• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2014

Mixed ionic and electronic conducting $K_2NiF_4$-type oxide, $Nd_{2-x}Sr_xNiO_{4+\delta}$ (x = 0, 0.4, 0.6) powders were synthesized by a solid-state reaction technique and solid oxide fuel cells consisting of a $Nd_{2-x}Sr_xNiO_{4+\delta}-GDC$ cathode, a Ni-YSZ anode and 8YSZ as an electrolyte were fabricated. The effect of strontium substitution for neodymium on the electrical and electrochemical properties was examined. The electrical conductivity increased with an increase in the Sr doping content, while it appears that the excess oxygen (${\delta}$) decreased. Sr doping into $Nd_2NiO_{4+\delta}$ resulted in an increase in the cathode polarization resistance and an decrease in the power density of the cell. These phenomena may be associated with the decreased amount of excess oxygen noted in the $Nd_{2-x}Sr_xNiO_{4+\delta}$ cathode.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.26-38
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• 2010

Degradation in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell performance can be ascribed to the following fundamental processes from the materials chemical point of view; that is, diffusion in solids and reaction with gaseous impurities. For SOFC materials, diffusion in solids is usually slow in operation temperatures $800\sim1000^{\circ}C$. Even at $800^{\circ}C$, however, a few processes are rapid enough to lead to some degradations; namely, Sr diffusion in doped ceria, cation diffusion in cathode materials, diffusion related with metal corrosion, and sintering of nickel anodes. For gaseous impurities, chromium containing vapors are important to know how the chemical stability of cathode materials is related with degradation of performance. For LSM as the most stable cathode among the perovskite-type cathodes, electrochemical reduction reaction of $CrO_3$(g) at the electrochemically active sites is crucial, whereas the rest of the cathodes have the $SrCrO_4$ formation at the point where cathodes meet with the gases, leading to rather complicated processes to the degradations, depending on the amount and distribution of reacted Cr component. These features can be easily generalized to other impurities in air or to the reaction of nickel anodes with gaseous impurities in anode atmosphere.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.781-785
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• 2011

In this work, a nano-sized samaria-doped ceria(SDC) was prepared by a urea-based hydrothermal method and characterized by XRD, FESEM and TEM. It was observed that the increase in synthesis time and temperature gave rise to crystallity and particles size. Moreover, the synthesised powders had a excellent ion-conductivity(0.1 S/cm at 600~$800^{\circ}C$) which is suitable for electrolyte of intermediate temperature-solid oxide fuel cell(IT-SOFC). Subsequently for use as electrolyte for anode-supported IT-SOFC, we tried to deposit the SDC powder on a porous NiO-SDC substrate by electrophoretic deposition(EPD) method. From the FESEM observation, a compact

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11b
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• pp.3049-3052
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• 2008

MCFC(molten carbonate fuel cell) power generation system is prime candidate for the utilization of fossil based fuels to generate ultra clean power with a high efficiency. In the MCFC power plant system, a combustor performs a role to supply high temperature mixture gases for cathode and heat for reformer by using the stack off-gas of the anode which includes a high concentration of $H_2O$ and $CO_2$. Since a combustor needs to be operated in a very lean condition and to avoid excessive local heating, catalytic combustor is usually used. The catalytic combustion is accomplished by the catalytic chemical reaction between fuel and oxidizer at catalyst surface, different from conventional combustion. In this study, a mathematical model for the prediction of internal flow and catalytic combustion characteristics in the catalytic combustor adopted in the MCFC power plant system is suggested by using the numerical methods. The numerical simulation models are then implemented into the commercial CFD code. After verifying result by comparing with the experimental data and calibrated kinetic parameters of catalytic combustion reaction, a numerical simulation is performed to investigate the variation of flow and combustion characteristics by changing such various parameters as inlet configuration and inlet temperature. The result show that the catalytic combustion can be effectively improved for most of the case by using the perforated plate and subsequent stable catalytic combustion is expected.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.315-323
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• 2021

The air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) stacks, which is widely used in small-sized PEMFC, have a problem in that durability is weaker than that of the water-cooled type. Because the cathode is open to the atmosphere and the structural problem of the air-cooled stack, which is difficult to maintain airtightness, is highly likely to form a hydrogen/air boundary during start-up/shut-down (SU/SD). Through the accelerated durability evaluation of the 20 W air-cooled PEMFC stack, the purpose of this study was to find out the cause of the degradation of the stack and to contribute to the improvement of the durability of the air-cooled PEMFC stack. In this study, it was possible to evaluate durability in a relatively short time by reducing 20-30% of initial performance by repeating SU/SD 1,000 to 1,200 times on an air-cooled PEMFC stack. After disassembling the stack, each cell was divided into two and the performance analysis showed that the electrode degradation was more severe in the anode outlet membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which facilitates air inflow as a whole, than in the inlet MEA. It was shown that the cathode Pt was dissolved/precipitated to deteriorate the polymer ionomer inside the membrane.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2015

The production of nuclear fuel cladding tube is expected to increase with the nuclear power plant expansion. Zirconium(Zr) scrap that is generated during manufacturing is also expected to increase. Zr electrorefining experiment was carried out in the fluoride salt of LiF-KF-ZrF₄ using multiple electrode for scale up and improving throughput Zr electrorefiner develop-ment. The Zr reduction peak observed at-0.8 V(vs.Ni). Polarization behavior showed that the amount of applied current increases because of decreasing cell resistance as the number of cathode increases. Experimental results showed the highest recovery rate about 98% at lowest current density of 25.64 mA/cm² using 6 electrodes. XRD and TG analysis result show that pure Zr was recovered 99.92% and ICP analysis shows that lower impurity content than conventional impurity content of the Anode(97.8%). Electrorefining consumes energy about 7.15 kWh/kg less than 39.7% compared to the Kroll process using 6 electrode width of 20 mm and height of 65 mm. Because of increasing cell efficiency and recovery rate, using multiple cathode is determined as an efficient technique for scale up electrorefining Zr scrap.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.45.1-45.1
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• 2011

Cobalt-free $La_xSr_{4-x}Fe_6O_{13}$ ($0{\leq}x{\leq}2$) oxide have been synthesized and investigated as a potential cathode material for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). $Sr_4Fe_6O_{13}$ consists of alternating perovskite layers ($Sr_4Fe_2O_8$) containing iron cations in octahedral oxygen coordination and $Fe_4O_5$ layers where iron cations have 5-fold coordination of two types-square pyramids and trigonal bipyramids. Our preliminary electrochemical testes of pristine $Sr_4Fe_6O_{13}$ show a rather high area specific resistance ($0.47{\Omega}cm^2$ at $700^{\circ}C$) for ~20 ${\mu}m$ thick layers with CGO electrolyte. The electrochemical performances are improved by La addition up to x=1 ($La_1Sr_3Fe_6O_{13}$, $0.06{\Omega}cm^2$ at $700^{\circ}C$). In addition, thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) values of $La_1Sr_3Fe_6O_{13}$ specimen demonstrated $15.1{\times}10^{-6}\;^{\circ}C^{-1}$ in the range of 25-900$^{\circ}C$, which provides good thermal expansion compatibility with the CGO electrolyte. An electrolyte supported (300-${\mu}m$-thick) single-cell configuration of $La_1Sr_3Fe_6O_{13}$/CGO/Ni-CGO delivered a maximum power density of 584 $mWcm^{-2}$ at $700^{\circ}C$. In addition, an anode supported single cell by YSZ electrolyte (10-${\mu}m$-thick) with a porous CGO interlayer between the cathode and the electrolyte to avoid undesired interfacial reactions exhibited 1,517 $mWcm^{-2}$ at $800^{\circ}C$. The unique composition of $La_1Sr_3Fe_6O_{13}$ with low thermal expansion coefficient and higher electrochemical properties could be a good cathode candidate for intermediate temperature SOFCs with CGO and YSZ electrolyte.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.115-120
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• 2000

All solid-state thin film micro-batteries consisting of lithium metal anode, an amorphous LiPON electrolyte and cathode of vanadium oxide have been fabricated and characterized, which were fabricated with cell structure of $Li/LiPON/V_2O_5Pt$. The effect of various oxygen partial pressure on the electrochemical properties of vanadium oxide thin films formed by d.c. reactive sputtering deposition were investigated. The vanadium oxide thin film with deposition condition of $20\%\;O_2/Ar$ ratio showed good cycling behavior. In in-siか process, the LiPON electrolyte was deposited on the $V_2O_5$ films without breaking vacuum by r.f. magnetron sputtering at room temperature. After deposition of the amorphous LiPON, the Li metal films were grown by a thermal evaporator in a dry room. The charge-discharge cycle measurements as a function of current density and voltage variation revealed that the $Li/LiPON/V_2O_5$ thin film had excellent rechargeable properly when current density was $7{\mu}A/cm^2$. and cut-off voltage was between 3.6 and 2.7V In practical experiment, a stopwatch ran on this $Li/LiPON/V_2O_5$ thin film micro-battery. This result means that thin film micro-battery fabricated by in-siか process is a promising for power source for electronic devices.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2016

The hydrogen has been recognized as a clean, nonpolluting and unlimited energy source that can solve fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution problems at the same time. Water electrolysis has been the most attractive technology in a way to produce hydrogen because it does not emit any pollutants compared to other method such as natural gas steam reforming and coal gasification etc. In order to improve efficiency and durability of the water electrolysis, comprehensive studies for highly active and stable electrocatalysts have been performed. The platinum group metal (PGM; Pt, Ru, Pd, Rh, etc.) electrocatalysts indicated a higher activity and stability compared with other transition metals in harsh condition such as acid solution. It is necessary to develop inexpensive non-noble metal catalysts such as transition metal oxides because the PGM catalysts is expensive materials with insufficient it's reserves. The optimization of operating parameter and the components is also important factor to develop an efficient water electrolysis cell. In this study, we optimized the operating parameter and components such as the type of AEM and density of gas diffusion layer (GDL) and the temperature/concentration of the electrolyte solution for the anion exchange membrane water electrolysis cell (AEMWEC) with the transition metal oxide alloy anode and cathode electrocatalysts. The maximum current density was $345.8mA/cm^2$ with parameter and component optimization.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.382-386
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• 2011

Microbial fuel cells (MFC), devices that use bacteria as a catalyst to generate electricity, can utilize a variety of organic wastes as electron donors. The current generated may differ depending on the organic matter concentrations used, when other conditions, such as oxidant supply, proton transfer, internal resistance and so on, are not limiting factors. In these studies, a single-cathode type MFC (SCMFC) and dual-cathode type MFC (DCMFC) were used to ascertain the current's improvement through an increase in the contact area between the anode and the cathode compartments, because the cathode reaction is one of the most serious limiting factors in an MFC. Also an MFC was conducted to explore whether an improvement in electricity generation resulted from oxidizing the carbon sources and nitrates. About 250 mg $L^{-1}$ sodium acetate was fed to an anode compartment with a flow rate of 0.326 mL $min^{-1}$ by continuous mode. The current generated from the DCMFC was higher than the value produced from MFC with a single cathode. COD removal of dual-cathode MFC was also higher than that of single-cathode MFC. The nitrate didn't affect current generation at 2 mM, but when 4 and 8 mM nitrate was supplied, the current in the single-cathode and dual-cathode MFC was decreased by 98% from $5.97{\pm}0.13$ to $0.23{\pm}0.03$ mA and $8.40{\pm}0.23$ to $0.20{\pm}0.01$ mA, respectively. These results demonstrate that increasing of contact area of the anode and cathode can raise current generation by an improvement in the cathode reaction.