• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.445-448
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• 2010

For an enhanced thermoelectric performance, one-dimensional heterostructure nanowires were created that consisted of aBi core and Te shell. The structure was fabricated by depositing Te in-situ onto a Bi nanowire grown by our unique OFF-ON (on-film formation of nanowires) method. After examining a cross-sectional TEM image, it was found that diffusive interface was formed between Bi and Te. Selected area electron diffraction revealed that the crystallinity of the Te shell was some what lower compared to the highly single-crystalline Bi core. The Bi-Te core/shell nanowires can be a smart structure that suppresses phonon transport by several scattering mechanisms, making the OFF-ON method the simplest way to realize that structure.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.154-162
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• 2022

Microstructured Al@Al₂O₃ and Al@Ni-Al LDH (LDH = layered double hydroxide) core-shell metal-ceramic composites are prepared by hydrothermal reactions of aluminum (Al) metal substrates. Controlled hydrothermal reactions of Al metal substrates induce the hydrothermal dissolution of Al ions at the Al-substrate/solution interface and reconstruction as porous metal-hydroxides on the Al substrate, thereby constructing unique metal-ceramic core-shell composite structures. The morphology, composition, and crystal structure of the core-shell composites are affected largely by the ions in the hydrothermal solution; therefore, the critical physicochemical and surface properties of these unique metal-ceramic core-shell microstructures can be modulated effectively by varying the solution composition. A Ni/Al@Al₂O₃ catalyst with highly dispersed catalytic Ni nanoparticles on an Al@Al₂O₃ core-shell substrate was prepared by a controlled reduction of an Al@Ni-Al LDH core-shell prepared by hydrothermal reactions of Al in nickel nitrate solution. The reduction of Al@Ni-Al LDH leads to the exolution of Ni ions from the LDH shell, thereby constructing the Ni nanoparticles dispersed on the Al@Al₂O₃. The catalytic properties of the Ni/Al@Al₂O₃ catalyst were investigated for CO₂ methanation reactions. The Ni/Al@Al₂O₃ catalyst exhibited 2 times greater CO₂ conversion than a Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst prepared by conventional incipient wetness impregnation and showed high structural stability. These results demonstrate the high effectiveness of the design and synthesis methods for the metal-ceramic composite catalysts derived by hydrothermal reactions of Al metal substrates.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.298-302
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• 2012

Fe/$SiO_2$ core-shell type composite nanoparticles have been synthesized using a reverse micelle process combined with metal alkoxide hydrolysis and condensation. Nano-sized $SiO_2$ composite particles with a core-shell structure were prepared by arrested precipitation of Fe clusters in reverse micelles, followed by hydrolysis and condensation of organometallic precursors in micro-emulsion matrices. Microstructural and chemical analyses of Fe/$SiO_2$ core-shell type composite nanoparticles were carried out by TEM and EDS. The size of the particles and the thickness of the coating could be controlled by manipulating the relative rates of the hydrolysis and condensation reaction of TEOS within the micro-emulsion. The water/surfactant molar ratio influenced the Fe particle distribution of the core-shell composite particles, and the distribution of Fe particles was broadened as R increased. The particle size of Fe increased linearly with increasing $FeNO_3$ solution concentration. The average size of the cluster was found to depend on the micelle size, the nature of the solvent, and the concentration of the reagent. The average size of synthesized Fe/$SiO_2$ core-shell type composite nanoparticles was in a range of 10-30 nm and Fe particles were 1.5-7 nm in size. The effects of synthesis parameters, such as the molar ratio of water to TEOS and the molar ratio of water to surfactant, are discussed.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.467-475
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• 2001

A triblock copolymer based on $poly(\varepsilon-caprolactone)$ (PCL) as the hydrophobic part and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as the hydrophilic portion was synthesized by a ring-opening mechanism of ${\varepsilon}-caprolactone$ with PEG containing a hydroxyl group at bot h ends as an initiator. The synthesized block copolymers of PCL/PEG/PCL (CEC) were confirmed and characterized using various analysis equipment such as 1H NMR, DSC, FT-IR, and WAXD. Core-shell type nanoparticles of CEC triblock copolymers were prepared using a dialysis technique to estimate their potential as a colloidal drug carrier using a hydrophobic drug. From the results of particle size analysis and transmission electron microscopy, the particle size of CEC core-shell type nanoparticles was determined to be about 20-60 nm with a spherical shape. Since CEC block copolymer nanoparticles have a core-shell type micellar structure and small particle size similar to polymeric micelles, CEC block copolymer can self-associate at certain concentrations and the critical association concentration (CAC) was able to be determined by fluorescence probe techniques. The CAC values of the CEC block copolymers were dependent on the PCL block length. In addition, drug loading contents were dependent on the PCL block length: the larger the PCL block length, the higher the drug loading content. Drug release from CEC core-shell type nanoparticles showed an initial burst release for the first 12 hrs followed by pseudo-zero order release kinetics for 2 or 3 days. CEC-2 block copolymer core-shell type nanoparticles were degraded very slowly, suggesting that the drug release kinetics were governed by a diffusion mechanism rather than a degradation mechanism irrelevant to the CEC block copolymer composition.

• Nanomaterials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.310-322
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• 2021

Fine control of morphology and exposed crystal facets of porous γ-Al₂O₃ is of significant importance in many application areas such as functional nanomaterials and heterogeneous catalysts. Herein, a morphology controlled in situ synthesis of Al@Al₂O₃ core-shell architecture consisting of an Al metal core and a porous γ-Al₂O₃ shell is explored based on interfacial hydrothermal reactions of an Al metal substrate in aqueous solutions of inorganic anions. It was found that the morphology and structure of boehmite (γ-AlOOH) nano-crystallites grown at the Al-metal/solution interface exhibit significant dependence on temperature, type of inorganic anions (Cl^-, NO₃^-, and SO₄^2-), and acid-base environment of the synthesis solution. Different extents of the electrostatic interactions between the protonated hydroxyl groups on (010) and (001) facets of γ-AlOOH and the inorganic anions (Cl^-, NO₃^-, SO₄^2-) appear to result in the preferential growth of γ-AlOOH toward specific crystallographic directions due to the selective capping of the facets by adsorption of the anions. It is hypothesized that the unique Al@Al₂O₃ core-shell architecture with controlled morphology and exposed crystal-facets of the γ-Al₂O₃ shell can provide significant intrinsic catalytic properties with enhanced heat and mass transport to heterogeneous catalysts for applications in many thermochemical reaction processes. The direct fabrication of γ-Al₂O₃ nano-crystallites from Al metal substrate with in-situ modulation of their morphologies and structures into 1D, 2D, and 3D nano-architectures explored in this work is unique and can offer significant opportunities over the conventional methods.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.90-94
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• 2012

We report nanostructure electrodes with $TiO_2$ as a core and carbon as a shell ($TiO_2$@C) for oxygen reduction in alkaline solution. The structure of core-shell electrodes is characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction method, and X-ray photoelectron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of the $TiO_2$@C electrodes are characterized using a potentiostat and compared with those of carbon supported Pt catalyst. In particular, the core-shell electrode with dominant pyridinic-N component exhibits an imporved electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solution.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1010-1014
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• 2009

Monodispersed microparticles with a poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) core and a poly(ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate) (PE2CA) shell were prepared by Shirasu porous glass (SPG) membrane emulsification to reduce the initial burst release of doxorubicin (DOX). Solution mixtures with different weight ratios of PLGA polymer and E2CA monomer were permeated under pressure through an SPG membrane with $1.9\;{\mu}m$ pore size into a continuous water phase with sodium lauryl sulfate as a surfactant. Core-shell structured microparticles were formed by the mechanism of anionic interfacial polymerization of E2CA and precipitation of both polymers. The average diameter of the resulting microparticles with various PLGA:E2CA ratios ranged from 1.42 to $2.73\;{\mu}m$. The morphology and core-shell structure of the microparticles were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The DOX release profiles revealed that the microparticles with an equivalent PLGA:E2CA weight ratio of 1:1 exhibited the optimal condition to reduce the initial burst of DOX. The initial release rate of DOX was dependent on the PLGA:E2CA ratio, and was minimized at a 1:1 ratio.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2024

In this paper, stability analysis of sandwich toroidal shell segments (TSSs) with carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced face sheets featuring various types of auxetic cores, surrounded by elastic foundations under radial pressure is presented. Two distinct types of auxetic structures are considered for the core, including re-entrant auxetic structure and graphene origami (GOri)-enabled auxetic structure. The nonlinear stability equilibrium equations of the longitudinally shallow shells are formulated using the von Karman shell theory, in conjunction with Stein and McElman approximation while considering Winkler-Pasternak's elastic foundation to simulate the interaction between the shell and elastic foundation. The Galerkin method is employed to derive the nonlinear stability responses of the shells. The numerical investigations show the influences of various types of auxetic-core layers, CNT-reinforced face sheets, as well as elastic foundation on the stability of sandwich shells.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.52-57
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• 2014

The MCMB-$Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$ with core-shell structure was prepared by sol-gel process to improve low cycle capability of MCMB in this study. The electrochemical characteristics were investigated for hybrid capacitor using MCMB-$Li_4Ti_5O_{12}$ as the negative electrode and $LiMn_2O_4$, Active carbon fiber as the positive electrode. The electrochemical behaviors of hybrid capacitor using organic electrolytes ($LiPF_6$, EC/DMC/EMC) were characterized by charge/discharge, cyclic voltammetry, cycle and impedance tests. The hybrid capacitor using MCMB-$Li_4Ti_5O_{12}/LiMn_2O_4$ electrodes had better capacitance than MCMB hybrid systems and was able to deliver a specific energy with 67 Wh/kg at a specific power of 781 W/kg.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.216-222
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• 2022

The capacity of high nickel Li(Ni_xCo_yMn_1-x-y)O₂ (NCM, x ≥ 0.8) cathodes is known to rapidly decline, a serious problem that needs to be solved in a timely manner. It was reported that cathode materials with the {010} plane exposed toward the outside, i.e., a radial structure, can provide facile Li⁺ diffusion paths and stress buffer during repeated cycles. In addition, cathodes with a core-shell composition gradient are of great interest. For example, a stable surface structure can be achieved using relatively low nickel content on the surface. In this study, precursors of the high-nickel NCM were synthesized by coprecipitation in ambient atmosphere. Then, a transition metal solution for coprecipitation was replaced with a low nickel content and the coprecipitation reaction proceeded for the desired time. The electrochemical analysis of the core-shell cathode showed a capacity retention of 94 % after 100 cycles, compared to the initial discharge capacity of 184.74 mA h/g. The rate capability test also confirmed that the core-shell cathode had enhanced kinetics during charging and discharging at 1 A/g.