Flexible zinc-air batteries have many merits, including low cost, high safety, environmentally friendliness applicability, etc. One of the key factors to improve the performance of flexible zinc-air batteries is to use a gel electrolyte. In this study, gel electrolytes were synthesized from potato, sweet potato, and corn starch. In a comparison of each starch, the corn starch-based gel electrolyte showed the highest discharge capacity of 12.41 mAh/cm2 in 20 mA and 6.47 mAh/cm2 in 30 mA. It also delivered a higher specific discharge capacity of 7.06 mAh/cm2 than the other materials after 100° bending. In addition, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was analyzed to calculate the ionic conductivity. The potato, sweet potato, and corn starch-based gel electrolytes showed electrolyte resistances (Re) of 0.306, 0.298, and 0.207 Ω, respectively. In addition, the corn starch-based gel electrolyte delivered the highest ionic conductivity of 0.121 S cm-1 among the other gel electrolytes. Thus, the corn starch-based gel electrolyte was verified to improve the performance of flexible zinc-air batteries

The electrochemical reaction between lead borate glass frit doped with Sn metal filler and Ni-Cr wire of a J-type resistor during a term of Joule heating is investigated. The fusing behavior in which the Ni-Cr wire is melted is not observed for the control group but measured for the Sn-doped specimen under 30 V and 500 mA. The Sn-doped lead borate glass frit shows a fusing property compared with other metal-doped specimens. Meanwhile, the redox reaction significantly contributes to the fusing behavior due to the release of free electrons of the metal toward the glass. The electrons derived from the glass, which used Joule heat to reach the melting point of Ni-Cr wire, increase with increasing corrosion rate at interface of metal/ glass. Finally, the confidence interval is 95 ± 1.959 %, and the adjusted regression coefficient, R in the optimal linear graph, is 0.93, reflecting 93% of the data and providing great potential for fusible resistor applications.

Electronic textiles promise to provide an intelligent platform to enlarge the scope of wearable electronic applications. Therefore, the combination of flexible energy storage devies into wearable systems is a key for operating these electronic textiles during bending, knotting, and rolling. Nonetheless, the application of fibrous supercapacitors consisting of a gel-electrolyte and carbon fiber electrode is still obstructed by low capacitance, low rate-performance, and poor cycling stability owing to the inefficient interface between the gel-electrolyte and electrode. Here, a fibrous supercapacitor is obtained using an optimized gelelectrolyte that improves the ionic diffusion capability. The optimized fibrous supercapacitor shows a superior electrochemical performance, including high specific capacitance of 41 mF cm−2 at current density of 2.0 μA cm−2, high-rate performance with 17 mF cm−2 at a current density of 15.0 μA cm−2, and outstanding cycling stability (88% after 3,000 cycles at a current density of 200.0 μA cm−2). The excellent energy storage performance is mainly attributed to the optimzied interface between the gelelectrolyte and electrode material, leading to an improved ionic diffusion capability.

본 연구에서는 다공성 활성탄소와 금속유기골격체 복합재료 기반의 전극 재료와 “이온젤” 이라고 불리는 고분자 고체 전해질을 이용하여 슈퍼커패시터를 제작 하였으며, 금속유기골격체의 함량에 따른 전기화학적 거동을 관찰하여 보았다. 슈퍼커패시터의 전기화학적 특성은 순환전압전류법(CV), 전기화학적 임피던스 분광법(EIS) 및 전정류 충·방전법(GCD)으로 분석하였으며, 그 결과로, 다공성 활성탄소 대비 금속유기골격체를 0.5 wt% 첨가 하였을 때 가장 높은 전기용량값을 확인 할 수 있었으며, 0.5 wt% 이상의 금속유기골격체의 함유량은 전기화학적 특성 감소에 영향을 주는 것으로 사료되며, 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 제조된 다공성 활성탄소/금속유기골격체 복합재료 기반의 슈퍼커패시터는 다양한 분야에 활용이 가능 할 것으로 판단된다.

The performance of Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors (asymmetric-type) depends on many factors such as the capacity ratio, material properties, cell designs and operating conditions. Among these, in consideration of balanced electrochemical reactions, the capacity ratio of the negative (anode) to positive (cathode) electrode is one of the most important factors to design the Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors for high energy storing performance. We assemble Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors using activated carbon (AC) as anode material, lithium manganese oxide as cathode material, and organic electrolyte (1 mol L−1 LiPF6 in acetonitrile). At this point, the thickness of the anode electrode is controlled at 160, 200, and 240 μm. Also, thickness of cathode electrode is fixed at 60 μm. Then, the effect of negative and positive electrode ratio on the electrochemical performance of AC/LiMn2O4 Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors is investigated, especially in the terms of capacity and cyclability at high current density. In this study, we demonstrate the relationship of capacity ratio between anode and cathode electrode, and the excellent electrochemical performance of AC/LiMn2O4 Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors. The remarkable capability of these materials proves that manipulation of the capacity ratio is a promising technology for high-performance Li-ion hybrid supercapacitors.

Recent industrialization has led to a high demand for the use of fossil fuels. Therefore, the need for producing hydrogen and its utilization is essential for a sustainable society. For an eco-friendly future technology, photoelectrochemical water splitting using solar energy has proven promising amongst many other candidates. With this technique, semiconductors can be used as photocatalysts to generate electrons by light absorption, resulting in the reduction of hydrogen ions. The photocatalysts must be chemically stable, economically inexpensive and be able to utilize a wide range of light. From this perspective, cuprous oxide(Cu2O) is a promising p-type semiconductor because of its appropriate band gap. However, a major hindrance to the use of Cu2O is its instability at the potential in which hydrogen ion is reduced. In this study, gold is used as a bottom electrode during electrodeposition to obtain a preferential growth along the (111) plane of Cu2O while imperfections of the Cu2O thin films are removed. This study investigates the photoelectrochemical properties of Cu2O. However, severe photo-induced corrosion impedes the use of Cu2O as a photoelectrode. Two candidates, TiO2 and SnO2, are selected for the passivation layer on Cu2O by by considering the Pourbaix-diagram. TiO2 and SnO2 passivation layers are deposited by atomic layer deposition(ALD) and a sputtering process, respectively. The investigation of the photoelectrochemical properties confirmed that SnO2 is a good passivation layer for Cu2O.

Hot-press forming(HPF) steel can be applied successfully to auto parts because of its superior mechanical properties. However, its resistances to aqueous corrosion and the subsequent hydrogen embrittlement(HE) decrease significantly when the steel is exposed to corrosive environments. Considering that the resistances are greatly dependent on the properties of coating materials formed on the steel surface, the characteristics of the corrosion and hydrogen diffusion behaviors regarding the types of coating material should be clearly understood. Electrochemical polarization and impedance measurements reveal a higher corrosion potential and polarization resistance and a lower corrosion current of the Al-coating compared with Zn-coating. Furthermore, it was expected that the diffusion kinetics of the hydrogen atoms would be much slower in the Al-coating, and this would be due mainly to the much lower diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in the Al-coating with a face-centered cubic structure. The superior surface inhibiting effect of the Al-coating, however, is degraded by the formation of local cracks in the coated layer under severe stress conditions, and therefore further study will be necessary to gain a clearer understanding of the effect of cracks formed on the coated layer on the subsequent corrosion and hydrogen diffusion behaviors.

LiCl-KCl 용융염에서 광학적으로 투명한 텅스텐 망으로 제작된 작업전극에 대해 사마륨의 전기화학적 거동을 Cyclic voltammetry와 Potential step chronoabsorptometry의 전기화학적 및 분광전기화학적 방법으로 조사하였다. Cyclic voltammogram 으로 결정된 Sm3+/Sm2+의 산화환원 반응의 가역성을 기반으로 형식전위와 확산계수를 계산하여 각각 –1.99 V vs. Cl2/Cl- 와 2.53×10-6 cm2·s-1를 얻었다. 작업 전극에 –1.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl (wt%)로 전압을 인가하여 측정한 Chronoabsorptometry 를 통해 사마륨 이온의 특성 파장으로 Sm3+에 대해 408.08 nm, Sm2+에 대해 545.62 nm를 확인하였다. Voltammogram에서 얻은 환원 피크 전압과 산화 피크 전압을 이용하여 Potential step chronoabsorptometry를 수행하였다. 545.63 nm의 흡광 피크 값을 분석하여 2.15×10-6 cm2·s-1의 확산계수를 얻었으며 이 값은 동일한 온도에서 Cyclic voltammtry 분석으로 얻은 값과 큰 차이를 보이지 않았다. 실험결과로부터 고온 용융염에서 광학적으로 투명한 작업전극을 이용한 분광전기화학적 방 법이 용융염에 용해된 이온의 종류를 확인하며 전기화학적 거동을 조사하는데 유용한 도구로 활용될 수 있음을 확인하였다.

Well-dispersed platinum catalysts on ruthenium oxide nanofiber supports are fabricated using electrospinning, post-calcination, and reduction methods. To obtain the well-dispersed platinum catalysts, the surface of the nanofiber supports is modified using post-calcination. The structures, morphologies, crystal structures, chemical bonding energies, and electrochemical performance of the catalysts are investigated. The optimized catalysts show well-dispersed platinum nanoparticles (1-2 nm) on the nanofiber supports as well as a uniform network structure. In particular, the well-dispersed platinum catalysts on the ruthenium oxide nanofiber supports display excellent catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reactions with a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.57 V and outstanding long-term stability after 2000 cycles, resulting in a lower E1/2 potential degradation of 19 mV. The enhanced electrochemical performance for oxygen reduction reactions results from the well-dispersed platinum catalysts and unique nanofiber supports.