• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2022

A series of QPAE/TiO₂-x (x = 1, 4, 7 and 10 wt%) organic/inorganic composite membranes were prepared as electrolyte membranes for alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells by controlling the content of inorganic filler with quaternized poly(arylene ether) (QPAE) random copolymer. Among the prepared QPAE/TiO₂-x organic/inorganic composite membranes, the highest ionic conductivity was 26.6 mS cm^-1 at 30℃ in QPAE/TiO₂-7 composite membrane, which was improvement over the ionic conductivity value of 6.4 mS cm^-1 (at 30℃) of the pristine QPAE membrane. Furthermore, the water uptake, swelling ratio, ionic exchange capacity, and thermal property of QPAE/TiO₂-x composite membranes were improved compared to the pristine QPAE membrane. The results of these studies suggest that the fabricated QPAE/TiO₂-x composite membranes have good prospects for alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cell applications.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.149-153
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• 2004

The cesium hydrogen sulfate (CsHSO$_4$) crystal is a superprotonic conductor above 140$^{\circ}C$ and possesses protonic conductivity three to low orders of magnitude higher than that at room temperature. Recently, the possibility of it as an electrolyte material for fuel cell system draws much attention. However, its plasticity and absorption of humidity place a limitation on its application. In this study, composites consisting of CsHSO$_4$ and polyacrylonitrile were prepared, and their phase transition properties and the ionic conductivities were evaluated. When the content of CsHSO$_4$ was about 80 vol%, a mechanically strong film with the protonic conductivity of 1${\times}$10$\^$-3/ Scm$\^$-1/ were made.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.209-218
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• 2022

Recently, research on the development of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) has received considerable attention from the scientific community around the world. Here, we fabricated a series of AEMs with branched structures with different alkyl spacers and conducted comparative evaluations. The introduction of these branched structures is an attempt to overcome the low ionic conductivity and stability problems that AEMs are currently facing. To this end, branched polymers with different spacer lengths were synthesized and properties of each membrane prepared according to the branched structure were compared. The chemical structure of the polymer was investigated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, and gel permeation chromatography, and the thermal properties were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. The branched anion exchange membrane with (CH₂)₃ and (CH₂)₆ spacers exhibited ionic conductivities of 8.9 mS cm^-1 and 22 mS cm^-1 at 90℃, respectively. This means that the length of the spacer affects the ionic conductivity. Therefore, this study showing the effect of the spacer length on the ionic conductivity of the membrane in the polymer structure constituting the ion exchange membrane is judged to be very useful for future application studies of AEM fuel cells.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.524-533
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• 2021

In this study, a series of anion conductive organic/inorganic composite membranes with excellent ionic conductivity and chemical stability were prepared by introducing graphene oxide (GO) inorganic nanofiller into the quaternized poly(phenylen oxide (Q-PPO) polymer matrix. The fabricated organic/inorganic composite membranes showed higher ionic conductivity than the pristine membrane. In particular, Q-PPO/GO 0.7 showed the highest ionic conductivity value of 143.2 mS/cm at 90℃, which was 1.56 times higher than the pristine membrane Q-PPO (91.5 mS/cm). In addition, the organic/inorganic composite membrane showed superior dimensional stability and alkaline stability compared to the pristine membrane, and the physicochemical stability was improved as the content of inorganic fillers increased. Therefore, we suggest that the as-prepared organic/inorganic composite membranes are very promising materials for anion exchange membrane applications with high conductivity and alkaline stability.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.294-301
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• 2019

The quasi-solid-state hybrid electrolytes were synthesized by chemical cross-linking reaction of methacrylate-functionalized $SiO_2$ ($MA-SiO_2$) and tetra (ethylene glycol) diacrylate in aqueous electrolyte. A quasi-solid-state electrolyte synthesized by 6 wt.% $MA-SiO_2$ exhibited a high ionic conductivity of $177mS\;cm^{-1}$ at room temperature. The electrochemical $H_2$ sensor assembled with quasi-solid-state electrolyte showed relatively fast response and high sensitivity for hydrogen gas at ambient temperature, and exhibited better durability and stability than the liquid electrolyte-based sensor. The simple construction of the sensor and its sensing characteristics make the quasi-solid-state hydrogen sensor promising for practical application.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.4041-4048
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• 2011

High molecular weight tetrasulfonated poly(arylene biphenylsulfone ether) (TsPBPSEH) copolymers containing up to four pendant sulfonate groups per repeat unit were synthesized via aromatic nucleophilic displacement condensation from 4,4'-bis(4-chloro-3-sulfonatophenylsulfonyl)biphenyl-2,2'-disulfonate (SBCSBPD), 4,4'-dichlorodiphenylsulfone (DCDPS) and 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphenol (6F-BPA). The synthesized copolymers were structurally characterized using $^1H$ NMR and FT-IR techniques. They were analytically pure, amorphous and were readily soluble in a wide range of organic solvents. Electrolyte membranes were successfully cast using the synthesized polymers with various sulfonation levels and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone. This new class of polymer membranes exhibited elevated thermal and physical stabilities and reduced swelling at high temperatures. An increase of acidic functional groups in the copolymer yielded high ion exchange capacity and moderate ionic conductivity values even at higher temperatures, which makes them potential ion conducting candidates.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.309-311
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• 2007

Supramolecules containing double hydrogen bonding sites at their both chain ends were self-polymerized to become solid state polymer and were utilized to improve the efficiency of solid state DSSCs. Hydrogen bonding sites were attached at the chain ends of PEG of Mw=2000, such as pyrimethamine and glutaric acid. The solar cell with the solid state supramolecular polymer electrolyte resulted in the overall energy conversion efficiency of 4.63 % with a short circuit current density $(J_{sc})$ of 10.41 $mAcm^{-2}$, an open circuit voltage $V_{oc}$, of 0.71 V and a fill factor (FF) of 0.62 at one sun condition ([oligomer]:[1-methyl-3-propyl imidazolium iodide (MPII)]:$[I_2]$ = 20 : 1 : 0.19, active area = 0.16 $cm^2$, $TiO_2$ layer thickness = 10 ${\mu}m$). The ionic conductivity of the sol id state electrolyte was $5.11{\times}10^{-4}$ (S/cm). The cell performance was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and ionic conductivity.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.248-259
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• 2014

Acceptor-doped cerium pyrophosphates have shown significant proton conductivity of > $10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ in the range of $100-300^{\circ}C$ and are considered promising candidates for use as electrolytes in proton-conducting, ceramic electrolyte fuel cells (PCFCs). But, cerium pyrophosphates themselves do not have structural protons, and protons incorporate into their material bulk only as impurities on exposure to a hydrogen-containing atmosphere. However, proton incorporation and proton conduction in these materials are expected to be affected by factors such as the nature (ionic size and charge) and concentration of the aliovalent dopant, processing history (synthesis route and microstructure), and the presence of residual phosphorous phosphate ($P_mO_n$) phases. An exact understanding of these aspects has not yet been achieved, leading to large differences in the magnitude of proton conductivity of cerium pyrophosphates reported in various studies. Herein, we systematically address some of these aspects, and present an overview of factors affecting proton conductivity inacceptor-doped $CeP_2O_7$.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.24-27
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• 2009

Solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been constructed employing supramolecular electrolytes with multiple hydrogen bonding. A supramolecule was facilely synthesized by one-pot reaction between the amines of methyl isocytosine (MIC) and the epoxy groups of poly(ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether) (PEGDGE) to produce quadruple hydrogen bonding units. Hydrogen bonding interactions and dissolution behavior of salt in supramolecular electrolytes are investigated. The ionic conductivity of the supramolecular electrolytes with ionic liquid, i.e. 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide (MPII) reaches $8.5{\times}10^{-5}$ S/cm at room temperature, which is higher than that with metal salt (KI). A worm-like morphology is observed in the FE-SEM micrographs of $TiO_2$ nanoporous layer, due to the connection of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles resulting from adequate coating by electrolytes. DSSCs employing the supramolecular electrolytes with MPII and KI exhibit an energy conversion efficiency of 2.5 % and 0.5 %, respectively, at 100 $mW/cm^2$, indicating the importance of the cation of salt. Solar cell performances were further improved up to 3.7 % upon introduction of poly(ethylene glycol dimethyl ether) (PEGDME) with 500 g/mol.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.372-382
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• 2022

In this study, anion exchange membranes were prepared by synthesizing the main chain into a poly(arylene ether) (PAE) structure, and the structures capable of improving the physical and chemical stability of the membrane by introducing a heterocyclic quaternary ammonium functional groups were studied. The chemical structure and thermal properties of the prepared polymer were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, FT-IR, TGA, and DSC, and surface analysis was performed through AFM measurement. Additionally, dimensional stability and chemical properties was studied by measuring water uptake and swelling ratio, IEC and ionic conductivity. At 90℃, the quaternized poly(arylene ether) (QPAE)/1-methylpiperidine (MP) membrane exhibited the highest ionic conductivity of 27.2 mS cm^-1, while the QPAE/1-methylimidazole (MI) membrane and QPAE/1-methylmorpholine (MM) membrane exhibited values of 14.5 mS cm^-1 and 11.5 mS cm^-1, respectively. In addition, the prepared anion exchange membrane exhibited high chemical stability in alkaline solution.