• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.963-968
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• 2009

Liquid crystal (LC; E7 and/or ML-0249)-embedded, poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-co-HFP)-based, polymer electrolytes were prepared for use in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The electrolytes contained 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide (PMII), tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), and iodine ($I_2$), which participate in the $I_3^-/I^-$ redox couple. The incorporation of photochemically stable PVdF-co-HFP in the DSSCs created a stable polymer electrolyte that resisted leakage and volatilization. DSSCs, with liquid crystal(LC)-embedded PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolytes between the amphiphilic ruthenium dye N719 absorbed to the nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ photoanode and the Pt counter electrode, were fabricated. These DSSCs displayed enhanced redox couple reduction and reduced charge recombination in comparison to that fabricated from the conventional PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte. The behavior of the polymer electrolyte was improved by the addition of optimized amounts of plasticizers, such as ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC). The significantly increased short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$, $14.60\;mA/cm^2$) and open-circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$, 0.68 V) of these DSSCs led to a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.42% and a fill factor of 0.65 under a standard light intensity of $100\;mW/cm^2$ irradiation of AM 1.5 sunlight. A DSSC fabricated by using E7-embedded PVdF-co-HFP-based polymer electrolyte exhibited a maximum incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 50%.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1683-1688
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• 2007

This paper presents a novel simple method for introducing gold nanoparticles in a poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PVP) polymer layer over a glassy carbon (GC) electrode with the aim of forming a tunable electrochemical interface against a cationic ruthenium complex. Initially, AuCl4 ? ions were spontaneously incorporated into a polymer layer containing positively charged pyridine rings in an acidic media by ion exchange. A negative potential was then applied to electrochemically reduce the incorporated AuCl4 ? ions to gold nanoparticles, which was confirmed by the FE-SEM images. The PVP layer with an appropriate thickness over the electrode blocked electron transfer between the electrode and the solution phase for the redox reactions of the cationic Ru(NH3)6 2+ ions. However, the introduction of gold nanoparticles into the polymer layer recovered the electron transfer. In addition, the electron transfer rate between the two phases could be tuned by controlling the number density of gold nanoparticles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.66-67
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• 2012

As polymer coatings of nano-structured surface become significant to obtain functionalized materials, catechol derived from a mussel protein has attracted increasing attention for its universal adhesiveness. In addition to the unique adhesion property, its reducing ability of metal ions during oxidative polymerization to polydopamine (pD) widely expands the application of catechol molecules in the field of surface modification. In this study, we present the catechol conjugated smart polymer coatings for regulating surface properties such as wettability and anti-fouling effects. In additino, the in situ silver coating of electrospun polymer nanofibers using a silver-catechol redox reaction is presented as a simple method to produce metal nanostructures.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.179-183
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• 2001

Cathode materials for the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell was prepared by electropoly-merization of aniline at carbon paper in the presence of copper tetrasulfonato-phthalocyanine (CuTsPc) and their electrocatalytic behavior was studied. The amount of polyaniline and CuTsPc in the carbon paper was determined by UV spectroscopy of residual solution in electrochemical cell. The redox process of the prepared electrodes was investigated with cyclic voltammetry. The highest reversible current density was observed at the electrode that contains 27.6 wt% of polyaniline and 19.7 wt% of CuTsPc. The morphology of composite electrode from SEM showed the presence of large cluster of polyaniline with CuTsPc, which should be more finely interpenetrated into macropores of carbon for the better electrocatalytic activity.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.220-228
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• 2018

This study introduced a carbon-free electrode for $Li-O_2$ cells with the aim of suppressing the side reactions activated by carbon material. Micro-particles of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), a conducting polymer, were used as the base material for the air electrode of $Li-O_2$cells. The PEDOT micro-particles were treated with $H_2SO_4$ to improve their electronic conductivity, and LiBr and CsBr were used as the redox mediators to facilitate the dissociation of there action products in the electrode and reduce the over-potential of the $Li-O_2$ cells. The capacity of the electrode employing PEDOT micro-particles was significantly enhanced via $H_2SO_4$ treatment, which is attributed to the increased electronic conductivity. The considerable capacity enhancement and relatively low over-potential of the electrode employing $H_2SO_4$-treated PEDOT micro-particles indicate that the treated PEDOT micro-particles can act as reaction sites and provide storage space for the reaction products. The cyclic performance of the electrode employing $H_2SO_4$-treated PEDOT micro-particles was superior to that of a carbon electrode. The results of the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic analysis showed that the accumulation of residual reaction products during cycling was significantly reduced by introducing the carbon-free electrode based on $H_2SO_4$-treated PEDOT micro-particles, compared with that of the carbon electrode. The cycle life was improved owing to the effect of the redox mediators. The refore, the use of the carbon -free electrode combined with redox mediators could realize excellent cyclic performance and low over-potential simultaneously.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.593-598
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• 2011

The IPA-co-HDO-co-(TPA/MA) copolymers for all-vanadium redox flow battery were synthesized by melt condensation polymerization using isophthalic acid(IPA), 1,6-hexandiol (HDO), terephthalic acid(TPA) and maleic anhydride(MA). The amination of chloromethylated IPA-co- HDO-co-(TPA/MA)(CIHTM) copolymer was carried out using trimethylamine, and the anion exchange membrane was also prepared by UV crosslinking reaction. The structure and thermal stability of IHTM copolymers were confirmed by FTIR, $^1H$ NMR, and TGA analysis. The anion membrane properties such as water uptake, ion exchange capacity, electric resistance and electrical conductivity, were measured by gravimetry, titration and LCR meter. The efficiency of the all-vanadium redox flow battery was analyzed. The ion exchange capacity, electric resistance and electrical conductivity were 1.10 meq/g, $1.98{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$, and 0.009 S/cm, respectively. The efficiency of charge-discharge, voltage, and energy for the allvanadium redox flow battery were 96.5, 74.6, 70.0%, respectively.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.240-248
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• 2011

All-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) has been studied actively as one of the most promising electrochemical energy storage systems for a wide range of applications such as electric vehicles, photovoltaic arrays, and excess power generated by electric power plants at night time. Among consisting elements of the VRFB, the ion exchange membrane and the electrode play important roles. In this study, carbon PVC coposite sheets for the VRFB have been developed and electrochemical characteristics investigated. Current collector for VRFB, carbon PVC composite sheets (CPCS), were prepared with G-1028 as a conducting particle, PVC as a polymer, Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) as a plasticizer and fumed Silica (FS) as a dispersion agent. CPCS has been shown to have the characteristics as an excellent current collector for VRFB and electrochemical properties of specific resistivity 0.31 ${\Omega}cm$, which were composed of G-1028 80 wt%, PVC 10 wt%, DBP 5 wt% and FS 5 wt%.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.419-425
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• 1992

Conducting polypyrrole doped with iron (Ⅱ,Ⅲ) hexacyanate Fe$(CN)_6^{z-}$ ions was studied for its physical and electrochemical properties. The polymer exhibited two pairs of waves in the cyclic voltammogram, one for the reversible oxidation/reduction of the incorporated iron hexacyanate ions and the other for the near-reversible oxidation/reduction of the polypyrrole moiety. The exchange of ions incorporated in the polymer and other ions present in solutions were examined by following the decrease of the reversible redox peaks of Fe$(CN)_6^{z-}$, and by EDX analysis. The spin density of this highly conducting polymer as probed by ESR spectroscopy was extremely low compared to polypyrrole doped with common anions.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1032-1038
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• 2009

A polypyrrole (PPy)/alumina composite filler prepared via in-situ polymerization of pyrrole on alumina particles was incorporated into $Nafion^{(R)}$ to improve the performance of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators. The IPMCs with the pristine PPy without alumina support did not show bending displacements superior to that of the bare Nafion-based IPMC, except at a high PPy content of 4 wt%. This result was attributed to the low redox efficiency of the PPy alone in the IPMC and may have also been related to the modulus of the IPMC. However, at the optimized filler contents, the cyclic displacement of the IPMCs bearing the PPy/alumina filler was 2.2 times larger than that of the bare Nafion-based IPMC under an applied AC potential of 3 Vat 1 Hz. Even under a low AC potential of 1.5 V at 1 Hz, the displacement of the PPy/alumina-based IPMCs was a viable level of performance for actuator applications and was 2.7 times higher than that of the conventional Nafion-based IPMC. The generated blocking force was also improved with the PPy/aiumina composite filler. The greatly enhanced performance and the low-voltage-operational characteristic of the IPMCs bearing the PPy/alumina filler were attributed to the synergic effects of the neighboring alumina moiety near the PPy moiety involving electrochemical redox reactions.

• Clean Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.12-21
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• 2015

Development of novel conducting polymers (CPs) is expected to facilitate the advancement of functional materials used for energy, environmental, and nanotechnology. Recent research efforts are focused on doping CPs with functional dopants to enhance their performance or add additional functions that are not inherent in CPs. This review surveys literatures about the doped CPs focusing on the roles of functional dopants, unlike other reviews focusing on the development of new conducting polymer backbones. The functional dopants presented in this review include redox active molecules, carbon nanomaterials, biopolymers, and chelating molecules. Depending on the dopants and their physicochemical properties, the doped CPs can be used for a variety of applications such as polymer batteries, membranes for waste water treatment, and chemical sensors. A major challenge of the CPs is presented and the ways to overcome the challenge is also suggested for the future development of stable, high performance CPs.