• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.147-152
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• 2011

ZnO nanorods fabricated on a Zn substrate pre-coated with ZnO as a seed layer by the hydrothermal method were studied mainly as a function of ZnO precursor concentration. Characteristic features by using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were investigated to define the changed micro-structure and crystalline phase of the ZnO nanorods according to the experimental conditions. The nanorod morphology strongly depended on the precursor concentration. For example, ZnO nanorods vertically aligned with a hexagonal (002) oriented structure with a diameter of 600~700 nm and length of $6.75{\mu}m$ were clearly observed at the highest concentration of 0.015 M. The strong hexagonal structure was believed to be associated with the highest photoluminescene (PL) intensity and a promising voltage value of ca. 6.069 V at $1000{\mu}A$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.604-610
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• 2016

We report on the fabrication and characterization of a novel $Cu_2O/CuO$ heterojunction structure with CuO nanorods embedded in $Cu_2O$ thin film as an efficient photocathode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar water splitting. A CuO nanorod array was first prepared on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate via a seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method; then, a $Cu_2O$ thin film was electrodeposited onto the CuO nanorod array to form an oxide semiconductor heterostructure. The crystalline phases and morphologies of the heterojunction materials were examined using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, as well as Raman scattering. The PEC properties of the fabricated $Cu_2O/CuO$ heterojunction photocathode were evaluated by photocurrent conversion efficiency measurements under white light illumination. From the observed PEC current density versus voltage (J-V) behavior, the $Cu_2O/CuO$ photocathode was found to exhibit negligible dark current and high photocurrent density, e.g. $-1.05mA/cm^2$ at -0.6 V vs. $Hg/HgCl_2$ in $1mM\;Na_2SO_4$ electrolyte, revealing the effective operation of the oxide heterostructure. The photocurrent conversion efficiency of the $Cu_2O/CuO$ photocathode was estimated to be 1.27% at -0.6 V vs. $Hg/HgCl_2$. Moreover, the PEC current density versus time (J-T) profile measured at -0.5 V vs. $Hg/HgCl_2$ on the $Cu_2O/CuO$ photocathode indicated a 3-fold increase in the photocurrent density compared to that of a simple $Cu_2O$ thin film photocathode. The improved PEC performance was attributed to a certain synergistic effect of the bilayer heterostructure on the light absorption and electron-hole recombination processes.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.289-295
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• 2001

Experiments were conducted to find out the optimum level of slow release N fertilizers when total amounts of nitrogen required throughout the growing season in paddy were applied in the soil of seedling box. To evaluate the emergence rate and growth of rice seedlings, five levels of Meister (MS) 10, MS S10, and latex coated urea (LCU) which are equivalent to 0, 40, 60, 80, and 100kg N h $a^{-l}$ were mixed in soil of the seedling box. Emergence rate differed depending on the fertilizers and N levels; in MS 10 plots the emergence rate was 40.8% at 40kg N h $a^{-l}$ and no seedlings were emerged at the higher levels, in MS S10 plots higher than 80% at all the N levels, and decreased with the N levels from 70.0% at 40 kg N h $a^{-l}$ to 59.5% at 100kg N h $a^{-l}$ of LCU. Seedling started to wilt at 40 kg N h $a^{-l}$ of MS 10 and 80 and 100 kg N h $a^{-l}$ N of LCU on the 8th day after sowing, while seedling growth was normal at all the levels of MS S10. Field performance of rice was evaluated at the 0, 30, 60, 90, 120kg N h $a^{-l}$ of MS S10 applied in the soil of seedling box and N was not applied in paddy. Grain yield at 90 and 120kg N h $a^{-l}$ of MS S10 was similar to conventional urea split application (120 kg N h $a^{-l}$), but significantly higher compared to 30 and 60kg N h $a^{-l}$ of MS S10. Fertilizer N recovery decreased with N levels and the N recovery at 90 kg N h $a^{-l}$ of MS S10 and conventional urea split application were 62.2 % and 44.2%, respectively, with similar grain yield. The optimum level of MS S10 to be applied in seedling box seems to be about 90 kg N h $a^{-l}$ considering grain yield, price of fertilizer, labor applying fertilizer, and fertilizer N recovery.d fertilizer N recovery.

• Clean Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.306-313
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• 2014

Nanoporous $TiO_2$ films are commonly used as working electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). So far, there have been attempts to synthesize films with various $TiO_2$ nanostructures to increase the power-conversion efficiency. In this work, vertically aligned rutile $TiO_2$ nanorods were grown on fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) glass by hydrothermal synthesis, followed by deposition of an anatase $TiO_2$ film. This new method of anatase $TiO_2$ growth avoided the use of a seed layer that is usually required in hydrothermal synthesis of $TiO_2$ electrodes. The dense anatase $TiO_2$ layer was designed to behave as the electron-generating layer, while the less dense rutile nanorods acted as electron-transfer pathwaysto the FTO glass. In order to facilitate the electron transfer, the rutile phase nanorods were treated with a $TiCl_4$ solution so that the nanorods were coated with the anatase $TiO_2$ film after heat treatment. Compared to the electrode consisting of only rutile $TiO_2$, the power-conversion efficiency of the rutile-anatase hybrid $TiO_2$ electrode was found to be much higher. The total thickness of the rutile-anatase hybrid $TiO_2$ structures were around $4.5-5.0{\mu}m$, and the highest power efficiency of the cell assembled with the structured $TiO_2$ electrode was around 3.94%.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2010

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on Si (111) substrate were prepared by hydrothermal method. The ZnO nanorods on spin-coated seed layer were synthesized at $140^{\circ}C$ for 6 hours in autoclave and were thermally annealed in argon atmosphere for 20 minutes at temperature of 300, 500, $700^{\circ}C$. The effects of the thermal annealing on the structural and optical properties of the grown on ZnO nanorods were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), photoluminescence (PL). All the ZnO nanorods show a strong ZnO (002) and weak (004) diffraction peak, indicating c-axis preferred orientation. The residual stress of the ZnO nanorods is changed from compressive to tensile by increasing annealing temperature. The hexagonal shaped ZnO nanorods are observed. The PL spectra of the ZnO nanorods show a sharp near-band-edge emission (NBE) at 3.2 eV, which is generated by the free-exciton recombination and a broad deep-level emission (DLE) at about 2.12~1.96 eV, which is caused by the defects in the ZnO nanorods. The intensity of the NBE peak is decreased and the DLE peak is red-shifted due to oxygen-related defects by thermal annealing.