Hyuk Jae Kwon

Enhanced Electrochemical Stability of Quasi-Solid-State Electrolyte Containing SiO2 Nanoparticles for Li-O2 Battery Applications

A stable electrolyte is required for use in the open-packing environment of a Li-O2 battery system. Herein, a gelled quasi-solid-state electrolyte containing SiO2 nanoparticles was designed, in order to obtain a solidified electrolyte with a high discharge capacity and long cyclability. We successfully fabricated an organic-inorganic hybrid matrix with a gelled structure, which exhibited high ionic conductivity, thereby enhancing the discharge capacity of the Li-O2 battery. In particular, the improved electrochemical stability of the gelled cathode led to long-term cyclability. The organic-inorganic hybrid matrix with the gelled structure played a beneficial role in improving the ionic conductivity and long-term cyclability and diminished electrolyte evaporation. The experimental and theoretical findings both suggest that the preferential binding between amorphous SiO2 and polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether (PEGDME) solvent led to the formation of the solidified gelled electrolyte and improved electrochemical stability during cycling, while enhancing the stability of the quasi-solid state Li-O2 battery.

Enhanced Selectivity for CO2 Adsorption on Mesoporous Silica with Alkali Metal Halide due to Electrostatic Field: A Molecular Simulation Approach

Since adsorption performances are dominantly determined by adsorbate-adsorbent interactions, accurate theoretical prediction of the thermodynamic characteristics of gas adsorption is critical for designing new sorbent materials as well as understanding the adsorption mechanisms. Here, through our molecular modeling approach using a newly developed quantum-mechanics-based force field, it is demonstrated that the CO2 adsorption selectivity of SBA-15 can be enhanced by incorporating crystalline potassium chloride particles. It is noted that the induced intensive electrostatic fields around potassium chloride clusters create gas-trapping sites with high selectivity for CO2 adsorption. The newly developed force field can provide a reliable theoretical tool for accurately evaluating the gas adsorption on given adsorbents, which can be utilized to identify good gas adsorbents.

Enhanced competitive adsorption of CO2 and H2 on graphyne: A density functional theory study

Adsorption using carbon-based materials has been established to be a feasible method for separating carbon dioxide and hydrogen to mitigate the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and for the collection of fuel for energy sources, simultaneously. We carried out density functional theory calculation with dispersion correction to investigate the physisorption characteristics of carbon allotropes such as graphene and graphyne for the competitive adsorption of CO2 and H2. It is worth noting that the graphyne represented preferable adsorption energies, short bond lengths and energy charges for both gases, compared with the characteristics observed with graphene. We found that in graphyne, both the affinitive adsorption of CO2, and the competitive adsorption of CO2 and H2, took place at the hollow site between acetylene links, which do not exist in graphene. We demonstrate that in the presence of H2, the CO2 adsorption selectivity of graphyne is higher than that of graphene, because of the improved e...

Predictive Guide for Collective CO2 Adsorption Properties of Mg−Al Mixed Oxides

Although solid adsorption processes offer attractive benefits, such as reduced energy demands and penalties compared with liquid absorption processes, there are still pressing needs for solid adsorbents with high adsorption capacities, thermal efficiencies, and energy-intensive regeneration in gas-treatment processes. The CO2 adsorption capacities of layered double oxides (LDOs), which are attractive solid adsorbents, have an asymmetric volcano-type correlation with their relative crystallinities. Furthermore, new collective adsorption properties (adsorption capacity, adsorptive energy and charge-transfer amount based on the adsorbent weight) are proposed based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations and measured surface areas. The correlation of these collective properties with their crystallinities is in good agreement with the experimentally measured CO2 adsorptive capacity trend, providing a predictive guide for the development of solid adsorbents for gas-adsorption processes.