• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.427-441
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• 2022

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) serving as a separator that can prevent the permeation of unreacted fuels as well as an electrolyte that selectively transports protons from the anode to the cathode has been considered a key component of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The perfluorinated sulfonic acid-based PEMs, represented by Nafion®, have been commercialized in PEMFC systems due to their high proton conductivity and chemical stability. Nevertheless, these PEMs have several inherent drawbacks including high manufacturing costs by the complex synthetic processes and environmental problems caused by producing the toxic gases. Although numerous studies are underway to address these drawbacks including the development of sulfonated hydrocarbon polymer-based PEMs (SHP-PEMs), which can easily control the polymer structures, further improvement of PEM performances and durability is necessary for practical PEMFC applications. Therefore, this study focused on the various strategies for the development of SHP-PEMs with outstanding performance and durability by 1) introducing cross-linked structures, 2) incorporating organic/inorganic composites, and 3) fabricating reinforced-composite membranes using porous substrates.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.306-313
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• 2020

To investigate the reinforcing effects of functional fillers in nitrile rubber (NBR) materials, high-structure carbon black (HS45), coated calcium carbonate (C-CaCO3), silica (200MP), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used as functional filler, and carbon black (SRF) as a common filler were used for oil-resistant rubber. The curing and mechanical properties of HS45-, 200MP-, and MWCNT-filled NBR compounds were improved compared to those of the SRF-filled NBR compound. The reinforcing effect also increased with a decrease in the particle size of the fillers. The C-CaCO3-filled NBR compound exhibited no reinforcing effect with increasing filler concentration because of their large primary particle size (2 ㎛). The reinforcing behavior based on 100% modulus of the functional filler based NBR compounds was compared by using several predictive equation models. The reinforcing behavior of the C-CaCO3-filled NBR compound was in accordance with the Smallwood-Einstein equation whereas the 200MP- and MWCNT-filled NBR compounds fitted well with the modified Guth-Gold (m-Guth-Gold) equation. The SRF- and HS45-filled NBR compounds exhibited reinforcing behavior in accordance with the Guth-Gold and m-Guth-Gold equations, respectively, at a low filler content. However, the values of reinforcement parameter (100Mf/100Mu) of the SRF- and HS45-filled NBR compounds were higher than those determined by the predictive equation model at a high filler content. Because the chains of SRF composed of spherical filler particles are similarly changed to rod-like filler particles embedded in a rubber matrix and the reinforcement parameter rapidly increased with a high content of HS45, the higher-structured filler. The reinforcing effectiveness of the functional fillers was numerically evaluated on the basis of the effectiveness index (��SRF/��f) determined by the ratio of the volume fraction of the functional filler (��f) to that of the SRF filler (��SRF) at three unit of reinforcing parameter (100Mf/100Mu). On the basis of their effectiveness index, MWCNT-, 200MP-, and HS45-filled compounds showed higher reinforcing effectiveness of 420%, 70%, and 20% than that of SRF-filled compound, respectively whereas C-CaCO3-filled compound exhibited lower reinforcing effectiveness of -50% than that of SRF-filled compound.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1568-1574
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• 2012

Microbiological calcium carbonate precipitation (MCCP) has been investigated for its ability to improve the durability of cement mortar. However, very few strains have been applied to crack remediation and strengthening of cementitious materials. In this study, we report the biodeposition of Bacillus subtilis 168 and its ability to enhance the durability of cement material. B. subtilis 168 was applied to the surface of cement specimens. The results showed a new layer of deposited organic-inorganic composites on the surface of the cement paste. In addition, the water permeability of the cement paste treated with B. subtilis 168 was lower than that of non-treated specimens. Furthermore, artificial cracks in the cement paste were completely remediated by the biodeposition of B. subtilis 168. The compressive strength of cement mortar treated with B. subtilis 168 increased by about 19.5% when compared with samples completed with only B4 medium. Taken together, these findings suggest that the biodeposition of B. subtilis 168 could be used as a sealing and coating agent to improve the strength and water resistance of concrete. This is the first paper to report the application of Bacillus subtilis 168 for its ability to improve the durability of cement mortar through calcium carbonate precipitation.

• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.388-394
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• 2019

Inherited the excellent electrical and mechanical properties based on the low dimensional structure of graphene, three-dimensional graphene nanostructures have gathered great attention as electrochemical energy storage electrodes owing to their high porosity and large specific surface area. Also, having the catecholamine structure, dopamine has been regarded as a multifunctional material to possess high affinity to various organic/inorganic materials and to modify a hydrophobic surface to a hydrophilic one. In this work, through coating dopamine on the three-dimensional graphene nanostructure, we tried to increase the specific capacitance by enhancing the wettability with electrolyte and to improve the mechanical compressive property by strengthening the nano-architecture. As a result, the dopamine-coated nanostructure exhibited significant improvement on the specific capacitance (51.5% increase) and compressive stress (59.6% increase).

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2013

Commercially available polyamide thermoplastic elastomer (PA-TPE) was blended with hybrid filler which was prepared by means of the reaction between polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) containing amine group and toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-caprolactam (CL) to explore the effect of blending the hybrid filler with the TPE. The chemical structure of the filler was identified by using FTIR and $^1H$ NMR. The composites, PA-TPE/POSS-(TDI+CL), which were the blends of TDI+CL modified POSS filler and PA-TPE up to 7 wt%, showed better elastic recovery delivered from lower tension setting compared to the PA-TPE and the PA-TPE/octaphenyl POSS blend. In addition the tensile strength and the initial modulus increased with increasing the hybrid filled content. Consequently it was assumed that the POSS-(TDI+CL) filler was a suitable material for enhancing strength and modulus without loss of elastic properties for the original PA-TPE.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2019

In this study, we reported a solid-state supercapacitor consisting of titanium nitride (TiN) nanofiber and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT-PSS) conducting polymer electrode and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based polymer electrolyte membrane. The TiN nanofiber was selected as electrode materials due to high electron conductivity and 2-dimensional structure which is beneficial for scaffold effect. PEDOT-PSS is suitable for organic/inorganic composites due to good redox reaction with hydrogen ions in electrolyte and good dispersion in solution. By synergetic effect of TiN nanofiber and PEDOT-PSS, the PEDOT-PSS/TiN electrode showed higher surface area than the flat Ti foil substrate. The PVA-based polymer electrolyte membrane could prevent leakage and explosion problem of conventional liquid electrolyte and possess high specific capacitance due to the fast ion diffusion of small $H^+$ ions. The specific capacitance of PEDOT-PSS/TiN supercapacitor reached 75 F/g, which was much higher than that of conventional carbon-based supercapacitors.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2022

Paper is a promising alternative to petroleum-based plastic materials for sustainable packaging applications. However, paper exhibits poor gas and water vapor barrier properties, which restrict its effective application in the packaging industry. To enhance the properties of papers, sodium caseinate (CasNa)/transglutaminase (TG) coating solutions with various TG contents were prepared and coated on the papers. The chemical and morphological structures, mechanical properties, seal strength, and water vapor barrier properties of the coated papers were thoroughly investigated. The paper properties depended significantly on the chemical and morphological structures. Pristine CasNa and CasNa/TG coating solutions were evenly coated on the paper surfaces, without any cracks. The chemical structure of the CasNa/TG coated papers was slightly influenced by TG addition, resulting in increased elongation at break and enhanced water barrier properties. To promote the use of CasNa-coated papers in packaging applications, additional investigations must be performed to prevent gas and moisture permeation and enhance the mechanical strength of these papers via chemical reactions and introduction of organic/inorganic composites.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.325-343
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• 2023

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have been attracting attention as energy conversion devices that can directly supply methanol liquid fuel without a fuel reforming process. The commercial polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) currently applied to DMFC are perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer-based PEMs, which exhibit high proton conductivity and physicochemical stability during the operation. However, problems such as high methanol permeability and environmental pollutants generated during decomposition require the development of PEMs for DMFCs using novel ionomers. Recently, studies have been reported to develop PEMs using hydrocarbon-based ionomers that exhibit low fuel permeability and high physicochemical stability. This review introduces the following studies on hydrocarbon-based PEMs for DMFC applications: 1) synthesis of grafting copolymers that exhibit distinct hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase-separated structure to improve both proton conductivity and methanol selectivity, 2) introduction of cross-linked structure during PEM fabrication to reduce the methanol permeability and improve dimensional stability, and 3) incorporation of organic/inorganic composites or reinforcing substrates to develop reinforced composite membranes showing improved PEM performances and durability.