• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.127-131
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• 2016

Polymer electrolyte membrane for unitized regenerative fuel cells requires high proton conductivity, high dimensional stability, low permeability, and low cost. However, DuPont's Nafion which is a commercial polymer electrolyte membrane has high permeability, high cost, and decreasing proton conductivity and dimensional stability over $80^{\circ}C$. To address these problems, sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (sPEEK) which is a low cost hydrocarbon polymer is selected as matrix polymer for the preparation of polymer electrolyte membrane. In addition, composite membrane with improved proton conductivity and dimensional stability is prepared by introducing sulfonated graphene oxide (sGO). The fundamental properties of polymer electrolyte membranes are analyzed by investigating membrane's water content, dimensional stability, proton conductivity, and morphology. The cell test is conducted to consider the possibility of application of sPEEK/sGO composite membrane for an unitized regenerative fuel cell.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.343-346
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• 1999

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Rheology Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.1-1
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• 2000

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.438-442
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• 2006

Novel sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketones) containing benzoxazole were directly synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic polycondensation using various ratios of 2,2'-bi[2-( 4-flurophenyl)benzoxazol-6-yl]hexafluoropropane to sodium 5,5'-carbonylbis(2-fluorobenzenesulfonate). The copolymers were soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and N,N-dimethylformamide at a relatively high solid composition (>15 wt%) and formed tough, flexible and transparent membranes. The membranes exhibited a degradation temperature of above $290^{\circ}C$. The exact dissolution times of these membranes at $80^{\circ}C$ in Fenton's reagent (3 wt% $H_2O_2$ containing 2 ppm $FeSO_4$) were undetectable, confirming their excellent chemical stability in fuel cell application. The membranes showed a moderate increase in water uptake with respect to increasing temperature. The proton conductivities of the membranes were dependent on the composition and ranged from $1.10{\times}10^{-2}$ to $5.50{\times}10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ at $80^{\circ}C$ and 95% relative humidity (RH). At $120^{\circ}C$ without externally humidified conditions, the conductivities increased above $10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ with respect to increasing benzoxazole content, which suggested that the benzoxazole moieties contributed to the proton conduction.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.296-301
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• 2017

Recently, there are many efforts focused on development of more economical non-fluorinated membranes for PEMFCs (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells). In this study, sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (sPEEK) membrane reinforced with poly imide was made to enhance of membrane durability. In order to test durability of single (un-reinforced) membrane and reinforced membrane MEA (Membrane and Electrode Assembly), degradation accelerated stress test was used. Before and after degradation, I-V polarization curve, hydrogen crossover current, electrochemical surface area, membrane resistance and charge transfer resistance were measured. As a result of experiments, hydrogen crossover current of reinforced MEA was lower than that of single MEA, therefor durability of reinforced MEA was higher than that of single MEA. There was not especially short phenomena in reinforced MEA after degradation accelerated stress test.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 2007

A new characterization method using a porous plug model was proposed to determine the degree of sulfonation (DS) of ionomer binder with respect to the membrane used in membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) and to analyze the fraction of proton pathways through ionomer-catalyst combined electrodes in MEAs for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) was prepared to use a polymeric electrolyte and laboratory-made SPEEK solution (5wt.%, DMAc based) was added to catalyst slurry to form catalyst layers. In case of the SPEEK-based MEAs in this study, DS of ionomer binder for catalyst layers should be the same or higher than that of the SPEEK membrane used in the MEAs. The porous plug model suggested that most of protons were via the ionomer binder (${\sim}92.5%$) bridging the catalyst surface to the polymeric electrolyte, compared with the pathways through the alternative between the interstitial water on the surface of ionomer binder or catalyst and the ionomer binder (${\sim}7.3%$) and through only the interstitial water on the surface of ionomer or catalyst (${\sim}0.2%$) in the electrode of the MEA comprising of the sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membrane and the 5wt.% SPEEK ionomer binder. As a result, it was believed that the majority of proton at both electrodeds moves through ionomer binder until reaching to electrolyte membrane. The porous plug model of the electrodes of MEAs reemphasized the importance of well-optimized structure of ionomer binder and catalyst for fuel cells.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.413-421
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• 2004

Sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (SPPESK) membranes and sol-gel derived SPPESK/silica hybrid membranes have been investigated as potential polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications. In comparison with the SPPESK membrane, the SPPESK/silica membranes exhibited higher water content, improved proton conductivity, and lower methanol permeability. Notably, the silica embedded in the membrane acted as a material for reducing the fraction of free water and as a barrier for methanol transport through the membrane. From the results of proton conductivity and methanol permeability studies, we suggest that the fractions of bound and free water should be optimized to obtain desirable proton conductivities and methanol permeabilities. The highly sulfonated PPESK hybrid membrane (HSP-Si) displayed higher proton conductivity (3.42 ${\times}$ 10$^2$ S/cm) and lower methanol permeability (4.15 ${\times}$ 10$\^$7/ $\textrm{cm}^2$/s) than those of Nafion 117 (2.54 ${\times}$ 10$^2$ S/cm; 2.36 ${\times}$ 10$\^$6/ $\textrm{cm}^2$/s, respectively) at 30$^{\circ}C$. This characteristic of the SPPESK/silica membranes is desirable for future applications related to DMFCs.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.66-72
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• 2016

In this study, a sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone) block copolymer was prepared from hydrophilic oligomer and hydrophobic oligomer. The structure of the prepared membrane was characterized by $^1H$-NMR, FT-IR and GPC. The $M_w$(weight-average molecular weights) of the polymer was $209,700g\;mol^{-1}$ and the molecular weight distribution($M_w/M_n$) of 1.25 was obtained. The prepared membrane showed excellent thermal stability with gradual weight loss up to $200^{\circ}C$. The proton conductivity of SPAEK block copolymer reached the maximum of $9.0mS\;cm^{-1}$ at $90^{\circ}C$ under 100% relative humidity (RH). From the observed results, it is necessary to do more aggressive attempt to study the possibility of application as an ion-conductive composite electrolyte.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.60-60
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• 2005

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.57-59
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• 2003

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on $\beta$-cyclodextrins octyl-derivative (b-CD) encapsulated into a polymer matrix of glassy poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK-WC) material to investigate the effects of the complexation of p-nitrophenilacetate and naringin molecules with the aim to study the recognition properties of b-CD.