performance and reduces cathode polarization. However, the cell with the Cu-coated cathode does not maintain its high voltage because $Cu_2O$ is oxidized to CuO, which demonstrates similar catalytic activity toward $O_2$ as NiO.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2003

An electrochemical reduction technology which can reduce the decay heat, volume, and radioactivity of spent fuel by a factor of quarter through converting oxide type spent fuel to a metallic form in a molten salt was developed and tests in a scale of g (3- 40g $U_{3}O_{8}$ batch) have been carried out by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. In this research, the reaction apparatus in a scale of 5kg $U_{3}O_{8}$ batch was designed and manufactured for the mock-up test to obtain design data of the apparatus which will be used for the hot test in a scale of 20kg $U_{3}O_{8}$ batch. The electrochemical reduction behavior of $U_{3}O_{8}$ was analyzed regarding the operational factors and fresh $U_{3}O_{8}$ powder was metallized with a more than 99% yield verifying the process validity of electrochemical reduction process in a kg scale.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 2018

Ti and its alloys show the excellent corrosion resistance to chloride environments, but they show less corrosion resistance in HCl, $H_2SO_4$, NaOH, $H_3PO_4$, and especially HF environments at high temperature and concentration. In this study, we used the commercially pure titanium and Ti-6Al-4V alloy, and evaluated the effect of the manufacturing process on the electrochemical properties. We used commercial products of rolled and forged materials, and made additive manufactured materials by DMT (Directed Metal Tooling) method. We annealed each specimen at $760^{\circ}C$ for one hour and then air cooled. We performed anodic polarization test, AC impedance measurement, and Mott-Schottky plot to evaluate the electrochemical properties. Despite of the difference of its microstructure of CP-Ti and Ti-6Al-4V alloys by the manufacturing process, the anodic polarization behavior was similar in 20% sulfuric acid. However, the addition of 0.1% hydrofluoric acid degraded the electrochemical properties. Among three kinds of the manufacturing process, the electrochemical properties of additive manufactured CP-Ti, and Ti-6Al-4V alloys were the lowest. It is noted that the test materials showed a Warburg impedance in HF acid environments.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.186-192
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• 2017

The carbon paste electrode (CPE) was modified with the pristine bentonite and hybrid material (HDTMA-modified bentonite). The modified-CPEs are then employed as working electrode in an electrochemical detection of As(V) from aqueous solutions using the cyclic voltammetric measurements. Cyclic voltammograms revealed that As(V) showed reversible behavior onto the working electrode. The hybrid material-modified carbon paste electrode showed significantly enhanced electrochemical signal which was then utilized in the low level detection of As(V). Moreover, the studies were conducted at neutral pH conditions. The electrochemical studies were conducted with scan rates (20 to 200 mV/s) to deduce the mechanism of redox processes involved at the electrode surface. The anodic current was linearly increased, increasing the concentration of As(V) from 5.0 to $35.0{\mu}g/g$ using the hybrid material-modified electrode. This provided fairly a good calibration line for As(V) detection. The presence of varied concentrations of As(III) in the determination of total arsenic was studied. The influence of several cations and anions viz., Cu(II), Mn(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Fe(III), $Cl^-$, $NO_3{^-}$, $PO_4{^{3-}}$, EDTA and glycine in the detection of As(V) from aqueous solution was also studied. Further, in an attempt to simulate the real matrix analysis, the tap water sample was spiked with As(V) and subjected for As(V) detection using the modified-CPE.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.513-520
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• 2012

The electrochemical reaction of refuse derived fuel (RDF) and refuse plastic/paper fuel (RPF) was investigated in the direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) system. The open circuit voltage (OCV) of RPF was higher than RDF and other coals because of its thermal reactive characteristic under carbon dioxide. The thermal reactivity of fuels was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis method. and the reaction rate of RPF was higher than other fuels. The behavior of all sample's potential was analogous in the beginning region of electrochemical reactions due to similar functional groups on the surface of fuels analyzed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy experiments. The potential level of RDF and RPF decreased rapidly comparing to coals in the next of the electrochemical reaction because the surface area and pore volume investigated by nitrogen gas adsorption tests were smaller than coals. This characteristic signifies the contact surface between electrolyte and fuel is restricted. The potential of fuels was maintained to the high current density region over 40 $mA/cm^2$ by total carbon component. The maximum power density of RDF and RPF reached up to 45~70% comparing to coal. The obvious improvement of maximum power density by increasing operating temperature was observed in both refuse fuels.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.204-211
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• 2021

We report, synthesis of high surface area composite carbon aerogel using additive based polymerization technique by incorporating graphitic porous carbon as additive. This additive was separately prepared using sol-gel polymerization of resorcinol-furfuraldehyde in iso-propyl alcohol medium at much above the routine gelation temperature to yield porous carbon (CA-IPA) having graphitic layered morphology. CA-IPA exhibited a unique combination of meso-pore dominated surface area (~ 700 m²/g) and good conductivity of ~ 300 S/m. The composite carbon aerogel (CCA) was synthesized by traditional aqueous medium based resorcinol-formaldehyde gelation with CA-IPA as additive. The presence of CA-IPA favored enhanced meso-porosity as well as contributed to improvement in bulk conductivity. Based on the surface area characteristics, CCA-8 composition having 8% additive was found to be optimum. It showed specific surface area of ~ 2056 m²/g, mesopore area of 827 m²/g and electrical conductivity of 180 S/m. The electrode formed with CCA-8 showed improved electrochemical behavior, with specific capacitance of 148 F/g & ESR < 1 Ω, making it a better choice as super capacitor for energy storage applications.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 2023

The accumulation of spent carbide (YG8), not only pollutes the environment but also causes waste of tungsten, cobalt and other rare metal resources. To better address this issue, we proposed a combined electrochemical separation process of low-temperature aqueous solution and high-temperature molten salt for tungsten and cobalt. H₂WO₄ was obtained from spent carbide in an aqueous solution, and we calcined it to obtain WO₃, which was used as a raw material to obtain tungsten by using molten salt electrodeposition. The influence of the current efficiency and the electrochemical behavior of the discharge precipitation of W(VI) were also studied. The calcination results showed that the morphology of WO₃ was regular and there were no other impurities. The maximum current efficiency of 82.91% was achieved in a series of electrodeposition experiments. According to XRD and SEM analysis, the recovered product was high purity tungsten, which belongs to the simple cubic crystal system. In the W(VI) reduction mechanism experiments, the electrochemical process of W(VI) in NaCl-Na₂WO₄-WO₃ molten salt was investigated using linear scanning voltammetry (LSV) and chronoamperometry in a three-electrode system. The LSV showed that W(VI) was reduced at the cathode in two steps and the electrode reaction was controlled by diffusion. The fitting results of chronoamperometry showed that the nucleation mechanism of W(VI) was an instantaneous nucleation mode, and the diffusion coefficient was 7.379×10^-10 cm²·s^-1.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.67-67
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• 2018

The 5xxx series aluminum alloys are recently used in not only marine system but also automotive area because of a low density material, good mechanical properties and better resistance to corrosion. However, Aluminum alloys are less resistant than the purest aluminum such as 1xxx aluminum alloy. Electrochemical anodization technique has attracted in the area of surface treatment because of a simple procedure, a low-cost efficiency than other techniques such as lithography and a large volume of productivity, and so on. Here, The relationship between the corrosion behavior and the thickness of aluminum anodic oxide have been studied. Prior to anodization, The 5052 aluminum sheets ($30{\times}20{\times}1mm$) were degreased by ultra-sonication in acetone and ethanol for 10 minutes and eletropolished in a mixture of perchloric acid and ethanol (1:4, volume ratio) under an applied potential of 20V for 60 seconds to obtain a regular surface. During anodization process, Aluminum alloy was used as a working electrode and a platinum was used as a counter electrode. The two electrodes were separated at a distance of 5cm. The applied voltage of anodization is conducted at 40V in a 0.3M oxalic acid solution at $0^{\circ}C$ with appropriate magnetic stirring. The surface morphology and the thickness of AAO films was observed with a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The corrosion behavior of all samples was evaluated by an open-circuit potential and potentio-dynamic polarization test in 3.5wt% NaCl solution. Thus, The corrosion resistance of 5052 aluminum alloy is improved by the formation of an anodized oxide film as function of increase anodization time which artificially develops on the metal surface. The detailed electrochemical behavior of aluminum 5052 alloy will be discussed in view of the surface structures modified by anodization conditions such as applied voltages, concentration of electrolyte, and temperature of electrolyte.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.73.2-77
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• 2000

A possibility of the implementation of a quartz crystal sensor to the detennination of chemical oxygen demand is examined by checking the electrochemical behavior of the sensor in a glucose solution. Since the surface of a quartz crystal has to be oxidized, a relatively active metal is coated on the surface of a usual 9 MHz AT-cut crystal. The electrochemical behavior is investigated by measuring the changes of current, resonant frequency and resonant resistance while a constant potential is applied. The crystal is installed in a specially designed container, and a QUartz crystal analyzer is utilized to measure the frequency and resistance simultaneously. The variations of the measurements are examined at different concentrations of glucose solution and the effect of the concentration is analyzed to find a proper relation between the concentration and the measurements. It is fOlmd that a linear relation between the concentration of less than 900 Dpm and the peak current when a constant potential of -180 m V vs. Ag/ AgCI reference is applied.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.291-299
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• 2018

Under a pyro-processing concept, an electrolytic reduction process has been developed to reduce uranium oxide in molten salt by electrochemical means as a part of spent fuel treatment process development. Accordingly, a model based on electrochemical theory is required to design a reactor for the electrolytic reduction process. In this study, a 1D model based on the phase-field theory, which explains phase separation behaviors was developed to simulate electrolytic reduction of uranium oxide. By adopting parameters for diffusion of oxygen elements in a pellet and electrochemical reaction rate at the surface of the pellet, the model described the behavior of inward reduction well and revealed that the current depends on the internal diffusion of the oxygen element. The model for the electrolytic reduction is expected to be used to determine the optimum conditions for large scale reactor design. It is also expected that the model will be applied to simulate the integration of pyro-processing.