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Min K, Al Munsur AZ, Paek SY, Jeon S, Lee SY, Kim TH. Development of High-Performance Polymer Electrolyte Membranes through the Application of Quantum Dot Coatings to Nafion Membranes. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:15616-15624. [PMID: 36926797 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c01289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) generates oxygen and hydrogen at the anode and cathode, respectively, by conducting protons generated at the anode to the cathode through a proton exchange membrane (PEM). The performance of PEMWE can be improved with faster catalytic reactions at each electrode; thus, the development of a PEM with excellent ionic conductivity and physicochemical stability is essential. Nafion, a type of perfluoro-sulfonic acid polymer, is the most widely used PEM material. However, despite its excellent conductivity and chemical stability, it exhibits high hydrogen permeability due to its structural characteristics. Quantum dots (QDs) have a hydrophilic functional group that can act as an ion conductor and are extremely compatible with the hydrophilic cluster of Nafion due to their characteristic nanosized structure. In this study, various compositions of N-doped carbon quantum dots (CQDs) containing hydrophilic functional groups were coated on a Nafion-212 membrane. The resulting series of CQD-coated Nafion membranes exhibited improvements in morphology and ionic conductivity as well as reductions in hydrogen permeability. In particular, the Nafion membrane coated with 0.75 wt % of N-doped CQD (CQD-cNafion-0.75) exhibited improved mechanical properties and higher oxidation stability compared to Nafion-212. It also displayed higher ionic conductivity of 240.3 mS cm-1 at 80 °C and reduced hydrogen permeability (about 10% reduction) compared to Nafion-212. In addition, the performance of single-cell PEMWE using the CQD-cNafion-0.75 membrane was found to be approximately 1.2 times higher than Nafion-212.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyungwhan Min
- Organic Material Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Core Research Institute, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, South Korea
| | - Abu Zafar Al Munsur
- Hydrogen Energy Technology Laboratory, Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH), Ujeong-ro, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do 58217, Republic of Korea
| | - Sae Yane Paek
- Center for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea
| | - Soomin Jeon
- Organic Material Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Core Research Institute, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, South Korea
| | - So Young Lee
- Center for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae-Hyun Kim
- Organic Material Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute of Basic Sciences, Core Research Institute, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 22012, South Korea
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Electrocatalytic water oxidation with layered double hydroxides confining single atoms. Coord Chem Rev 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2022.214973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Xia C, Li J, Qian Z, Xu F, Li Y, Zhu S, Qian HJ, Zhao C, Lu ZY, Yang B. Carbonized Polymer Dots Assemble in Proton-Conducting Channels to Enhance the Conductivity and Selectivity Simultaneously for High-Performance Fuel Cells. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023:e2205291. [PMID: 36635000 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202205291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Fabricating polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) simultaneously with high ion conductivity and selectivity has always been an ultimate goal in many membrane-integrated systems for energy conversion and storage. Constructing broader ion-conducting channels usually enables high-efficient ion conductivity while often bringing increased crossover of other ions or molecules simultaneously, resulting in decreased selectivity. Here, the ultra-small carbon dots (CDs) with the selective barriers are self-assembled within proton-conducting channels of PEMs through electrostatic interaction to enhance the proton conductivity and selectivity simultaneously. The functional CDs regulate the nanophase separation of PEMs and optimize the hydration proton network enabling higher-efficient proton transport. Meanwhile, the CDs within proton-conducting channels prevent fuel from permeating selectively due to their repelling and spatial hindrance against fuel molecules, resulting in highly enhanced selectivity. Benefiting from the improved conductivity and selectivity, the open-circuit voltage and maximum power density of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) equipped with the hybrid membranes raised by 23% and 93%, respectively. This work brings new insight to optimize polymer membranes for efficient and selective transport of ions or small molecules, solving the trade-off of conductivity and selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunlei Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Jialin Li
- Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Zhao Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Fengrui Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Yunfeng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Shoujun Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
- Joint Laboratory of Opto-Functional Theranostics in Medicine and Chemistry, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, P. R. China
| | - Hu-Jun Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Chengji Zhao
- Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Zhong-Yuan Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Bai Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
- Joint Laboratory of Opto-Functional Theranostics in Medicine and Chemistry, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, P. R. China
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