• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.137-143
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• 2021

As an electrochemical water electrolysis for green hydrogen production, both polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and alkaline electrolyte are being developed extensively in various countries. The PEM electrolyzer with high current density (above 2 A/cm²) has the advantage of being able to design a simple structure. Also, it is known that it has high response to electrical output fluctuations. However, the cost problem of major components is the most important issue that a PEM electrolyzer must overcome. Instantly, there are platinum group metal (PGM)-based electrocatalysts, fluorine-based polyfluoro sulfuric acid (PFSA) membrane, Ti felt (porous transport layer, PTL) and so on. Another challenging issue is productivity. A securing outstanding productivity brings price benefits of the electrolytic cells. From this point of view, we conducted basic studies on manufacturing electrode and membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for PEM electrolyzer production.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.302-307
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• 2021

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer or alkaline electrolyzer is required to produce green hydrogen using renewable energy such as wind and/or solar power. PEM and alkaline electrolyzer differ in many ways, instantly basic materials, system configuration, and operation characteristics are different. Building an optimal water hydrolysis system by closely grasping the characteristics of each type of electrolyzer is of great help in building a safe hydrogen ecosystem as well as the efficiency of green hydrogen production. In this study, the basic operation characteristics of a kW class alkaline water electrolyzer we developed, and water electrolysis efficiency are described. Finally, a brief overview of the characteristics of PEM and alkaline electrolyzer for large-capacity green hydrogen production system will be outlined.

• Prospectives of Industrial Chemistry
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.1-21
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• 2021

화석연료의 과도한 사용으로 유발된 기후변화 문제를 해결하기 위해 대체에너지의 개발에 대한 관심이 높아지고 있는 가운데 재생가능하며 친환경적인 수소에너지가 실현가능한 궁극적 대안으로 주목받고 있다. 다양한 수소 생산 기술 중 물의 전기분해를 이용한 수전해 기술은 온실가스와 같은 오염물질을 배출하지 않으며 재생에너지와 연계하여 미이용 전력을 대용량 장주기로 저장할 수 있다는 장점이 있다. 수전해 장치는 수소와 산소를 발생하는 전극과 기체의 섞임을 방지하고 이온을 전달하는 분리막으로 구성되며 그 중 분리막은 수전해 장치의 효율과 안정성을 결정짓는 핵심 부품이다. 본 총설에서는 수전해 기술 중 저온 수전해에 해당하는 알칼라인 수전해(alkaline water electrolysis), 고분자전해질막 수전해(polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis)와 음이온교환막 수전해(anion exchange membrane water electrolysis)에 사용되는 분리막에 대한 특성을 분석하고 최근 연구 동향에 대해서 다루고자 한다.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.173-182
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• 2019

Much research has been made for finding new and eco-friendly alternative sources of energy to solve the problems related with the pollution caused by emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide as the use of fossil fuels increases worldwide. Among them, fuel cells draws particular interests as an eco-friendly energy generator because only water is obtained as a by-product. Anion exchange membrane-based alkaline fuel cell (AEMFC) that uses anion exchange membrane as an electrolyte is of increased interest recently because of its advantages in using low-cost metal catalyst unlike the PEMFC (potton exchange membrane fuel cell) due to the high-catalyst activity in alkaline conditions. The main properties required as an anion exchange membrane are high hydroxide conductivity and chemical stability at high pH. Recently we reported a chemically crosslinked poly(2-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) by reacting PPO with N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-1,6-hexanediamine as novel anion exchange membranes. In the current work, we further developed the same crosslinked polymer but having enhanced physicochemical properties, including higher conductivity, increased mechanical and dimensional stabilities by using the PPO with a higher molecular weight and also by increasing the crosslinking density. The obtained polymer membrane also showed a good cell performance.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 1996

Alkaline water electrolysis has been commercialized as the only large-scale method for a long time to produce hydrogen and the technology is superior to other methods such as photochemical, thermochemical water splitting, and thermal decomposition method in view of efficiency and related technical problem. However, such conventional electrolyzer do not have high electric efficiency and productivity to apply to large scale hydrogen production for energy or chemical feedstocks. Solid polymer electrolyte water electrolysis using a perfluorocation exchange membrane as an $H^+$ ion conductor is considered to be a promising method, because of capability for operating at high current densities and low cell voltages. So, this is a good technology for the storage of electricity generated by photovoltaic power plants, wind generators and other energy conversion systems. One of the most important R&D topics in electrolyser is how to minimize cell voltage and maximize current density in order to increase the productivity of the electrolyzer. A commercialized technology is the hot press method which the film type electrocatalyst is hot-pressed to soild polymer membrane in order to eliminate the contact resistance. Various technologies, electrocatalyst formed over Nafion membrane surface by means of nonelectrolytic plating process, porous sintered metal(titanium powder) or titanium mesh coated with electrocatalyst, have been studied for preparation of membrane-electrocatalyst composites. In this study some experiments have been conducted at a solid polymer electrolyte water electrolyzer, which consisted of single cell stack with an electrode area of $25cm^2$ in a unipolar arrangement using titanium mesh coated with electrocatalyst.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.133-144
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• 2021

Alkaline water electrolysis system is the oldest technology among various hydrogen production processes to produce green hydrogen with the least amount of greenhouse gas generated. Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) system is used in alkaline atmosphere condition. In comparison to polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), this system can utilize stable transition metals such as nickel, cobalt, and silver, as electrode catalysts. AWE is relatively inexpensive, and can easily be scaled up to large scale. The system is a mature technology, as it has been in operation since the beginning of the 20th century in MW-scale for hydrogen generation, and there are currently more than 20 commercial manufacturers. In this review, the basic principles of AWE, along with catalysts, electrodes, and diaphragm membranes, are summarized. Particularly, the research and development trends of the diaphragm membrane unit, which is the core component of an AWE, are discussed in detail.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.168.1-168.1
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• 2017

화석연료를 대체하기 위한 에너지원으로서 수소에너지에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 수전해는 무한 청정한 물을 전기분해하여 수소를 생산하는 기술로써 대표적으로 알칼리 수전해(alkaline water electrolysis, AWE)와 고분자 전해질막 수전해(polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis, PEMWE)가 있다. 그 중, AWE는 알칼리 분위기에서 물분해 반응이 진행되어 촉매의 부식 위험성이 비교적 낮기 때문에 상대적으로 저렴한 비귀금속 산화물 촉매를 사용할 수 있다는 장점이 있다. 본 연구에서는 비귀금속인 Cu, Co를 이용하여 $CuCoO_4$를 합성한 후 산소 발생 촉매 물질로 활용하여 산소 발생 반응(Oxygen Evolution Reaction, OER)특성을 고찰하였다.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.183-196
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• 2017

The research efforts directed at advancing water electrolysis technology continue to intensify together with the increasing interest in hydrogen as an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels. Among the various water electrolysis systems reported to date, systems employing a solid polymer electrolyte membrane are known to display both improved safety and efficiency as a result of enhanced separation of products: hydrogen and oxygen. Conducting water electrolysis in an alkaline medium lowers the system cost by allowing non-platinum group metals to be used as catalysts for the complex multi-electron transfer reactions involved in water electrolysis, namely the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER, respectively). We briefly review the anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and electrocatalysts developed and applied thus far in alkaline AEM water electrolysis (AEMWE) devices. Testing the developed components in AEMWE cells is a key step in maximizing the device performance since cell performance depends strongly on the structure of the electrodes containing the HER and OER catalysts and the polymer membrane under specific cell operating conditions. In this review, we discuss the properties of reported AEMs that have been used to fabricate membrane-electrode assemblies for AEMWE cells, including membranes based on polysulfone, poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phylene) oxide, polybenzimidazole, and inorganic composite materials. The activities and stabilities of tertiary metal oxides, metal carbon composites, and ultra-low Pt-loading electrodes toward OER and HER in AEMWE cells are also described.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.496-513
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• 2022

In this study, we sought to verify the applicability of anion exchange membrane water electrolysis system using FAA-3-50, Neosepta-ASE, Sustainion grade T, and Fujifilm type 10, which are commercial anion exchange membranes. The morphology of the commercial membranes and the elements on the surface were analyzed using SEM/EDX to confirm the distribution of functional groups included in the commercial membranes. In addition, mechanical strength and decomposition temperature were measured using UTM and TGA to check whether the driving conditions of the water electrolyte were satisfied. The ion exchange capacity and ion conductivity were measured to understand the performance of anion exchange membranes, and the alkaline resistance of each commercial membrane was checked and durability test was performed because they were driven in an alkaline environment. Finally, a membrane-electrode assembly was manufactured and a water electrolysis single cell test was performed to confirm cell performance at 60℃, 70℃, and 80℃. The long-term cell test was measured 20 cycles at other temperatures to compare water electrolysis performance.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.394-401
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• 2022

Two polymer precursors, polyvinylidene chloride-resin (PVDC-resin) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), are assembled into the microporous carbon by pyrolysis. Microporous carbon is advantageous as an electrode for supercapacitors that store electric charges through ion adsorption/desorption. The pyrolysis also turns the various heteroatoms of two precursors into functional groups, contributing to the additional charge storage. The analysis of the porous structure and function group during carbonization are important to develop the carbon for energy storage. Here, we analyzed the functional groups of two polymer-derived carbons through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical properties of the functional groups were explored in various pH electrolytes. The specific capacitance of two carbons in the acidic electrolyte (1 M H₂SO₄) was improved compared to that in the neutral electrolyte (0.5 M Na₂SO₄) due to the faradaic charge/discharge reaction of the quinone functional group. In particular, the carbon electrode derived from PVDC-resin exhibits a lower capacity than the carbon from PVDF due to the small micropores. In the alkaline electrolyte (6 M KOH), the highest specific capacitance and rate capability were obtained among the three electrolytes for both electrodes based on the facile adsorption of the constituent electrolyte ions (K⁺, OH^-).