• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.67
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• pp.437-447
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• 2018

Visible-light-driven wide bandgap semiconductor photocatalysts were commonly developed via doping or coupling with another narrow bandgap metal oxide. However, these approaches required extra processing. The aim of study was to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of narrow bandgap $WO_x$ nanoparticles. A mixture of $WO_2$ and $WO_3$ nanoparticles were synthesized using solution precipitation technique. The photodegradation of RhB by these nanoparticles more effective in UV light than in visible light. In antibacterial susceptibility assay, $WO_x$ nanoparticles demonstrated good antibacterial against Gram-positive bacteria. The cell wall of bacterial was the main determinant in antibacterial effect other than $W^{4+}/W^{6+}$ ions and ROS.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.126-131
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• 2015

$C_{60}$ nanowhiskers were synthesized from $C_{60}$ by liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) using $C_{60}$-saturated toluene and isopropyl alcohol. The $WO_3$ nanoparticles were synthesized by adding $3.8{\times}10^{-4}$ mole amount of ammonium metatungstate hydrate ($H_{26}N_6O_{40}W_{12}{\cdot}H_2O$) to 500 ml of distilled water, and the resulting solution was heated on a hot plate for 4 h. The $C_{60}$ nanowhiskers/$WO_3$ nanocomposites were prepared with $C_{60}$ nanowhiskers and $WO_3$ nanoparticles in an electric furnace at $700^{\circ}C$ in an argon gas atmosphere for 2 h. The $C_{60}$ nanowhiskers/$WO_3$ nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. UV-vis spectroscopy was used to evaluate the performance of the $C_{60}$ nanowhiskers/$WO_3$ nanocomposites as a photocatalyst in the degradation of organic dyes, such as methylene blue (MB) and brilliant green (BG) under ultraviolet light (254 nm).

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.42-47
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• 2016

Increasing the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) by the fabrication of new photoelectrodes (PEs) is an important challenge. This study examined the photovoltaic parameters of DSSCs composed of a $TiO_2$ PE with $WO_3$ nanoparticles (NPs). A number of PEs with the same thickness but different concentrations of $WO_3$ NPs in the $TiO_2PE$ were prepared. The morphology and structural properties of the prepared PEs were examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The effects of the $WO_3$ NPs mixing concentration on the efficiency of DSSCs were investigated under simulated solar light irradiation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2014

In the present work, $WO_3$ and $WO_3-TiO_2$ were prepared by the chemical deposition method. Structural variations, surface state and elemental compositions were investigated for preparation of $WO_3-TiO_2$ sonocatalyst. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed for characterization of these new photocatalysts. A rhodamine B (Rh.B) solution under ultrasonic irradiation was used to determine the catalytic activity. Excellent catalytic degradation of an Rh.B solution was observed using the $WO_3-TiO_2$ composites under ultrasonic irradiation. Sonocatalytic degradation is a novel technology of treating wastewater. During the ultrasonic treatment of aqueous solutions sonoluminescence, cavitaties and "hot spot" occurred, leading to the dissociation of water molecules. In case of a $WO_3$ coupled system, a semiconductor coupled with two components has a beneficial role in improving charge separation and enhancing $TiO_2$ response to ultrasonic radiations. In case of the addition of $WO_3$ as new matter, the excited electrons from the $WO_3$ particles are quickly transferred to $TiO_2$ particle, as the conduction band of $WO_3$ is 0.74 eV which is -0.5 eV more than that of $TiO_2$. This transfer of charge should enhance the oxidation of the adsorbed organic substrate. The result shows that the photocatalytic performance of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles was improved by loading $WO_3$.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.118-123
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• 2018

The hexagonal tungsten bronze $Cs_xWO_3$ nanoparticle was synthesized by a chemical coprecipitation method of ammonium tungstate and $Cs_2CO_3$ in acidic condition. This synthetic method for cesium tungsten bronze is reported for the first time as far as we know. The synthesized $Cs_xWO_3$ as precipitated showed a weak crystallinity of hexagonal unit cell with a crystallite size of about 4 nm without annealing. When the synthesized $Cs_xWO_3$ was annealed in $N_2$ atmosphere, the crystallinity and crystallite size systematically increased maintaining the typical hexagonal tungsten bronze structure as the annealing temperature increased. The analyzed Cs content in the bronze was about 0.3 vs W, which is very close to the theoretical maximum value, 1/3 in cesium tungsten bronze. According to XPS analysis, the reduced tungsten ions existed as both the forms of $W^{5+}$ and $W^{4+}$ and the contents systematically increased as the annealing temperature increased up to $800^{\circ}C$. The $Cs_xWO_3$ thin films on PET substrate were also prepared by a wet-coating method using the ball-milled solution of the annealed $Cs_xWO_3$ nanoparticles at various temperatures. The near-infrared shielding property of these thin films increased systematically as the annealing temperature increased up to $800^{\circ}C$ as expected with the increased contents of reduced tungsten ions.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.223-228
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• 2016

In this work, we prepared porous WO3 nanofibers (NFs) functionalized by bio-inspired catalytic $Cr_2O_3$ and $Co_3O_4$ nanoparticles as highly sensitive and selective $H_2S$ gas sensing layers. Highly porous 3-dimensional (3D) NFs networks decorated by well-dispersed catalyst NPs exhibited superior $H_2S$ gas response ($R_{air}/R_{gas}$ = 46 at 5 ppm) in high humidity environment (95 %RH). In particular, the sensors showed outstanding $H_2S$ selectivity against other interfering analytes (such as acetone, toluene, CO, $H_2$, ethanol). Exhaled breath sensors using $Cr_2O_3$ and $Co_3O_4$ catalysts-loaded $WO_3$ NFs are highly promising for the accurate detection of halitosis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.369.1-369.1
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• 2014

Au-functionalized $WO_3$ nanotubes were synthesized using ZnO nanowire templates. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the Au nanoparticles on the outer surface of a typical $WO_3$ nanotube ranged from 5 to 25 nm. The multiple networked Au-functionalized $WO_3$ nanotube sensors showed responses of 820-3, 924% in the $NO_2$ concentration range of 1-5 ppm at $300^{\circ}C$. These responses were approximately 5-12 fold higher than those observed for pristine $WO_3$ nanotube sensors over the same $NO_2$ concentration range. A model describing the gas sensing mechanism of Au-functionalized $WO_3$ nanotubes is discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.643-643
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• 2013

Recently, synthesis of low-dimensional nanostructures is gaining more importance due to their structural properties and growing potential applications. On the other hand, luminescent materials doped with rare earth ions have drawn immense attention. The commercial phosphors are based on many host materials. Among them, tungstates are being currently investigated by many research groups owing to a wide range of applications. Tungstates are formed by different metal cations (e.g., SrWO4, Na2WO4, NiWO4, Cr2WO6, and ZrW2O8) and their structure depends on the size of the metal cation. Tungstates with large bivalent cations (${\gg}0.1\;nm$) have the scheelite structure and the wolframite structure with smaller ions (＜0.1 nm). Strontium tungstate has the scheelite structure which is tetragonal with space group I41/a. The luminescent properties of the tungstate have been extensively explored in application fields such as sensors, detectors, lasers, photoluminiscent devices, photo catalysts, etc. In this work, we synthesized SrWO4 phosphors with different Eu3+ concentrations by using a facile route. The morphology was analyzed by using a field-emission scanning electron microscope, which exhibits the spherical shape. Transmission electron microscope image revealed the spheres composed of nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed their tetragonal shape. The photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra were analyzed by varying the Eu3+ concentration, which shows a dominant red emission.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.111-119
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• 2014

A novel pulsed laser ablation process in liquid was investigated to prepare scheelite-type ceramic [calcium tungstate ($CaWO_4$) and calcium molybdate ($CaMoO_4$)] nanocolloidal particles. The crystalline phase, particle morphology, particle size distribution, absorbance and optical band-gap were investigated. Stable colloidal suspensions consisting of well-dispersed $CaWO_4$ and $CaMoO_4$ nanoparticles with narrow size distribution could be obtained without any surfactant. Particle tracking analysis using optical microscope combined with image analysis was applied for a fast determination of particle size distribution in the prepared nanocolloidal suspensions. The mean nanoparticle size of $CaWO_4$ and $CaMoO_4$ colloidal nanoparticles were 16 nm and 30 nm, with the standard deviations of 2.1 and 5.2 nm, respectively. The optical absorption edges showed blue-shifted values about 60~70 nm than those of reported in bulk crystals. And also, the estimated optical energy band-gaps of $CaWO_4$ and $CaMoO_4$ colloidal particles were 5.2 and 4.7 eV. The observed band-gap widening and blue-shift of the optical absorbance could be ascribed to the quantum confinement effect due to the very small size of the $CaWO_4$ and $CaMoO_4$ nanocolloidal particles prepared by pulsed laser ablation in liquid.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.29-53
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• 2023

High-strength shielding concrete against gamma radiation is a priority for many medical and industrial facilities. This paper aimed to investigate the gamma-ray shielding properties of high-strength hematite concrete mixed with silica fume (SF) with nanoparticles of lead dioxide (PbO₂), tungsten oxide (WO₃), and bismuth oxide (Bi₂O₃). The effect of mixing steel fibres with the aforementioned binders was also investigated. The reference mixture was prepared for high-strength concrete (HSCC) containing 100% hematite coarse and fine aggregate. Thirteen mixtures containing 5% SF and nanoparticles of PbO₂, WO₃, and Bi₂O₃ (2%, 5%, and 7% of the cement mass, respectively) were prepared. Steel fibres were added at a volume ratio of 0.28% of the volume of concrete with 5% of nanoparticles. The slump test was conducted to workability of fresh concrete Unit weight water permeability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity tests were conducted to assess concrete's engineering properties at 28 days. Gamma-ray radiation of 137Cs emits photons with an energy of 662 keV, and that of 60Co emits two photons with energies of 1173 and 1332 keV were applied on concrete specimens to assess radiation shielding properties. Nanoparticles partially replacing cement reduced slump in workability of fresh concrete. The compressive strength of mixtures, including nanoparticles was shown to be greater, achieving 94.5 MPa for the mixture consisting of 7.5 PbO2. In contrast, the mixture (5PbO₂-F) containing steel fibres achieved the highest values for splitting tensile, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity (11.71, 15.97, and 42,840 MPa, respectively). High-strength shielded concrete (7.5PbO2) showed the best radiation protection. It also showed the minimum concrete thickness required to prevent the transmission of radiation.