ZnO particles are successfully synthesized at 150 ℃ for 30 min using zinc acetate as the Zn source and 1,4-butanediol as solvent using a relatively facile and convenient glycol process. The effect of ammonium hydroxide amounts on the growth behavior and the morphological evolution of ZnO particles are investigated. The prepared ZnO nanoparticle with hexagonal structure exhibits a quasi-spherical shape with an average crystallite size of approximately 30 nm. It is also demonstrated that the morphology of ZnO particles can be controlled by 1,4-butanediol with an additive of ammonium hydroxide. The morphologies of ZnO particles are changed sequentially from a quasi-spherical shape to a rod-like shape and a hexagonal rod shape with a truncated pyramidal tip, exhibiting preferential growth along the [001] direction with increasing ammonium hydroxide amounts. It is demonstrated that much higher OH^- amounts can produce a nano-tip shape grown along the [001] direction at the corners and center of the (001) top polar plane, and a flat hexagonal symmetry shape of the bottom polar plane on ZnO hexagonal prisms. The results indicate that the presence of NH⁴⁺ and OH^- ions in the solution greatly affects the growth behaviors of ZnO particles. A sharp near-band-edge (NBE) emission peak centered at 383 nm in the UV region and a weak broad peak in the visible region between 450 nm and 700 nm are shown in the PL spectra of the ZnO synthesized using the glycol process, regardless of adding ammonium hydroxide. Although the broad peak of the deep-level-emission (DLE) increases with the addition of ammonium hydroxide, it is suggested that the prominent NBE emission peaks indicate that ZnO nanoparticles with good crystallization are obtained under these conditions.

Solid state grain growth (SSCG) is a method of growing large single crystals from seed single crystals by abnormal grain growth in a small-grained matrix. During grain growth, pores are often trapped in the matrix and remain in single crystals. Aerosol deposition (AD) is a method of manufacturing films with almost full density from nano grains by causing high energy collision between substrates and ceramic powders. AD and SSCG are used to grow single crystals with few pores. BaTiO₃ films are coated on (100) SrTiO₃ seeds by AD. To generate grain growth, BaTiO₃ films are heated to 1,300 ℃ and held for 10 h, and entire films are grown as single crystals. The condition of grain growth driving force is ∆G_max < ∆G_c ≤ ∆G_seed. On the other hand, the condition of grain growth driving force in BaTiO₃ AD films heat-treated at 1,100 and 1,200 ℃ is ∆G_c < ∆G_max, and single crystals are not grown.

Metal halide perovskite nanocrystals, due to their high absorption coefficient, high diffusion length, and photoluminescence quantum yield, have received significant attention in the fields of optoelectronic applications such as highly efficient photovoltaic cells and narrow-line-width light emitting diodes. Their energy band structure can be controlled via chemical exchange of the halide anion or monovalent cations in the perovskite nanocrystals. Recently, it has been demonstrated that chemical exfoliation of the halide perovskite crystal structure can be achieved by addition of organic ligands such as n-octylamine during the synthetic process. In this study, we systematically investigated the quantum confinement effect of methylammonium lead bromide (CH₃NH₃PbBr₃, MAPbBr₃) nanocrystals by precise control of the crystal thickness via chemical exfoliation using n-octylammonium bromide (OABr). We found that the crystalline thickness consistently decreases with increasing amounts of OABr, which has a larger ionic radius than that of CH₃NH₃⁺ ions. In particular, a significant quantum confinement effect is observed when the amounts of OABr are higher than 60 %, which exhibited a blue-shifted PL emission (~ 100 nm) as well as an increase of energy bandgap (~ 1.53 eV).

Hierarchically porous carbon materials with high nitrogen functionalities are extensively studied as high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials. In this study, nitrogen-doped porous carbon textile (N-PCT) with hierarchical pore structures is prepared as an electrode material for supercapacitors from a waste cotton T-shirt (WCT). Porous carbon textile (PCT) is first prepared from WCT by two-step heat treatment of stabilization and carbonization. The PCT is then nitrogen-doped with urea at various concentrations. The obtained N-PCT is found to have multi-modal pore structures with a high specific surface area of 1,299 m² g^-1 and large total pore volume of 1.01 cm³ g^-1. The N-PCT-based electrode shows excellent electrochemical performance in a 3-electrode system, such as a specific capacitance of 235 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1, excellent cycling stability of 100 % at 5 A g^-1 after 1,000 cycles, and a power density of 2,500 W kg^-1 at an energy density of 3.593 Wh kg^-1. Thus, the prepared N-PCT can be used as an electrode material for supercapacitors.

An investigation is performed to clarify the manufacturing conditions of pure magnesium and AZ31 magnesium alloy thin plate using the melt drag method. By the melt drag method, suitable for magnesium molten metal, pure magnesium can be produced as a continuous thin plate with a thickness of 1.4 mm to 2.4 mm in the range of 5 m/min to 20 m/min of roll speed, and the width of the thin plate to the nozzle outlet width. AZ31 magnesium alloy is able to produce a continuous sheet of thickness in the range of 5 m/min to 30 m/min in roll circumferential speed, with a thickness of 0.6 mm to 1.6 mm and a width of the sheet matching the nozzle outlet width. In the magnesium melt drag method, the faster the circumferential speed of the roll, the shorter the contact time between the molten metal and the roll, and it is found that the thickness of the produced thin plate becomes thinner. The effect of the circumferential roll speed on the thickness of the thin plate is evident in the low roll circumferential region, where the circumferential speed is 30 m/min or less. The AZ31 thin plate manufactured by the melt drag method has a finer grain size as the thickness of the thin plate decreases, but it is currently judged that this is not the effect of cooling by the roll.

The impact properties of two austenitic Fe-23Mn-0.4C steels with different Al contents for cryogenic applications are investigated in this study. The 4Al steel consists mostly of austenite single-phase microstructure, while the 5Al steel exhibits a two-phase microstructure of austenite and delta-ferrite with coarse and elongated grains. Charpy impact test results reveal that the 5Al steel with duplex phases of austenite and delta-ferrite exhibits a ductile-to-brittle transition behavior, while the 4Al steel with only single-phase austenite has higher absorbed energy over 100 J at -196 ℃. The SEM fractographs of Charpy impact specimens show that the 4Al steel has a ductile dimple fracture regardless of test temperature, whereas the 5Al steel fractured at -100 ℃ and -196 ℃ exhibits a mixed fracture mode of both ductile and brittle fractures. Additionally, quasi-cleavage fracture caused by crack propagation of delta-ferrite phase is found in some regions of the brittle fracture surface of the 5Al steel. Based on these results, the delta-ferrite phase hardly has a significant effect on absorbed energy at room-temperature, but it significantly deteriorates low-temperature toughness by acting as the main site of the propagation of brittle cracks at cryogenic-temperatures.

Carbon-encapsulated Ni catalysts are synthesized by an electrical explosion of wires (EEW) method and applied for CO₂ methanation. We find that the presence of carbon shell on Ni nanoparticles as catalyst can positively affect CO₂ methanation reaction. Ni@5C that is produced under 5 % CH₄ partial pressure in Ar gas has highest conversions of 68 % at 350 ℃ and 70 % at 400 ℃, which are 73 and 75 % of the thermodynamic equilibrium conversion, respectively. The catalyst of Ni@10C with thicker carbon layer shows much reduced activity. The EEW-produced Ni catalysts with low specific surface area outperform Ni catalysts with high surface area synthesized by solution-based precipitation methods. Our finding in this study shows the possibility of utilizing carbon-encapsulated metal catalysts for heterogeneous catalysis reaction including CO₂ methanation. Furthermore, EEW, which is a highly promising method for massive production of metal nanoparticles, can be applied for various catalysis system, requiring scaled-up synthesis of catalysts.

In this study, a spray dryer is used to make granules of Y₂O₃ and YF₃, and then Y₅O₄F₇ is synthesized following heat treatment of them under Ar gas atmosphere at 600 ℃. Single and binary monomer mixtures are compared and analyzed to optimize photocurable monomer system for DLP 3D printing. The mixture of HEA and TMPTA at 8:2 ratio exhibits the highest photocuring properties and low viscosity with shear thinning behavior. The optimized photocurable monomer and synthesized Y₅O₄F₇ are therefore mixed and applied to printing process at variable solid contents (60, 70, 80, & 85 wt.%) and light exposure times. Under optimal light exposure conditions (initial exposure time: 1.2 s, basic exposure time: 5 s), YOF composites at 60, 70 & 80 wt.% solid contents are successfully printed. As a result of measuring the size of the printed samples compared to the dimensions of the designed bar type specimen, the deviation is found to increase as the YOF solid content increases. This shows that it is necessary to maximize the photocuring activity of the monomer system and to optimize the exposure time when printing using a high-solids ceramic slurry.