• Composites Research
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.389-394
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• 2015

The sound absorption coefficient and sound transmission loss of graphite intercalation compound (GIC) included epoxy composites were investigated. Epoxy resin was infused into the expanded GIC and the impedance tube method was employed to measure the sound absorption coefficient and sound transmission loss. Scanning electron microscopy photographs showed uniform distribution of the GIC in the epoxy matrix. The surface density of epoxy/GIC (20 wt%) composites decreased about 56% compared to that of pure epoxy. The sound absorption coefficient of composites increased about 3 times at the frequency range of 500~1000 Hz compared to the pure epoxy. The sound transmission loss of composites decreased with increasing the GIC content and it is attributed to the increase of pores in the composites.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.298-305
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• 2016

The development of non-precious metal based electrocatalysts is highly desired for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as alternates to noble metal based ORR electrocatalysts. Herein, we report mononulcear copper(II) complex $[CuLbpy]ClO_4$ (L=4-[(2-hydroxyphenylimino)methyl]benzoic acid) containing poly(allylamine.HCl) polymer (PAlACuLbpy) as an electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). PAlACuLbpy was mixed with poly(acrylic acid) and tetraethylortho silicate to prepare a composite and then deposited on the screen printed electrode surface. The modified electrode (PAlACuLbpy/PCE) is highly stable and showed a quasi-reversible redox behavior with $E_{1/2}=-0.2V$ vs. Ag/AgCl(3 M KCl) in 0.1 M phosphate buffer at pH 7 under argon atmosphere. PAlACuLbpy/PCE exhibited a remarkable ORR activity with an onset potential of -0.1 V vs Ag/AgCl in 0.1 M PB (pH 7) in the presence of oxygen. The kinetics for ORR was studied by rotating disk voltammetry in neutral aqueous medium and the results indicated that the number of electrons involving in the ORR is four and the conversion products are water and hydrogen peroxide.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.611-618
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• 2007

We demonstrate the sol-gel coating technique of colloidal clusters for producing hollow micro-particles with complex morphologies. Cross-linked amidine polystyrene (PS) microspheres were synthesized by emulsifier-free emulsion copolymerization of styrene and divinylbenzene. The amidine PS particles were self-organized inside toluene-in-water emulsion droplets to produce large quantities of colloidally stable clusters. These clusters were coated with thin silica shell by sol-gel reaction of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and ammonia, and the organic polystyrene cores were removed by calcination at high temperature to generate nonspherical hollow micro-particles with complex morphologies. This process can be used to prepare hollow particles with shapes such as doublets, tetrahedra, icosahedra, and others.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.722-726
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• 2008

Silica microsphere is a world leading innovative material used in adsorbent packing materials in HPLC technology. The application of microsphere lies in the ability to the surface modification of silica with the special materials such as polymers, metals and bio-active materials. Collagen is a major structural protein of connective tissues and has a good biocompatibility. In this study, we prepared the purified silica porous microsphere, having micro diameters in the range of a pore volume at least 50% by the aggregation procedure of colloidal silica with the polymerization method (PICA). The microspheres were modified by collagen hydrogel to improve the biocompatible properties for biomedical product. The silica/collagen microsphere composite doped with silver nanoparticles was prepared and investigated the capabilities of biomaterial application through the evaluation of the structure characteristics of the microsphere composit.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.211-232
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• 2019

Porous ceramics are promising materials for a number of functional and structural applications that include thermal insulation, filters, bio-scaffolds for tissue engineering, and preforms for composite fabrication. These applications take advantage of the special characteristics of porous ceramics, such as low thermal mass, low thermal conductivity, high surface area, controlled permeability, and low density. In this review, we emphasize the direct foaming method, a simple and versatile approach that allows the fabrication of porous ceramics with tailored microstructure, along with distinctive properties. The wet foam stability is achieved under the controlled addition of amphiphiles to the colloidal suspension, which induce in situ hydrophobization, allowing the wet foam to resist coarsening and Ostwald ripening upon drying and sintering. Different components, like contact angle, adsorption free energy, air content, bubble size, and Laplace pressure, play vital roles in the stabilization of the particle stabilized wet foam to the porous ceramics. The mechanical behavior of the load-displacements curves of sintered samples was investigated using Herzian indentations testes. From the collected results, we found that microporous structures with pore sizes from 30 ㎛ to 570 ㎛ and the porosity within the range from 70% to 85%.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.108-115
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• 2020

In this study, the flexural performance of Highly Ductile Cement Composites(HDCC) mimicking boundary conditions of shellfish skin layer was evaluated. To improve ductility by mimicking the boundary skin layer structure of shellfish, the method of stratification by charging between precast panels using HDCC and the method of distributing PE-mesh to the interface surface were applied. Evaluation of flexural performance of layered cement composite materials mimicking boundary conditions of shellfish skin layer resulted in increased ductility of all test specimens applied with stratified cross-section compared to typical bending test specimens. The layered method by inserting PE-mesh showed excellent ductility. This is most likely because the inserted PE-mesh made an interface for separating the layers while the HDCC pillars in the PE-mesh gave adhesion between layers.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.443-457
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• 2019

In this investigation, dynamic and bending behaviors of isolated protein microtubules are analyzed. Microtubules (MTs) can be considered as bio-composite structures that are elements of the cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells and posses considerable roles in cellular activities. They have higher mechanical characteristics such as superior flexibility and stiffness. In the modeling purpose of microtubules according to a hollow beam element, a novel single variable sinusoidal beam model is proposed with the conjunction of modified strain gradient theory. The advantage of this model is found in its new displacement field involving only one unknown as the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, which is even less than the Timoshenko beam theory. The equations of motion are constructed by considering Hamilton's principle. The obtained results are validated by comparing them with those given based on higher shear deformation beam theory containing a higher number of variables. A parametric investigation is established to examine the impacts of shear deformation, length scale coefficient, aspect ratio and shear modulus ratio on dynamic and bending behaviors of microtubules. It is remarked that when length scale coefficients are almost identical of the outer diameter of MTs, microstructure-dependent behavior becomes more important.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.293-303
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• 2021

Separation membranes used in water filtration, protein purification or biomedical filtration device frequently undergo membrane fouling for several reasons. The formation of biofilm on the membrane surface by bacteria causes a severe problem for durability of the membrane. For the protein separation, the membrane pores get blocked due to surface hydrophobicity of the membrane. There are several approaches controlling the membrane fouling and one of them is the incorporation of silver nanoparticles. Antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles are well known and thus widely used in several applications. In this review, we have focused on the membranes where silver nanoparticles or its derivatives are either incorporated in the active layer of thin film composite membranes or uniformly distributed throughout the whole membranes.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.70-79
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• 2022

Biodiesel production has attracted attention as a sustainable source of fuel and is a competitive alternate to diesel engines. The glycerol that is produced as a by-product is generally discarded as waste and can be converted to green chemicals such as acetins to increase bio-diesel profitability. Acetins find application in fuel, food, pharmaceutical and leather industries. Batch experiments and analysis have been previously conducted for synthesis of acetins using glycerol esterification reaction aided by sulfated metal oxide catalysts (SO₄^2-/CeO₂-ZrO₂). The aim of this study was to optimize process parameters: effects of mole ratio of reactants (glycerol and acetic acid), catalyst concentration and reaction temperature to maximize glycerol conversion/acetin selectivity. The optimum conditions for this reaction were determined using response surface methodology (RSM) designed as per a five-level-three-factor central composite design (CCD). Statistica software 10 was used to analyze the experimental data obtained. The optimized conditions obtained were molar ratio - 1:12, catalyst concentration - 6 wt.% and temperature -90 ℃. A packed bed reactor was fabricated and column studies were performed using the optimized conditions. The breakthrough curve was analyzed.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.312-317
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• 2022

Piezoelectric energy harvesting has attracted increasing attention over the last decade as a means for generating sustainable and long-lasting energy from wasted mechanical energy. To develop self-powered wearable devices, piezoelectric materials should be flexible, stretchable, and bio-eco-friendly. This study proposed the fabrication of stretchable piezoelectric composites via dispersing perovskite-structured BaTiO₃ nanoparticles inside an Ecoflex polymeric matrix. In particular, the stretchable piezoelectric sensor array was fabricated via a simple and cost-effective spin-coating process by exploiting the piezoelectric composite comprising of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles, Ecoflex matrix, and stretchable Ag coated textile electrodes. The fabricated sensor generated an output voltage of ~4.3 V under repeated compressing deformations. Moreover, the piezoelectric sensor array exhibited robust mechanical stability during mechanical pushing of ~5,000 cycles. Finite element method with multiphysics COMSOL simulation program was employed to support the experimental output performance of the fabricated device. Finally, the stretchable piezoelectric sensor array can be used as a self-powered touch sensor that can effectively detect and distinguish mechanical stimuli, such as pressing by a human finger. The fabricated sensor demonstrated potential to be used in a stretchable, lead-free, and scalable piezoelectric sensor array.