In anion exchange membrane fuel cells, Pd nanoparticles are extensively studied as promising non-Pt catalysts due to their electronic structure similar to Pt. In this study, to fabricate Pd nanoparticles well dispersed on carbon support materials, we propose a synthetic strategy using mixed organic ligands with different chemical structures and functions. Simultaneously to control the Pd particle size and dispersion, a ligand mixture composed of oleylamine(OA) and trioctylphosphine(TOP) is utilized during thermal decomposition of Pd precursors. In the ligand mixture, OA serves mainly as a reducing agent rather than a stabilizer since TOP, which has a bulky structure, more strongly interacts with the Pd metal surface as a stabilizer compared to OA. The specific roles of OA and TOP in the Pd nanoparticle synthesis are studied according to the mixture composition, and the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) activity and durability of highly-dispersed Pd nanocatalysts with different particles sizes are investigated. The results of this study confirm that the Pd nanocatalyst with large particles has high durability compared to the nanocatalyst with small Pd nanoparticles during the accelerated degradation tests although they initially indicated similar ORR performance.

Anion exchange membrane (AEM) with fixed charged cationic groups can selectively transport anionic molecules such as hydroxide anions. The AEM materials have been widely used in the wide range of applications such as polymer electrolyte fuel cells, water electrolysis, and reverse electrodialysis and electrodialysis. Commercially available AEM materials show high electrochemical resistance owing to their chemical architectural features leading to less separated hydrocarbon morphologies. Very low solubility to casting solvents and weak chemical durability to alkaline atmosphere of the AEM materials also makes it difficult to make thin and tough AEM membranes. In this study, AEM materials composed of perfluorinated architectures with improved chemical durability and intrinsically well separated morphologies were developed and evaluated.

고체 알칼리 연료전지에서는 작동 시 물이 생성되어 water flooding 현상이 나타나는 산화극과 반대로 물이 소진되어 water drying 현상이 나타나는 환원 극과의 water balance 가 매우 중요하다. 이번 연구에서는 기존의 상용막(Fuma tech)을 사용하여 막의 양면에 solvent assisted lithography를 통해 서로 엇갈린 라인 패턴을 형성하였다. 양면 패터닝을 통해 오믹저항의 감소와 함께 water back-diffusion을 향상시켰으며, 넓어진 계면에 의해 산화극의 mass transport를 향상시킬 수 있었다. 또한, 환원극에서는 넓어진 계면에 의해 촉매의 활용률이 증가하였고 이러한 복합적인 효과를 통해, 1.0 Wcm-2 라는 고성능을 얻을 수 있었다.

Commercial polystyrene-based ion exchange membranes have simple manufacturing processes, they also possess the poor durability due to their brittleness. Poly(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate with hydrophilic side chain of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was used as a co-monomer to make the membranes have improved flexibility. Hydrophilicity of the anion exchange membrane was able to be adjusted by varying the chain lengths of the PEG polymers. For the preparation of the anion exchange membranes, a porous PE substrate was immersed into monomer solutions and thermally polymerized and crosslinked. The prepared membranes were then subsequently post-aminated using trimethylamine(TMA). The prepared pore-filled anion exchange membranes were evaluated in terms of ion exchange capacity(IEC), electric resistance(ER) and water uptake.

계면동전위 특성평가는 분리막의 막오염 개선연구와 분리막의 표면전하 분석을 통한 고분자의 개질 확인 및 치환기 확인에 대한 연구로 활발히 진행되고 있다. 제타전위 (zeta potential)란 전기역학적 현상으로 발생하는 전위차를 정량화 한 값을 측정하는 것을 말한다. 이러한 제타전위를 측정하기 위해서는 전기영동 (electrophoresis), 전기삼투 (eletrosmosis), 유동전위 (streaming potential)를 측정하는 예가 있다. 그 중 평막은 유동전위 측정을 하는 것에 있어 가장 높은 재현성을 보인다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 SEBS (polystyrene-ethylenebutylene-styrene) 고분자 개질을 통해 아민화된 SEBS 평막형 분리막을 제막하고, 제막한 아민화된 SEBS 고분자 분리막의 계면동전위 측정을 통해 계면 유동전위를 측정하여 결과를 분석하였다.

최근 수자원 부족의 문제에 대한 탈출구를 찾기 위해 해수담수화 공정이 지속적인 연구가 이루어지고 있다. 그 중 전기흡착탈이온(EAD) 공정은 이온교환막을 이용한 전기투석법과 이온교환수지를 이용한 이온교환수지법을 혼합하여 이루어지는 공정으로 현재 사용되고 있는 해수담수화 공정의 효율을 더 높이 올려줄 것이라 예상하고 있다. 하지만, 이 공정은 이온교환막 사이에 이온교환수지가 있는 구조이기 때문에 기존 모듈보다 비교적 사이즈가 크다는 단점이 있다. 또한, 이온교환수지의 크기 분포와 당량비가 모듈의 성능에 영향을 준다. 본 연구는 현재 상용화되고 있는 이온교환공정에서 쓰이고 있는 모듈의 문제해결과 성능 향상을 위해 진행되었다. 개질을 통해 이온교환용량을 더욱 향상시키고 일반적인 이온교환수지가 아닌 더 작고 균질한 이온교환능력을 가진 이온교환 나노입자를 제조하여 제막을 진행하였고, 다양한 특성평가가 이루어졌다.

축전식 탈염(capacitive deionization)에 이용할 수 있는 폴리페닐렌 옥사이드(PPO) 음이온 교환막의 가교결합에 대해 조사하였다. 브롬화와 아민화 반응단계를 거쳐 PPO 음이온 교환 고분자를 제조하고 비스페놀 A 디글리시딜에테르 (BADGE), m-페닐렌디아민(m-PDA), 헥사메틸렌디아민(HMDA) 등으로 가교하였다. 가교에 따른 겔화되는 시간은 HMDA > m-PDA > BADGE 순으로 짧았으며, 일정한 함량 이상으로 실온에서 가교하면 1-메틸피롤리돈(NMP)과 같은 비양성자성 용매(aprotic solvent)에 녹지 않아 내화학성이 증대되었다. 가교제(BADGE) 함량에 따른 음이온 교환막의 이온 교환 용량과 함 수율을 측정하고 비교하였다. HMDA 용액에 침적하여 표면 가교한 PPO 음이온 교환막을 축전식 탈염에 적용한 결과 그 탈염 성능은 가교하지 않은 막과 비교하여 흡착단계의 초기 부분을 제외하고 거의 차이가 없었다.

본 연구에서는 지방 알코올을 이용하여 탄소 길이에 따른 술폰산계 음이온 계면활성제를 합성하였으며, 합성한 계면활성제들의 구조를 FT-IR과 1H NMR 분석을 통하여 확인하였다. 음이온 계면활성제의 임계미셀농도(critical micelle concentration: cmc)는 10-5∼10-3mol/L이며, 임계미셀농도에서의 표면장력 값은 26∼32 mN/m이었다. 합성한 술폰산계 계면활성제의 분자당 최소 영역값은 1.68∼1.30nm2이다. 음이온 계면활성제의 분자당 최소 영역이 감소하였다. 합성한 계면활성제의 물성은 임계미셀농도, 기포력, 유화력, 접촉각을 측정하였다.

본 연구에서는 경주 남산을 대상으로 지형구조 및 해발고도가 음이온 발생량에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 기온은 능선부(9.82℃) > 계곡부(8.44℃), 상대습도는 계곡부(59.01%) > 능선부(58.64%), 풍속은 능선부 (0.63m/s) > 계곡부(0.37m/s), 일사량은 능선부(34.40W/㎡) > 계곡부(14.69W/㎡)로 나타났다. 음이온의 경우 계곡부 (636.81ea/㎤) > 능선부(580.04ea/㎤)로 계곡부가 더 높은 음이온 발생량을 보였다. 해발고도와의 상관성 분석 결과, 계곡부에서는 기온, 상대습도, 일사량, 음이온 발생량과의 상관성이 검증되었으며, 상대습도, 일사량, 음이온 발생량과는 정의 상관관계, 기온과 부의 상관관계가 나타났다. 능선부에서는 기온, 상대습도, 풍속, 일사량, 음이온 발생량과의 상관성이 검증되었으며, 상대습도, 일사량, 음이온 발생량과는 정의 상관관계, 기온, 풍속과는 부의 상관관계가 나타났 다. 회귀분석 결과, 기온의 경우 계곡부는 𝒚= -0.006𝒙+9.663 (𝒙=해발고도, 𝒚=기온), 능선부의 경우 𝒚= -0.009𝒙+11.595 (𝒙=해발고도, 𝒚=기온)의 예측식을 얻었다. 상대습도의 경우 계곡부는 𝒚= 0.027𝒙+53.561 (𝒙=해발고도, 𝒚=상대습도), 능선부의 경우 𝒚= 0.008𝒙+56.646 (𝒙=해발고도, 𝒚=상대습도)의 예측식을 얻었다. 음이온 발생량의 경우 계곡부는 𝒚= 0.577𝒙+521.508 (𝒙=해발고도, 𝒚=음이온 발생량), 능선부의 경우 𝒚= 0.605𝒙+549.068 (𝒙=해발고도, 𝒚=음이온 발생 량)의 예측식을 얻었다.

Cu(II) can cause health problem for human being and phosphate is a key pollutant induces eutrophication in rivers and ponds. To remove of Cu(II) and phosphate from solution, chitosan as adsorbent was chosen and used as a form of hydrogel bead. Due to the chemical instability of hydrogel chitosan bead (HCB), the crosslinked HCB by glutaraldehyde (GA) was prepared (HCB-G). HCB-G maintained the spherical bead type at 1% HCl without a loss of chitosan. A variety of batch experiment tests were carried out to determine the removal efficiency (%), maximum uptake (Q, mg/g), and reaction rate. In the single presence of Cu(II) or phosphate, the removal efficiency was obtained to 17 and 16%, respectively. However, the removal efficiency of Cu(II) and phosphate was increased to 50~55% at a mixed solution. The maximum uptake (Q) for Cu(II) and phosphate was enhanced from 11.3 to74.4 mg/g and from 3.34 to 36.6 mg/g, respectively. While the reaction rate of Cu(II) and phosphate was almost finished within 24 and 6 h at single solution, it was not changed for Cu(II) but was retarded for phosphate at mixed solution.

Commercial polystyrene-based ion exchange membranes have simple manufacturing processes, they also possess the poor durability due to their brittleness. Poly(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate with hydrophilic side chain of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was used as a co-monomer to make the membranes have improved flexibility. Hydrophilicity of the anion exchange membrane was able to be adjusted by varying the chain lengths of the PEG polymers. For the preparation of the anion exchange membranes, a porous PE substrate was immersed into monomer solutions and thermally polymerized and crosslinked. The prepared membranes were then subsequently post-aminated using trimethylamine (TMA). The prepared pore-filled anion exchange membranes were evaluated in terms of ion exchange capacity (IEC), electric resistance (ER) and water uptake.

There is a great importance in the development of anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) for renewable energy research. The high conductivity and alkaline stability under high pH conditions at elevated temperatures are required for AEMs. We report herein SEBS-based AEMS with different hydrophobic side chain lengths, and investigated the properties of the corresponding AEMs, including conductivity, morphology and chemophysical stabilities.

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) have attracted a growing interest as an alternative for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). AEMs are the most important components of AEMFCs, and it’s a great challenge to attain high ion conductivity, good dimensional, mechanical and alkaline stabilities for AEMs. We prepared poly(ether sulfone ketone)s having various hydrophilic-hydrophobic block ratios, and investigated the effect of the block composition on the chemo-physical properties of the corresponding membranes. The experimental procedures and the properties, including conductivity, morphology and stability will be discussed in detail.

The anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) have been known to be promising eco-friendly power sources. To develop AEMFCs, the high ion conductivity, good dimensional, mechanical and alkaline stabilities are required for AEMs. However, the high conductivity generally requires high water uptake, which causes an enhanced swelling and decreased mechanical properties for the AEMs. To overcome this problem, we introduced an ionic conductor having long alkyl diammonium groups to alkyl-substituted poly(p-phenylene oxide) (PPO). Addition of this new additive increased the conductivity, mechanical and alkaline stabilities due to the molecular interaction between alkyl chains in PPO and same group of the additive. Synthesis and properties of the corresponding membranes will be discussed in detail.

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) have been considered as a promising energy device. To make highly efficient AEMs, high ion conductivity, mechanical stabilities and alkaline stabilities are required. High ion conductivity generally accompanies poor mechanical properties, and crosslinking has been widely applied to overcome these problems. Our groups introduced novel terminally-crosslinked piperidinium-functionalized poly(arylene ether sulfone)s as a anion exchange membrane. Unlike the typical AEMs, our terminally-crosslinked membranes are expected to have high conductivity, especially at low RH conditions due to enhanced water-holding capacity, while maintaining the high chemophyscial stabilities by crosslinking. The synthesis, and properties of the prepared membranes will be discussed in detail.

제타전위를 이용한 분리막의 막오염 개선연구와 분리막의 표면전하 분석을 통한 고분자의 개질 확인 및 치환기 확인에 대한 연구는 활발히 진행되고 있다. 제타전위(zeta potential)란 전기역학적 현상으로 발생하는 전위차를 정량화 한값을 측정하는 것을 말한다. 이러한 제타전위를 측정하기 위해서는 전기영동(electrophoresis), 전기삼투(eletrosmosis), 유동전위(streaming potential)를 측정하는 예가 있고 그중 평막은 유동전위 측정이 적합하다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 SEBS(polystyrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene) 고분자를 개질하여 아민화된 SEBS 평막형택의 분리막을 제조하고, 제조한 아민화된 SEBS 고분자 분리막을 계면동전위 측정기 이용으로 유동전위를 측정하여 결과를 분석하였다.

The anion exchange membrane (AEM) has a structure having a group of positively charged ions inside, and selectively permeates the anion of the electrolyte. In addition, excellent ion conductivity and chemical durability, and highly reliable electrochemical performance are required. However, commercially available AEMs have a hydrocarbon-based backbone. It is difficult to make the thin film because of low solubility. As a result, it has low ionic conductivity and high area resistivity and shows limitations in electrochemical applications. In this study, a perfluorinated ionomer-based anion exchange membrane with excellent chemical stability is prepared and shows enhanced anion conductivity in electrochemical applications.