• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2019

To maximize the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in the electrolysis of water, nano-grade $IrO_2$ powder with a low specific surface was prepared as a catalyst for a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) system, and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was prepared with a catalyst loading as low as $2mg\;cm^{-2}$ or less. The $IrO_2$ catalyst was composed of heterogeneous particles with particle sizes ranging from 20 to 70 nm, having a specific surface area of $3.8m^2g^{-1}$. The anode catalyst layer of about $5{\mu}m$ thickness was coated on the membrane (Nafion 117) for the MEA by the decal method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) confirmed strong adhesion at the interface between the membrane and the catalyst electrode. Although the loading of the $IrO_2$ catalyst was as low as $1.1-1.7mg\;cm^{-2}$, the SPE cell delivered a voltage of 1.88-1.93 V at a current density of $1A\;cm^{-2}$ and operating temperature of $80^{\circ}C$. That is, it was observed that the over-potential of the cell for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) decreased with increasing $IrO_2$ catalyst loading. The electrochemical stability of the MEA was investigated in the electrolysis of water at a current density of $1A\;cm^{-2}$ for a short time. A voltage of ~2.0 V was maintained without any remarkable deterioration of the MEA characteristics.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.309-315
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• 2019

This paper proposes an implementation of unequal power divider with 1:3 and 1:4 splitting ratio in multi-section structure using CPW and offset coupled transmission line. The power divider consists of a multi-section transmission line and a circuit with parallel capacitors and resistors. A multi-section transmission line was implemented by decomposing a ${\lambda}/4$ single transmission line terminated by an arbitrary impedance and converging it with a multi-section transmission line shorter than $90^{\circ}$ electrical length, and RC parallel circuits were connected between transmission lines to obtain reflection coefficient of output port and isolation characteristics between the output port. In this way, it was confirmed that the transmission lines at the unequal power divider designed at 2 GHz were shorter than ${\lambda}/4$ and implemented at least 27% less than the conventional ones, and that the broadband characteristics could be obtained.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2015

The structures of reinforced concrete have been extensively increased with rapid development of industrial society. Futhermore, these reinforced concretes are easy to expose to severe corrosive environments such as seawater, contaminated water, acid rain and seashore etc.. Thus, corrosion problem of steel bar embedded in concrete is very important in terms of safety and economical point of view. In this study, specimens having six different coating thickness (W/C:0.5) were prepared and immersed in flowing seawater for five years to evaluate the effect of coating thickness and immersion time on corrosion property. The polarization characteristics of these embedded steel bars were investigated using electrochemical methods such as corrosion potential, anodic polarization curve, and impedance. At the 20-day immersion, the corrosion potentials exhibited increasingly nobler values with coating thickness. However, after 5-yr. immersion their values were shifted in the negative direction, and the relationship between corrosion potential and coating thickness was not shown. Although 5-yr. immersion lowered corrosion potential, 5-yr. immersion did not increase corrosion rate. In addition, after 5-yr. immersion, the thinner cover thickness, corrosion current density was decreased with thinning coating thickness. It is due to the fact that ease incorporation of water, dissolved oxygen and chloride ion into a steel surface caused corrosion and hence, leaded to the formation of corrosion product. The corrosion product plays the role as a corrosion barrier and increases polarization resistance. The corrosion probability evaluated depending on corrosion potential may not be a good method for predicting corrosion probability. Hence, the parameters including cover thickness and passed aged years as well as corrosion potential is suggested to be considered for better assessment of corrosion probability of reinforced steel exposed to partially or fully in marine environment for long years.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.62-67
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• 2009

Ti and Ti-alloys have good biocompatibility, appropriate mechanical properties and excellent corrosion resistance. However, the widely used Ti-6Al-4V is found to release toxic ions (Al and V) into the body, leading to undesirable long-term effects. Ti-6Al-4V has much higher elastic modulus (100 GPa) than cortical bone (20 GPa). Therefore, titanium alloys with low elastic modulus have been developed as biomaterials to minimize stress shielding. The electrochemical behavior of surface-modified and MC3T3-E1 cell-cultured Ti-30(Nb,Ta) alloys with low elastic modulus have been investigated using various electrochemical methods. Surfaces of test samples were treated as follows: $0.3{\mu}m$ polished; $25{\mu}m$, $50{\mu}m$ and $125{\mu}m$ sandblasted. Specimen surfaces were cultured with MC3T3-E1 cells for 2 days. Average surface roughness ($R_a$) and morphology of specimens were determined using a surface profilometer, OM, and FE-SEM. Corrosion behavior was investigated using a potentiostat(EG&G PARSTAT 2273), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was performed (10 mHz to 100 kHz) in 0.9% NaCl solution at $36.5{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. The microstructures of the Ti-30(Ta,Nb) alloys had a needle-like appearance. The $R_a$ of polished Ti-30Ta and Ti-30Nb alloys was lower than that of the sandblasted Ti alloy. Cultured cells displayed round shapes. For polished alloy samples, cells were well-cultured on all surfaces compared to sandblasted alloy samples. In sandblasted and cell-cultured Ti-30(Nb,Ta) alloy, the pitting potential decreased and passive current density increased as $R_a$ increased. Anodic polarization curves of cell-cultured Ti alloys showed unstable behavior in the passive region compared to non-cell-cultured alloys. From impedance tests of sandblasted and cell-cultured alloys, the polarization resistance decreased as $R_a$ increased, whereas, $R_a$ for cell-cultured Ti alloys increased compared to non-cell-cultured Ti alloys.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.404-411
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• 2012

The reliability of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) particularly depends on the high quality of solid oxide electrolytes. The application of thinner electrolytes and multi electrolyte layers requires a more reliable characterization method. Most of the investigations on thin film solid electrolytes have been made for the parallel transport along the interface, which is not however directly related to the fuel cell performance of those electrolytes. In this work an array of ion-blocking metallic Ti/Au microelectrodes with about a $160{\mu}m$ diameter was applied on top of an ultrathin ($1{\mu}m$) yttria-stabilized-zirconia/gadolinium-doped-ceria (YSZ/GDC) heterolayer solid electrolyte in a micro-SOFC prepared by PLD as well as an 8-${\mu}m$ thick YSZ layer by screen printing, to study the transport characteristics in the perpendicular direction relevant for fuel cell operation. While the capacitance variation in the electrode area supported the working principle of the measurement technique, other local variations could be related to the quality of the electrolyte layers and deposited electrode points. While the small electrode size and low temperature measurements increaseed the electrolyte resistances enough for the reliable estimation, the impedance spectra appeared to consist of only a large electrode polarization. Modulus representation distinguished two high frequency responses with resistance magnitude differing by orders of magnitude, which can be ascribed to the gadolinium-doped ceria buffer electrolyte layer with a 200 nm thickness and yttria-stabilized zirconia layer of about $1{\mu}m$. The major impedance response was attributed to the resistance due to electron hole conduction in GDC due to the ion-blocking top electrodes with activation energy of 0.7 eV. The respective conductivity values were obtained by model analysis using empirical Havriliak-Negami elements and by temperature adjustments with respect to the conductivity of the YSZ layers.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 2003

Capacitance of a hybrid capacitor that has characteristics of both electrolyte capacitor and supercapacitor is determined by anode surface covered with oxide layer. In this study, optimal condition processes for anode to fabricate a high voltage hybrid capacitor was investigated. We mixed aluminum powder having mean particle size of $40{\mu}m$ with NaCl powders at weight ratio of 4 : 1 and prepared a disk type electrode after annealing at various temperature. After dissolving NaCl in $50^{\circ}C$ distilled water, heat treatment, eletropolishing, chemical treatment, and the first and the second etching of Al disk were conducted. In each process, capacitances and resistances of the disk measured by ac-impedance analyzer were compared to find its optimum treatment condition. Also, the surface morphology of treated disks were observed and compared by SEM. After the second etching, the Al disk was anodized at 365V to make an anode of hybrid supercapacitor that can be operated at 300V, Capacitance and resistance of the anodized Al disk electrode was compared with those of commercialized conventional aluminum electrolytic capacitor at different frequencies.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.93-97
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• 2003

The electrode for a supercapacitor was prepared using an amorphous ruthenium oxide, which was synthesized from ruthenium trichloride hydrate$(RuO_2{\cdot}nH_2O)$. A supercapacitor was assembled with an electrode of ruthenium oxide material on a current collector of tantalum, and an electrolyte of 4.8 M sulfuric acid. The result of the AC impedance analyses on $Ta/H_2SO_4(4.8 M)/Pt$ cell showed that tantalum was stable at the potential range of $0.0\~1.1V(vs. SCE)$. Therefore, Ta film could be used the supercapacitor as a current collector. The irreversible hydrolysis in the supercapacitor occurred over ca. 1.0V(vs.SCE) when the supercapacitor was protonated to 0.5V(vs. SCE). The supercapacitor protonated to 0.5V(vs.SCE) showed good electrochemical properties when it was tested at the potential range of 1.0V in the charge-discharge test. The potential range of the electrodes including the positive and the negative electrode was varied between -0.004 and 0.995V(vs. SCE). The potential ranges of the positive and the negative electrode were $-0.004\~0.515V(vs.\;SCE)\;and\; 0.515\~0.995V(vs.\;SCE)$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.942-948
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• 2010

In this study we aims to examine the effects of 0.5 mol% $Cr_2O_3$ addition on the reaction, microstructure development, resultant electrical properties, and especially the bulk trap and interface state levels of ZnO-$Bi_2O_3-Sb_2O_3$ (Sb/Bi=0.5, 1.0, and 2.0) systems (ZBS). The samples were prepared by conventional ceramic process, and characterized by XRD, density, SEM, I-V, impedance and modulus spectroscopy (IS & MS) measurement. The sintering and electrical properties of Cr-doped ZBS (ZBSCr) systems were controlled by Sb/Bi ratio. Pyrochlore ($Zn_2Bi_3Sb_3O_{14}$) was decomposed more than $100^{\circ}C$ lowered on heating in ZBS (Sb/Bi=1.0) by Cr doping. The densification of ZBSCr (Sb/Bi=0.5) system was retarded to $800^{\circ}C$ by unknown Bi-rich phase produced at $700^{\circ}C$. Pyrochlore on cooling was reproduced in all systems. And $Zn_7Sb_2O_{12}$ spinel ($\alpha$-polymorph) and $\delta-Bi_2O_3$ phase were formed by Cr doping. In ZBSCr, the varistor characteristics were not improved drastically (non-linear coefficient $\alpha$ = 7~12) and independent on microstructure according to Sb/Bi ratio. Doping of $Cr_2O_3$ to ZBS seemed to form $Zn_i^{..}$(0.16 eV) and $V^{\bullet}_o$ (0.33 eV) as dominant defects. From IS & MS, especially the grain boundaries of Sb/Bi=0.5 systems were divided into two types, i.e. sensitive to oxygen and thus electrically active one (1.1 eV) and electrically inactive intergranular one (0.95 eV) with temperature.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.150-159
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• 2002

The possibility of a broadband noise reduction of piezoelectric smart panels is experimentally studied. Piezoelectric smart panel is basically a plate structure on which piezoelectric patch with shunt circuits is mounted and sound absorbing material is bonded on the surface of the structure. Sound absorbing materials can absorb the sound transmitted at mid frequency region effectively while the use of piezoelectric shunt damping can reduce the transmission at resonance frequencies of the panel structure. To be able to tune the piezoelectric shunt circuit, the measured electrical impedance model is adopted. Resonant shunt circuit composed of register and inductor in stories is considered and the circuit parameters are determined based on maximizing the dissipated energy through the circuit. The transmitted noise reduction performance of smart panels is investigated using an acoustic tunnel. The tunnel is a square crosses sectional tunnel and a loud speaker is mounted at one side of the tunnel as a sound source. Panels are mounted in the middle of the tunnel and the transmitted sound pressure across the panels is measured. Noise reduction performance of a double smart panel possessing absorbing material and air gap shows a good result at mid frequency region except the first resonance frequency. By enabling the piezoelectric shunt damping, noise reduction is achieved at the resonance frequency as well. Piezoelectric smart panels incorporating passive method and piezoelectric shunt damping are a promising technology for noise reduction in a broadband frequency.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.715-719
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• 2012

We investigated the effects of electrochemical characteristics and generation of chlorine by the different amount of Ru coating which was prepared for $RuO_2$/Ti electrode coated with 1.5 mg, 2.5 mg, 5.5 mg, 8.5 mg Ru per unit area ($cm^2$). As a Result of the cycle voltammetry experiments, chlorine overvoltage of Ru-coated electrodes showed to be the nearly sustained value of approximately 1.15V (vs. Ag/AgCl). By contrary, According to the results of the AC impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization tests, the amount of Ru per unit area ($cm^2$) included 2.5 mg, 3.5 mg as $RuO_2$/Ti offered the highest levels of durability which was electrode resistance and corrosion rate appeared to be $0.4582{\Omega}$, $0.5267{\Omega}$ and 0.082 mm/yr, 0.058 mm/yr, respectively. It was also observed that generation of chlorine coated with 3.5 mg per unit area ($cm^2$) was the highest value of 15.2 mg/L.