• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.695-700
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• 2014

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) can generate hydrogen and oxygen from water by electrolysis. But the electrode and polymer electrolyte membrane degrade rapidly during PEM water electrolysis because of high operation voltage over 1.7V. In order to reduce the rate of anode electrode degradation, unsupported $IrO_2$ catalyst was used generally. In this study, Pt/C catalyst for PEMFC was used as a water electrolysis catalyst, and then the degradation of catalyst and membrane were analysed. After water electrolysis reaction in the voltage range from 1.8V to 2.0V, I-V curves, impedance spectra, cyclic voltammograms and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were measured at PEMFC operation condition. The degradation rate of electrode and membrane increased as the voltage of water electrolysis increased. The hydrogen yield was 88 % during water electrolysis for 1 min at 2.0V, the performance at 0.6V decreased to 49% due to degradation of membrane and electrode assembly.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.345-350
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• 2007

During PEMFC operation, OCV(open circuit voltage) and low humidity conditions accelerate the degradation of perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. There have been no studies that clearly explain why these conditions accelerate the membrane degradation. In this study, the hydrogen permeability through the membrane, I-V polarization of MEA, fluoride emission rate(FER) and $H_2O_2$ concentration in condensed water were measured during cell operation under OCV and low relative humidity(RH). The experimental results were evaluated with oxygen radical mechanism the most commonly known for membrane degradation. It seems that low RH of anode is a good condition for $H{\cdot}$ radical formation on the Pt catalyst and the OCV condition accelerate the $H{\cdot}$ to form $HO_2{\cdot}$ radical attacking the polymer membrane.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.118-123
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• 2006

Degradation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) that is facilitated by on/off cycles is one of the most important issues for commercialization of fuel cell vehicles. When a PEMFC stack is shut down, residual hydrogen and induce high voltage equivalent to open circuit voltage to the cathode side that might cause sintering of Pt catalyst and facilitate formation of hydrogen peroxide at the anode side that might decompose $Nafionc\'{A}$ membrane. In this study, degradation of PEMFC exposed to repetitive on/off cycles was investigated by measuring i-V characteristics, ac impedance, cyclic voltammograms, gas leak, cross-sectional SEM images, and TEM images. To prevent degradation of PEMFC caused by the residual gases, hydrogen was removed from anode gas channel by gas-purging and by using a dummy resistance, that were found to be a very effective method.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.646-652
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• 2022

The dead-end anode (DEA) system is a method that closes the anode outlet and supplies fuel by pressure. The DEA method could improve fuel usage and power efficiency through system simplification. However, flooding occurs due to water and nitrogen back diffusion from the cathode to the anode during the DEA operation. Flooding is a cause of decreased fuel cell performance and electrode degradation. Therefore, tthe structure and components of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) should be optimized to prevent anode flooding during DEA operation. In this study, the effect of a porous flow field with metal foam on fuel cell performance and fuel efficiency improvement was investigated in the DEA system. As a result, fuel cell performance and purge interval were improved by effective water management with a porous flow field at the cathode, and it was confirmed that cathode flow field structure affects water back-diffusion. On the other hand, the effect of the porous flow field at the anode on fuel cell performance was insignificant. Purge interval was affected by metal foam properties and shown stable performance with large cell size metal foam in the DEA system.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.51-66
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• 2024

Modern society is making numerous efforts to reduce reliance on carbon-based energy systems. A notable solution in this transition is the adoption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as potent energy sources, owing to their high energy and power densities. Driven by growing environmental challenges, the application scope of LIBs has expanded from their initial prevalence in portable electronic devices to include electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESSs). Accordingly, LIBs must exhibit long-lasting cyclability and high energy storage capacities to facilitate prolonged device usage, thereby offering a potential alternative to conventional sources like fossil fuels. Enhancing the durability of LIBs hinges on a comprehensive understanding of the reasons behind their performance decline. Therefore, comprehending the degradation mechanism, which includes detrimental chemical and mechanical phenomena in the components of LIBs, is an essential step in resolving cycle life issues. The LIB systems presently being commercialized and developed predominantly employ graphite anode and layered oxide cathode materials. A significant portion of the degradation process in LIB systems takes place during the electrochemical reactions involving these electrodes. In this review, we explore and organize the aging mechanisms of LIBs, especially those with graphite anodes and layered oxide cathodes.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.68
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• pp.187-195
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• 2018

$Sr_{0.92}Y_{0.08}Ti_{1-x}Ni_xO_{3-{\delta}}$ (SYTN) was investigated in the presence of $H_2S$ containing fuels to assess the feasibility of employing oxide materials as alternative anodes. Aliovalent substitution of $Ni^{2+}$ into $Ti^{4+}$ increased the ionic conductivity of perovskite, leading to improved electrochemical performance of the SYTN anode. The maximum power densities were 32.4 and $45.3mW/cm^2$ in $H_2$ at $900^{\circ}C$ for the SYT anode and the SYTN anode, respectively. However, the maximum power densities in 300 ppm of $H_2S$ decreased by 7% and by 46% in the SYT and the SYTN anodes, respectively. To enhance the sulfur tolerance and to improve the electrochemical properties, the surface of SYTN anode was modified with samarium doped ceria (SDC) using the sol-gel coating method. For the SDC-modified SYTN anode, the cell performance was mostly recovered in the pure $H_2$ condition after 500-ppm $H_2S$ exposure in contrast to the irreversible cell performance degradation exhibited in the unmodified SYTN anode.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.893-899
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• 2018

In the present study, we investigated the sulfur poisoning of the Ni anode in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) as a function of operating conditions. Anode supported cells were fabricated, and sulfur poising tests were conducted as a function of current density, $H_2S$ concentration and humidity in the anode gas. The voltage drop was significant under the higher current density (${\sim}714mA/cm^2$) condition, while it was much reduced under the lower current density (${\sim}389mA/cm^2$) condition, at 100 ppm of $H_2S$. A secondary voltage drop, which occurred only at the high current density, was attributed to Ni oxidation in the anode. Thus, operation at high current density with high $H_2S$ concentration may lead to permanent deterioration in the anode. The effect of water content (10%) on the sulfur poisoning was also investigated through a constant current test (${\sim}500mA/cm^2$) at 10 ppm of $H_2S$. The cell operating with 10% wet anode gas showed a much smaller initial voltage drop, in comparison with a dry anode gas. The present study indicates that operating conditions, such as gas humidity and current density, should be carefully taken into account, especially when fuel cells are operated with $H_2S$ containing fuel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of IIIuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.89-91
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• 2007

In order to decrease the degradation of phosphor on anode, many kinds of methods try to do coating of phosphor powders and AI metal layer of anode phosphor, In case of direct coating of phosphor powder, thin and uniform coating process are difficult to cover homogeneous in the surface of phosphor powders and given rise to decrease the brightness, Anti-reflection-layer(ARC) with $TiO_2$, $Al_2O_3$, $Y_2O_3$ showed 103[%] the enhancement of brightness in comparable with normal phosphor layer.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.59-63
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• 2020

Radical scavenger is used to improve the durability of PEMFC polymer membrane. In this study, we investigated whether fucoidan extracted from seaweed as a radical scavenger prevents electrochemical degradation through Fenton and OCV Holding experiments. Fucoidan has an antioxidant effect, protecting the polymer membrane from hydrogen peroxide and oxygen radicals, reducing the degradation rate to 1/10. Fucoidan has been shown to be more effective than MnO₂, which is used as a radical scavenger. In the PEMFC cell, the accelerated durability evaluation method (OCV Holding) showed that fucoidan reduced the hydrogen permeability of the polymer membrane by 12% and enhanced the performance by 29.1% compared to without radical scavenger. And fucoidan was found to be more effective in the cathode side ionomer than the anode side.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.1-8
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• 2004

Experimental results are presented for gate oxide degradation, such as SILC and soft breakdown, and its effect on device parameters under negative and positive bias stress conditions using n-MOSFET's with 3 nm gate oxide. The degradation mechanisms are highly dependent on stress conditions. For negative gate voltage, both interface and oxide bulk traps are found to dominate the reliability of gate oxide. However, for positive gate voltage, the degradation becomes dominated mainly by interface trap. It was also found the trap generation in the gate oxide film is related to the breakage of Si-H bonds through the deuterium anneal and additional hydrogen anneal experiments. Statistical parameter variations as well as the “OFF” leakage current depend on both electron- and hole-trapping. Our results therefore show that Si or O bond breakage by tunneling electron and hole can be another origin of the investigated gate oxide degradation. This plausible physical explanation is based on both Anode-Hole Injection and Hydrogen-Released model.