• Membrane Journal
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.290-296
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• 2013

Poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-chlorotrifluoroethylene) P(VDF-co-CTFE) polymer was attached to methacrylic acid (MAA) in the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5,4,0]undec-7-ene(DBU) catalyst to prepare P(VDF-co-CTFE)-MAA copolymer. The modified P(VDF-co-CTFE)-MAA was polymerized with 2-sulfoethyl methacrylate (SEMA) monomer in the presence of 4',4'-azobis(4-cyanovaleric acid(ACVA) initiator by free radical polymerization to form the proton conducting membrane. The ratio of the SEMA was increased in the membrane to increase the presence of the acidic group. The maximum IEC value that was observed at 50% SEMA was around 0.82 meq/g, which is consistent with the water uptake value. The highest proton conductivity achieved by P(VDF-co-CTFE)-MAA/SEMA membrane with 50% SEMA was approximately 0.041 S/cm. This indicates that the available ionic group for the proton conduction increases with the increase in the SEMA in the membrane.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.561-569
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• 2014

Ceria ($CeO_2$) was used to increase the durability of the membrane in the polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) circumstance. The sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) as polymer matrix was prepared in the sulfonation reaction of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) to improve electrochemical characteristics. After sulfonation reaction, the organic-inorganic blended composite membranes were prepared by means of sol-gel casting method with loading the highly dispersed $CeO_2$ and Cs-substituted molybdophosphoric acid (Cs-MoPA) with cross-linking agent (tetrapropyl orthosilicate). Consequently, the composite membrane CL-SPEEK/Silane 4wt%/Cs-MoPA/Ceria(1%) showed the improved characteristics such as 82% of water content, 0.11136 S/cm of proton conductivity at $80^{\circ}C$, 55.50 MPa of tensile strength and 4.37% of breeding out of MoPA.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 1998

A FET(Field Effect Transistor) type dissolved $CO_2$ sensor based on Severinghaus type $CO_2$ sensor was fabricated by the photolithographic process. The sensor consists of Ag/AgCl reference electrode and membranes (hydrogel membrane and $CO_2$ gas permeable membrane) on the pH-ISFET base chip. Ag/AgCl reference electrode was fabricated as follows. Ag layer was thermally evaporated and then its upper surface was chemically chloridized into the AgCl. The hydrogel used as an internal electrolyte solution was fabricated by a photolithographic method using 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate(HEMA) and acrylamide. $CO_2$ permeable membrane on the top of the hydrogel layer was formed by photolithographic process with UV-oligomer. The FET type $pCO_2$ sensor fabricated by photolithographic method showed good linearity within the concentration range of $10^{-3}{\sim}10^0mole/{\ell}$ of dissolved $CO_2$ in aqueous solution with high sensitivity.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2014

Ceria ($CeO_2$) was used to scavenge free radicals which attack the membrane in the polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) circumstance and to increase the duration of the membrane. In order to improve the electrochemical, mechanical and electrocatalytic characteristics, engineering plastic of the sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) as polymer matrix was prepared in the sulfonation reaction of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and the organic-inorganic blended composite membranes were prepared by sol-gel casting method with loading the highly dispersed ceria and cesium-substituted phophomolybdic acid(Cs-MoPA) with cross-linking agent contents of 0.01mL. In conclusion, CL-SPEEK/$Cs_{(2.5)}$-MoPA/ceria(1%) membrane showed the optimum results such as 0.1095S/cm of proton conductivity at $80^{\circ}C$, 2.906meq./g-dry-membrane of ion exchange capacity and mechanical characteristics, and 49.73MPa of tensile strength which were better than Nafion 117 membrane.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.71-79
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• 2023

In this study, we employed anionic, cationic, and nonionic surfactants for the hydrophilization of porous substrates used in the fabrication of pore-filling membranes. We investigated the extent of hydrophilization based on the type of surfactant, its concentration, and immersion time. Furthermore, we used the hydrophilized substrates to produce pore-filling anion exchange membranes and compared their ion conductivity to determine the optimal hydrophilization conditions. For the ionic surfactants used in this study, we observed that hydrophilization progressed rapidly from the beginning of immersion when the applied concentration was 3.0 wt%, compared to lower concentrations (0.05, 0.5, and 1.0 wt%). In contrast, for the relatively larger molecular weight non-ionic surfactants, smooth hydrophilization was not observed. There was no apparent correlation between the degree of hydrophilization and the ion conductivity of the anion exchange membrane. This discrepancy suggests that an excessive hydrophilization process during the treatment of porous substrates leads to excessive adsorption of the surfactant on the sparse surfaces of the porous substrate, resulting in a significant reduction in porosity and subsequently decreasing the content of polymer electrolyte capable of ion exchange, thereby greatly increasing the electrical resistance of the membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.344-349
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• 2017

Alkaline fuel cells using polymer electrolyte membranes are expected to replace proton exchange membrane fuel cells, which have similar system configurations. In particular, in alkaline fuel cells, a low-cost non-platinium catalyst can be used. In this study, to fabricate high performance and high durability anion exchange membranes for alkaline fuel cell systems, two kinds of supports, polybenzoxazole and polyethylene supports, were impregnated with Fumion FAA ionomer, by which we tried to fabricate the support-impregnated membrane which has higher mechanical strength and higher ion conductivity than the Fumion series. Finally, the Pore-filling membranes were successfully fabricated and ionic conductivity and mechanical properties were different depending on the properties of the supports. In the pore-filling membranes with Fumion ionomer on the PE support, excellent mechanical properties were obtained, but ionic conductivity decreased. On the other hand, when the PBO support was impregnated with Fumion ionomer, high ionic conductivity was shown after impregnation due to high basicity of PBO, but the mechanical strength was relatively low as compared with Fumion-PE membrane. As a result, it was concluded that it is necessary to consider the characteristics of the support according to the operating conditions of the alkaline fuel cell during the preparation of the pore-filling membranes.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.310-315
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• 2012

A simple drying process was developed for the preparation of a Pt/Nafion self-humidifying membrane to be used for a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Platinum (II) bis (acetylacetonate), $Pt(acac)_2$ was sublimed, penetrated into the surface of a Nafion film and then reduced to Pt nanoparticles simultaneously without any support of a reducing agent in a glass reactor at $180^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. The process was carried out in $N_2$ atmosphere to prevent the oxidation of Pt nanoparticles at high temperature. The morphology and distribution of the Pt nanoparticles were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and we found that the average Pt particle size was ca. 3.7 nm, the penetration depth was ca. $17{\mu}m$. Almost all Pt nanoparticles were formed just beneath the surface and the number density decreased rapidly as the penetration depth increased. To estimate water absorption characteristics of the Nafion membranes, water uptake at an isothermal condition was measured by dynamic vapor sorption (DVS), and it was found that water uptake of the Pt/Nafion membrane was higher than that of the neat Nafion membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2008

A graft copolymer consisting of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) backbone and poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PHEA) side chains was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Direct initiation of the secondary chlorines of PVC facilitates grafting of hydrophilic PHEA monomer. This graft copolymer, i.e. PVC-g-PHEA was cross-linked with sulfosuccinic acid (SA) via the esterification reaction between -OH of the graft copolymer and -COOH of SA, as confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Ion exchange capacity (IEC) continuously increased to 0.87meq/g with increasing concentrations of SA, due to the increasing portion of charged groups in the membrane. However, the water uptake increased up to 20.0wt% of SA concentration above which it decreased monotonically. The membrane also exhibited a maximum proton conductivity of 0.025 S/cm at 20.0 wt% of SA concentration, which is presumably due to competitive effect between the increase of ionic sites and the crosslinking reaction.