• Particle and aerosol research
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.37-43
• /
• 2012

In this study, we designed a 'spark in liquid' system. The spark discharge between two electrodes were used to generate particles by using sufficient temperature to evaporate a part of electrodes. The power supply system provides a continuous spark discharge by discharging of the capacitor to ionize the electrodes in liquid. The DC spark discharge system operates with 1-10 kV voltage. Processed copper and graphite rods were used to both electrodes with 1-3 mm diameter. There are several variables which can control the particle size and concentration such as gap distance between electrodes, applied voltage, operating liquid temperature, electrode type and liquid type. So we controlled these variables to confirm the change of particle size distribution and concentration of particles contained in liquid as wt%. 'spark in liquid' system is expected to apply nanoink by control of concentration with analysis of characteristics.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.1199-1204
• /
• 2013

Nanocomposites consisting of Sn nanoparticles and graphene oxide (GO) were electrophoretically deposited onto Cu current collectors that was used for anodes in Li ion batteries (LIBs). In order to optimize the electrochemical performance of nanocomposites as an anode material by controlling the oxygen functionality, the GO was subjected to $O_3$ treatment prior to electrophoretic deposition (EPD). During thermal reduction of the GO in the nanocomposites, the Sn nanoparticles were reduced in size, along with the formation of SnO and/or $SnO_2$ at a small fraction, relying on the oxygen functionalities of the GO. The variation in the duration of time for the $O_3$ irradiation resulted in a small change in total oxygen content, but in a significantly different fraction of each functional group in the GO, which influenced the Sn nanoparticle size and the amount of SnO (and/or $SnO_2$). As a result, the EPD films prepared with the GO that possessed the least amount of carboxylic groups (made by treating GO in an $O_3$ environment for 3 h) showed the best performance, when compared with the nanocomposites composed of untreated GO or GO that was $O_3$-treated for a duration of less than 3 h.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2012.05a
• /
• pp.65-65
• /
• 2012

Copper zinc tin sulfide ($Cu_2ZnSnS_4$, CZTS) is a very promising material as a low cost absorber alternative to other chalcopyrite-type semiconductors based on Ga or In because of the abundant and economical elements. In addition, CZTS has a band-gap energy of 1.4~1.5eV and large absorption coefficient over ${\sim}10^4cm^{-1}$, which is similar to those of $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$(CIGS) regarded as one of the most successful absorber materials for high efficient solar cell. Most previous works on the fabrication of CZTS thin films were based on the vacuum deposition such as thermal evaporation and RF magnetron sputtering. Although the vacuum deposition has been widely adopted, it is quite expensive and complicated. In this regard, the solution processes such as sol-gel method, nanocrystal dispersion and hybrid slurry method have been developed for easy and cost-effective fabrication of CZTS film. Among these methods, the hybrid slurry method is favorable to make high crystalline and dense absorber layer. However, this method has the demerit using the toxic and explosive hydrazine solvent, which has severe limitation for common use. With these considerations, it is highly desirable to develop a robust, easily scalable and relatively safe solution-based process for the fabrication of a high quality CZTS absorber layer. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of a high quality CZTS absorber layer with a thickness of 1.5~2.0 ${\mu}m$ and micrometer-scaled grains using two different non-vacuum approaches. The first solution-processing approach includes air-stable non-toxic solvent-based inks in which the commercially available precursor nanoparticles are dispersed in ethanol. Our readily achievable air-stable precursor ink, without the involvement of complex particle synthesis, high toxic solvents, or organic additives, facilitates a convenient method to fabricate a high quality CZTS absorber layer with uniform surface composition and across the film depth when annealed at $530^{\circ}C$. The conversion efficiency and fill factor for the non-toxic ink based solar cells are 5.14% and 52.8%, respectively. The other method is based on the nanocrystal dispersions that are a key ingredient in the deposition of thermally annealed absorber layers. We report a facile synthetic method to produce phase-pure CZTS nanocrystals capped with less toxic and more easily removable ligands. The resulting CZTS nanoparticle dispersion enables us to fabricate uniform, crack-free absorber layer onto Mo-coated soda-lime glass at $500^{\circ}C$, which exhibits a robust and reproducible photovoltaic response. Our simple and less-toxic approach for the fabrication of CZTS layer, reported here, will be the first step in realizing the low-cost solution-processed CZTS solar cell with high efficiency.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2018

In the soldering industry, a variety of lead-free solders have been developed as a part of restricting lead in electronic packaging. Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) lead-free solder is regarded as one of the most superior candidates, owing to its low melting point and high solderability as well as the mechanical property. On the other hand, the mechanical property of SAC solder is directly influenced by intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the solder joint. Although IMCs in SAC solder play an important role in bonding solder joints and impart strength to the surrounding solder matrix, a large amount of IMCs may cause poor strength, due to their brittle nature. In other words, the mechanical properties of SAC solder are of some concern because of the formation of large and brittle IMCs. As the IMCs grow, they may cause poor device performance, resulting in the failure of the electronic device. Therefore, new solder technologies which can control the IMC growth are necessary to address these issues satisfactorily. There are an advanced nanotechnology for microstructural refinement that lead to improve mechanical properties of solder alloys with nanoparticle additions, which are defined as nano-reinforced solders. These nano-reinforced solders increase the mechanical strength of the solder due to the dispersion hardening as well as solderability of the solder. This paper introduces the nano-reinforced solders, including its principles, types, and various properties.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.37 no.10
• /
• pp.887-894
• /
• 2013

Effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids has been predicted by using generalized self-consistent model and modified Eshelby model, which have been used for analysis of material properties of composites. A nanolayer between base fluid and nanoparticle, one of key factors for abrupt enhancement of thermal conductivity of nanofluids, is included in the analysis. The effective thermal conductivities of the nanofluid predicted by the present study show good agreement with those by models in the literature for the nanolayer with a constant or linear thermal conductivity. The predicted results by the present approach have been confirmed to be consistent with experiments for representative nanofluids such as base fluids of water or ethyleneglycol and nanoparticles of $Al_2O_3$ or CuO to be validated.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2011.05a
• /
• pp.1.1-1.1
• /
• 2011

Printed electronics based on the direct writing of solution processable functional materials have been of paramount interest and importance. In this talk, the synthesis of printable inorganic functional materials (conductors and semiconductors) for thin-film transistors (TFTs) and photovoltaic devices, device fabrication based on a printing technique, and specific characteristics of devices are presented. For printable conductor materials, Ag ink is designed to achieve the long-term dispersion stability and good adhesion property on a glass substrate, and Cu ink is sophisticatedly formulated to endow the oxidation stability in air and even aqueous solvent system. The both inks were successfully printed onto either polymer or glass substrate, exhibiting the superior conductivity comparable to that of bulk one. In addition, the organic thin-film transistor based on the printed metal source/drain electrode exhibits the electrical performance comparable to that of a transistor based on a vacuum deposited Au electrode. For printable amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOSs), I introduce the noble ways to resolve the critical problems, a high processing temperature above $400^{\circ}C$ and low mobility of AOSs annealed at a low temperature below $400^{\circ}C$. The dependency of TFT performances on the chemical structure of AOSs is compared and contrasted to clarify which factor should be considered to realize the low temperature annealed, high performance AOSs. For photovoltaic application, CI(G)S nanoparticle ink for solution processable high performance solar cells is presented. By overcoming the critical drawbacks of conventional solution processed CI(G)S absorber layers, the device quality dense CI(G)S layer is obtained, affording 7.3% efficiency CI(G)S photovoltaic device.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2010.05a
• /
• pp.23.1-23.1
• /
• 2010

Alkanethiol (CH3(CH2)nSH) 자기 조립 박막은 금, 은, 팔라듐 그리고 구리와 같은 금속 물질과 결합하여 산화 방지 보호막, 생화학적 멤브레인 그리고 케미컬 센서로 널리 이용되었다. 전도성을 가진 많은 금속 분말 중에서, 구리는 뛰어난 열, 전기 전도성과 풍부한 양으로 다른 귀금속에 비교하여 경제성까지 갖춘 물질이다. 그러나 이러한 구리 나노 분말은 대기에 노출된 구리 분말이 쉽게 산화된다는 결정적인 단점 때문에 그동안 널리 이용되지 못하였다. 이러한 구리의 단점을 극복하고 뛰어난 전도성의 특징을 이용하고자, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB), layer by layer (LbL), electrophoretic deposition (EPD), self-assembled monolayer (SAM)과 같은 구리 나노 분말 위에 유기 박막을 형성하고자 하는 많은 방법이 시도되어왔다. 이러한 방법들 대부분은 습식 방법으로 진행되었으며, 약 2-nm 두께의 SAM 구조를 형성할 수 있음이 많은 연구를 통하여 확인되었다. 그러나 습식 기반의 SAM 구조는 단지 수일 동안만 유효하며, 이는 코팅을 수행하면서 점차 떨어지는 source solvent의 순도와 적합하지 않은 코팅 조건, 그리고 이러한 원인으로 형성된 부실한 막질 구조 때문으로 추측된다. 게다가 이러한 습식 기반 공정은 코팅 막의 두께 조절과 코팅 시 solvent의 순도를 일정하게 유지하는 것이 매우 복잡하고 어려운 작업으로 알려져 왔다. 본 실험에서는 고 진공 챔버 (< $4.0{\times}10-6$ torr) 시스템을 이용하여 습식 기반 공정의 문제점을 극복하고 구리 나노 분말의 산화를 막기 위한 실험을 진행하였다. 1-octanethiol (CH3(CH2)7SH)은 중간 길이의 hydrocarbon (n=7) 구조를 가진 특징 때문에 코팅 물질로 사용되었다. 게다가, alkanethiol 족 특유의 물질인 황(sulfur)은 구리와 결합하여 산화방지 보호막의 역할을 수행할 수 있다. 저 진공 조건에서는 10-nm의 multilayer가 일괄적으로 코팅됨을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 실험에서는 약 10-nm 두께의 자기 조립 박막(self assembled monolayers: SAMs)이 고 진공 조건에서 구리 나노 분말 표면 위에 코팅 조건의 변경을 통해서 5-nm에서 10-nm 두께의 1-octanethiol SAMs 구조를 얻어낼 수 있었다. 이는 고 진공 조건에서 1-octanethiol SAMs의 코팅 두께를 조절함으로 다양한 크기의 분말에 코팅 물질로 쓰일 수 있음을 알 수 있다.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.312-317
• /
• 2005

The objectives of this paper are to study the absorption characteristics of $NH_3$ bubbles in the binary nanofluids and to quantify the effects of surfactants and nano-particles on the bubble absorption performance. 2-Ethyl-1-Hexanol, n-Octanol, and 2-Octanol are used as the surfactants and nano-sized $Al_{2}O_3$ and Cu particles are added to make the binary nanofluids into $NH_3/H_{2}O$ solution. The concentration of $NH_3$ solution ($x_s$), the concentration of surfactants ($x_{SA}$), and the mass fraction of nano-particles ($w_{np}$) are considered as key parameters. The experimented ranges of $x_s,\;x_{SA},\;and\;w_{np}$ are $0{\sim}17.92\%,\;0{\sim}1,500\;ppm\;and\;0{\sim}0.2\%$, respectively. The absorption rates are calculated by measuring initial and final weights of test section and exposed time. In addition, the bubble absorption processes are visualized using the shadow graphic method. The results show that the absorption performance is significantly enhanced up to 4 times by adding the surfactants and up to 3 times in the binary nanofluids.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.359-372
• /
• 2017

Metallic copper nanoparticles were synthesised by reduction of copper ions in aqueous solution, and metal-metal bonding by using the nanoparticles was studied. A colloid solution of metallic copper nanoparticles was prepared by mixing an aqueous solution of $CuCl_2$ (0.01 M) and an aqueous solution of hydrazine (reductant) (0.2-1.0 M) in the presence of 0.0005 M of citric acid and 0.005 M of n-hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (stabilizers) at reduction temperature of $30-80^{\circ}C$. Copper-particle size varied (in the range of ca. 80-165 nm) with varying hydrazine concentration and reduction temperature. These dependences of particle size are explained by changes in number of metallic-copper-particle nuclei (determined by reduction rate) and changes in collision frequency of particles (based on movement of particles in accordance with temperature). The main component in the nanoparticles is metallic copper, and the metallic-copper particles are polycrystalline. Metallic-copper discs were successfully bonded by annealing at $400^{\circ}C$ and pressure of 1.2 MPa for 5 min in hydrogen gas with the help of the metalli-ccopper particles. Shear strength of the bonded copper discs was then measured. Dependences of shear strength on hydrazine concentration and reduction temperature were explained in terms of progress state of reduction, amount of impurity and particle size. Highest shear strength of 40.0 MPa was recorded for a colloid solution prepared at hydrazine concentration of 0.8 M and reduction temperature of $50^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2022

This study assessed the feasibility of iron oxide nanoparticles impregnated with biochar (INPBC), derived from woody biomass, as a stabilizing agent for the stabilization of farmland soil in the vicinity of an abandoned mine through pot experiments with 28 days of lettuce growth. The lettuce grown in the INPBC amended soils increased by more than 100% and the concentrations of inorganic elements (Cu, Ni, Zn) decreased by more than 40%. As, Cd and Pb were not transferred properly from the soils to the lettuce biomass. The bioavailability of arsenic and heavy metals in the INPBC amended soils were decreased by 26%~50%. It seems that the major mechanisms of stabilization were arsenic adsorption on iron oxides, heavy metal precipitation by soil pH increasing and heavy metal adsorption on organic matter. These results revealed that the lower bioavailability of the inorganic pollutants in the soils stabilized using INPBC induced lower transfer to the lettuce. Thus, INPBC could be used as an amendment material for the stabilization of farmland soils contaminated by arsenic and heavy metals. However, a pre-review of the chemical properties of the amended soil must be performed prior to applying INPBC in farmland soil because the concentration of the nutrients in the soil such as available phosphates and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K) could be decreased due to adsorption on the surface of the iron oxides and organic matter.