• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.1019-1027
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• 2009

A noncompartmented microbial fuel cell (NCMFC) composed of a Mn(IV)-carbon plate and a Fe(III)-carbon plate was used for electricity generation from organic wastewater without consumption of external energy. The Fe(III)-carbon plate, coated with a porous ceramic membrane and a semipermeable cellulose acetate film, was used as a cathode, which substituted for the catholyte and cathode. The Mn(IV)-carbon plate was used as an anode without a membrane or film coating. A solar cell connected to the NCMFC activated electricity generation and bacterial consumption of organic matter contained in the wastewater. More than 99% of the organic matter was biochemically oxidized during wastewater flow through the four NCMFC units. A predominant bacterium isolated from the anode surface in both the conventional and the solar cell-linked NCMFC was found to be more than 99% similar to a Mn(II)-oxidizing bacterium and Burkeholderia sp., based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The isolate reacted electrochemically with the Mn(IV)-modified anode and produced electricity in the NCMFC. After 90 days of incubation, a bacterial species that was enriched on the Mn(IV)-modified anode surface in all of the NCMFC units was found to be very similar to the initially isolated predominant species by comparing 16S rDNA sequences.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.73-73
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• 2017

Pyroprocessing at KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) consists of pretreatment, electroreduction, electrorefining and electrowinning. SFR (Sodium Fast Reactor) fuel is prepared from the electrowinning process which is composed of LCC (Liquid Cadmium Process) and Cd distillation et al. LCC is an electrochemical process to obtain actinides from spent fuel. In order to recover actinides inert anodes such as carbon material are used, where chlorine gas ($Cl_2$) evolves on the surface of the carbon material. And, stainless steel (SUS) crucible should be installed in large-scale electrowinning system. Therefore, the effect of chlorine on the SUS material needs to be studied. LiCl-KCl-$UCl_3$-$NdCl_3$-$CeCl_3$-$LaCl_3$-$YCl_3$ salt was contained in 2 kinds of electrolytic crucible having an inner diameter of 5cm, made of an insulated alumina and an SUS, respectively. And, three kinds of electrodes such as cathode, anode, reference were used for the electrochemical experiments. Both solid tungsten (W) and LCC were used as cathodes. Cd of 45 g as the cathode material was contained in alumina crucibles for the deposition experiments, where the crucible has an inner diameter of 3 cm. Glassy carbon rod with the diameter of 0.3 cm was employed as an anode, where shroud was not used for the anode. A pyrex tube containing LiCl-KCl-1mol% AgCl and silver (Ag) wire having a diameter of 0.1cm was used as a reference electrode. Electrodeposition experiments were conducted at $500^{\circ}C$ at the current densities of $50{\sim}100mA/cm^2$. In conclusion, Fe ions were produced in the salt during the electrodeposition by the reaction of chlorine evolved from the anode and Fe of the SUS crucible and thereby LCC system using SUS crucible showed very low current efficiencies compared with the system using the insulated alumina crucible. Anode shroud needs to be installed around the glassy carbon not to influence surrounding SUS material.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.338-344
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• 2022

It is necessarily required in developing Si-based anode materials for lithium ion batteries, and the related researches are actively working especially in Si-carbon composite material. On the other hand, the photovoltaic and semiconductor industries discard huge amount of Si resources, facing the environmental issue. In this study, recycled Si resource is adopted to obtain Si-carbon composite for LIB(Lithium-Ion Batteries). In order to improve high-capacity retention characteristics and cycle stability of a Si anode material for the LIB, two differenct composites having a mass ratio of silicon and pitch of 1:1 and 2:1 are synthesized and electrochemical characteristics of the anode material manufactured by simple self-assembly method. This result in excellent initial capacity with stable cycle life, and confirming the potential use of recycled Si material for LIB.

• Carbon letters
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.336-342
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• 2010

Different oxidation treatments on CNTs using diluted 4.0 M $H_2SO_4$ solution at room temperature and or at $90^{\circ}C$ reflux conditions were investigated to elucidate the physical and chemical changes occurring on the treated CNTs, which might have significant effects on their performance as catalyst supports in PEM fuel cells. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope analyses were made for the acid treated CNTs to determine the particle size and distribution of the CNT-supported Pt-Ru nanoparticles. These CNT-supported Pt-based nanoparticles were then employed as anode catalysts in PEMFC to investigate their catalytic activity and single-cell performance towards $H_2$ oxidation. Based on PEMFC performance results, refluxed Pt-Ru/CNT catalysts prepared using CNTs treated at $90^{\circ}C$ for 0.5 h as anode have shown better catalytic activity and PEMFC polarization performance than those of the commercially available Pt-Ru/C catalyst from ETEK and other Pt-Ru/CNT catalysts developed using raw CNT, thus demonstrating the importance of acid treatment in improving and optimizing the surface properties of catalyst support.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.112-121
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• 2019

In this study, silicon / carbon nanotube / carbon composite particles with high capacity were fabricated by using micro-sized silicon particles and carbon nanotubes as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. The silicon / carbon nanotube / carbon composite particles were prepared by spray drying method to prepare spherical composite particles. The composite particles have the network structure of the carbon nanotubes around the silicon particles, in which the silicon particles and the carbon nanotubes are bonded by amorphous carbon. It appears that the volume expansion of silicon is effectively buffered and the electrical contact is maintained in the network structure of the composite particles during charge-discharge cycles.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.193-197
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• 2014

Si-carbon composites as anode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries were prepared simply by mixing Si nanoparticles with carbon black and/or graphite through a solution process. Si nanoparticles were well dispersed and deposited on the surface of the carbon in a tetrahydrofuran solution. Si-carbon composites showed more than 700 mAh/g of initial capacity under less than 20% loading of Si nanoparticle in the composites. While the electrode with only Si nanoparticles showed fast capacity fading during continuous cycling, Si-carbon composite electrodes showed higher capacities. The cycle performances of Si nanoparticles in composites containing graphite were improved due to the role of the graphite as a matrix.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1344-1348
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• 2008

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been regarded as noble clean energy technology that can directly convert biomass to electricity. However, its low power density is a main limitation to be used as a new energy source. To overcome this limitation, we focused on the anode improvement in a mediator-type MFC using P. vulgaris as a biocatalyst. Fuel cell performance increased when the anode was coated with carbon black or polypyrrole. The best performance was observed when polypyrrole/carbon black (Ppy/CB) composite material was coated on a carbon paper electrode. Our obtained value of 452 mW $m^{-2}$ is the highest value among the reported ones for the similar system. The effects of amount of Ppy/CB, mediator concentration, and amount of P. vulgaris have also been examined.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2003

The present article is concerned with the overview of carbonaceous materials used as anode materials for lithium ion secondary batteries. This article first classified carbonaceous materials into graphite, soft carbon and hard carbon according to their crystal structures, and then summarised the previous works on the characteristics of lithium intercalation/deintercalation into/from the carbonaceous materials. Finally this article reviewed our recent research works on the mechanism of lithium transport through graphite, soft carbon and hard carbon electrodes from the kinetic view point by the analysis of the theoretical and experimental potentiostatic current transients.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.244-252
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• 2016

This paper describes a new design of carbon nanotube tip. $Nanocly^{TM}$ NC 7000 Thin Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes of carbon purity (90%) and average diameter tube 9.5 nm with a high aspect-ratio (>150) were used. These tips were manufactured by employing a drawing technique using a glass puller. The glass microemitters with internal carbon nanotubes show a switch-on effect to a high current level (1 to $20{\mu}A$). A field electron microscope with a tip (cathode)-screen (anode) separation at ~10 mm was used to characterize the electron emitters. The system was evacuated down to a base pressure of ${\sim}10^{-9}$ mbar when baked at up to ${\sim}200^{\circ}C$ overnight. This allowed measurements of typical Field Electron Emission characteristics; namely the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and the emission images on a conductive phosphorus screen (the anode). Fowler-Nordheim plots of the current-voltage characteristics show current switch-on for each of these emitters.

• Carbon letters
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.285-291
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• 2007

Carbon materials of various morphologies were synthesized by pyrolysis of Soap-nut seeds (Sapindus mukorossi), Jack Fruit seeds (Artocarpus heterophyllus), Date-seeds (Phoenix dactylifera), Neem seeds (Azadirachta indica), Tea leaves (Ehretia microphylla), Bamboo stem (Bambusa bambus) and Coconut fiber (Cocos nucifera), without using any catalyst. Carbon materials thus formed were characterized by SEM XRD and Raman. Carbon thus synthesized varied in size (in ${\mu}m$) but all showed highly porous morphology. These carbon materials were utilized as the anode in Lithium secondary battery. Amongst the various precursors, carbon fibers obtained from Soap-nut seeds (Sapindus mukorossi) and Bamboo stem (Bambusa bambus), even after $100^{th}$ cycles, showed the highest capacity of 130.29 mAh/g and 92.74 mAh/g respectively. Morphology, surface areas and porosity of carbon materials obtained from these precursors were analyzed to provide interpretation for their capacity to intercalate lithium. From the Raman studies it is concluded that graphitic nature of carbon materials assist in the intercalation of lithium. Size of cavity (or pore size of channels type structure) present in carbon materials were found to facilitate the intercalation of lithium.