• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

A Pt-layer was deposited on the anode side of a Nafion membrane via a sputtering method in order to reduce methanol crossover in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The methanol permeation and the proton conductivity through the modified membranes were investigated. The performances of the direct methanol fuel cell were also tested using single cells with a Nafion membrane and the modified membranes. The Pt-layers on the membrane blocked both methanol crossover and proton transport through the membranes. Methanol permeability and proton conductivity decreased with an increase of the platinum layer thickness. At methanol concentration of 2 M, the DMFC employing the modified membrane with a platinum layer of 66 nm-thickness showed similar performance to that of a DMFC with a bare Nafion membrane in spite of the lower proton conductivity of the former. The maximum power density of the cell using the modified membrane with a platinum layer of 66 nm-thickness increased slightly while that of the cell with the bare membrane decreased abruptly when a methanol solution of 6M was supplied.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.5728-5735
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• 2015

This study attempts to verify the applicability of ceramic membrane as a separator by comparing the power generation characteristics in single-chamber MFCs using ceramic membranes to those in the MFCs using nafion membrane. The generated power in MFCs by using acetate as a substrate was more stable than that by using formate, propionate and butyrate, respectively. It was shown that the generated power by using formate substrate in MFCs was unstable and a little higher than that by using acetate, and the power generated by using propionate and butyrate were lower than that by using acetate. In order to find out the Pt catalyst effect, it was compared the power generated in MFCs using Pt-coated carbon cloth as electrode to that power using normal carbon cloth. The power generated in MFCs using Pt-coated carbon cloth as electrode was 1.2 times higher than that using normal carbon cloth. The Pt-coated carbon cloth was about 5 times more expensive than normal carbon cloth. It is suggested that both power generation efficiency and cost together should be considered in selecting electrodes of MFCs. It was found that the ceramic membrane was superior to nafion membrane by comparing to the power generation characteristics obtained. It was shown that average voltage values were $523.67mV{\pm}49.41mV$ by using synthetic wastewater, in MFCs of ceramic membrane as a separator. While average voltage values were $424.09mV{\pm}79.95mV$ by using synthetic wastewater, in MFCs of nafion membrane as a separator. The organic removal efficiency, 41.7% by using ceramic membrane was a little bit higher than 40.8% by using nafion membrane. This research implies ceramic membrane can be a valid alternative to nafion membrane as a separator when considering the power generation and the efficiency of organics removal.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1999.07d
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• pp.1824-1826
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• 1999

In order to develop key technologies for a kW class for polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), various membranes (Nafion(112, 115, 117), Dow, Flemion, Gore, and Hanwha), and electrocatalysts (Pt/C, PtNi/C PtNiCo/C and PtRu/C) were used in the fabrication of the MEAs by using transfer printing technique. The effects of the thickness of Nafion membranes, electrocatalysts and the operating conditions (e.g. temperature, reactant gas pressure, and composition) on the performance of the MEA were investigated in the PEFC single cell($O_2/H_2$, and Air/$H_2$ cell). The performances of the MEAs for $O_2/H_2$ and Air/$H_2$ cells has been evaluated.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1997.07d
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• pp.1252-1254
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• 1997

Direct methanol fuel cell based on a proton-exchange membrane electrolyte was investigated. 60% Pt-Ru/C and 60%Pt/C catalysts were employed for methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction, respectively. Morphologies of the catalysts were investigated by x-ray power diffraction, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and transmission microscopy. Electrochemical characteristics of the catalysts were tested by using cyclic voltametry technique. I-V characteristics of the fuel cell were tested by changing methanol concentration, temperature, and Nafion type as a proton-exchange membrane electrolyte. AC impedance technique was used to investigate the electrochemical performance of the fuel cell. The performance of single cell was enhance with increasing cell temperature. High operation temperature attributed to the combined effects of the reduction of ohmic resistance and polarization. High cell voltage was obtained from the concentration of 205M methanol. With Nafion 112, a current density of $230mA/cm^2$ at 0.55V was obtained from the concentration of 2.5M methanol.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.95.2-95.2
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• 2011

In order to achieve high performance and low cost for commercial applications, the development of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), in which the electrochemical reactions actually occur, must be optimized. Expensive platinum is currently used as an electrochemical catalyst due to its high activity. Although various platinum alloys and non-platinum catalysts are under development, their stabilities and catalytic activities, especially in terms of the oxygen reduction (ORR), render them currently unsuitable for practical use. Therefore, it is important to decrease platinum loading by optimizing the catalysts and electrode microstructure. In this study, we prepared several different MEAs (non-uniform Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer loading electrode) which have dual catalyst layers to find the optimal Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer distribution in the electrodes. We changed Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer content in the layers to find the ideal composition of the binder and Pt/C in the electrode. For MEAs with various ionomer contents in the anodes and cathodes, the electrochemical activity (activation overpotential) and the mass transport properties (concentration overpotential) were analyzed and correlated with the single cell performance. The dual catalyst layers MEA showed higher cell performance than uniformly fabricated MEA, especially at the high current density region.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.226-231
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• 2002

Power densities produced by the permeation of methanol through membranes were directly measured by inserting the membrane in front of anode in a membrane-electrode-assembly of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The power density was closely related to the loss of power in the DMFC and was strongly affected by temperature. As the cell temperature was increased, the power density resulting from methanol crossover was increased. The increase in methanol crossover had be attributed to diffusion caused or affected by temperature. Methanol crossover a major effect on the performance of a DMFC at a relatively low temperature with $26\%\;loss\;at\;30^{\circ}C$. In order to reduce methanol crossover, a conventional Nafion membrane was modified by the incorporation of Pt or Pd. The reduction in methanol crossover was investigated in these modified membranes by our cell performance measurement. Pt and Pd particles incorporated in the Nafion membranes block methanol pathway and prevent methanol transport through the membranes, which was proved by combining with liquid chromatography.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.411-412
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• 2006

PEM(proton exchange membrane) fuel cell have been receiving considerable interest as power source because of high-energy efficiency. However by using reforming hydrogen gas, CO poisoning occur in anode. To improve CO tolerance PtRu catalysts were prepared by galvanostatic pulse electrodeposition. The composition(atomic ratio) of catalysts are controllable by using different concentrations of PtRu solutions. Also, the particle sizes of PtRu on carbon are similar to about $3.5{\sim}4nm$ regardless of concentration.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2008.07a
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• pp.1474-1475
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• 2008

본 논문에서는 nanoporous Pt (Platinum) 전극을 이용한 무효소 혈당센서의 생체 적합성 및 전류응답 특성 향상을 위해 다양한 패키징 방법이 제안되었다. 생체적합성을 갖는 Nafion 멤브레인을 dipping, spin coating, chemical bonding 방법으로 패키징 한 후, 다양한 글루코오스 농도의 혈장, 전혈에서 특성을 분석, 비교하였다. 단백질 등이 포함되지 않은 환경에서 spin coating 방법으로 패키징한 센서의 전류응답 특성은 가장 좋았지만, 혈장 및 전혈에서는 dipping, chemical bonding 방법으로 패키징한 센서의 전류응답 특성에 미치지 못했다. Nafion film을 센서와 chemical bonding한 센서의 혈장에서 sensitivity 는 0.32 ${\mu}A/mM{\cdot}cm^2$ 이었다. 한편, 전혈에서 bare 센서가 급격한 bio-fouling 현상을 보이는 반면 패키징한 센서는 글루코오스 농도에 따라 일정한 전류변화를 보였다. 이는 Nafion을 이용하여 패키징한 무효소 혈당 센서가 생체환경에 적합할 뿐 아니라 생체이식형 및 연속 측정 가능한 시스템에 적용 가능함을 보여준다.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.270-275
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• 2016

A simple solid state incorporation method was employed in order to incorporate Pd nanocatalyst into a Nafion film for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) via the reduction of palladium (II) bis (acetylacetonate), $Pd(acac)_2$. It was sublimed, penetrated into Nafion film and then reduced to Pd nanoparticles simultaneously in a glass reactor of N2 atmosphere at $180^{\circ}C$ for 1, 3 and 5 min. This reaction was took place without any reducing agent and any solvent. The morphology of the Pd nanoparticles was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Pd distribution was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). And 23% modification of tensile strength of Pd/Nafion composite film was measured by universal testing machine and I-V curve was estimated by using a unit cell with $5{\times}5cm^2$ active area.

• Journal of Ceramic Processing Research
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.810-814
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• 2017

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are some of the most efficient electrochemical energy sources for transportation applications because of their clean, green, and high efficiency characteristics. The optimization of catalyst layer morphology is considered a feasible approach to achieve high performance of PEMFC membrane electrode assembly (MEA). In this work, we studied the effect of the solvent on the catalyst layer of PEMFC MEAs fabricated using the electrostatic spray deposition method. The catalyst ink comprised of Pt/C, a Nafion ionomer, and a solvent. Two types of solvent were used: isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and dimethylformamide (DMF). Compared with the catalyst layer prepared using IPA-based ink, the catalyst layer prepared with DMF-based ink had a dense structure because the DMF dispersed the Pt/C-Nafion agglomerates smaller and more homogeneously. The size distribution of the agglomerates in catalyst ink was confirmed through Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and the microstructure of the catalyst layer was compared using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). In addition, the electrochemical investigation was performed to evaluate the solvent effect on the fuel cell performance. The catalyst layer prepared with DMF-based ink significantly enhanced the cell performance (1.2 A cm-2 at 0.5 V) compared with that fabricated using IPA-based ink (0.5 A cm-2 at 0.5 V) due to the better dispersion and uniform agglomeration on the catalyst layer.