• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.282-287
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• 2019

The photovoltaic properties of $TiO_2$ used for the electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells(PSCs) are compared according to the particle size. The PSCs are fabricated and prepared by employing 20 nm and 30 nm $TiO_2$ as well as a 1:1 mixture of these particles. To analyze the microstructure and pores of each $TiO_2$ layer, a field emission scanning electron microscope and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) method are used. The absorbance and photovoltaic characteristic of the PSC device are examined over time using ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy and a solar simulator. The microstructural analysis shows that the $TiO_2$ shape and layer thicknesses are all similar, and the BET analysis results demonstrate that the size of $TiO_2$ and in surface pore size is very small. The results of the photovoltaic characterization show that the mean absorbance is similar, in a range of about 400-800 nm. However, the device employing 30 nm $TiO_2$ demonstrates the highest energy conversion efficiency(ECE) of 15.07 %. Furthermore, it is determined that all the ECEs decrease over time for the devices employing the respective types of $TiO_2$. Such differences in ECE based on particle size are due to differences in fill factor, which changes because of changes in interfacial resistance during electron movement owing to differences in the $TiO_2$ particle size, which is explained by a one-dimensional model of the electron path through various $TiO_2$ particles.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.122-134
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• 1998

In this review, we describe the electrochemical properties of spinel-type lithium manganese oxides $(Li_xMn_2O_4)$ and their failure modes encountered in 4 V lithium rechargable cells. The long-term cyclability (reversibility) of spinel electrodes is determined partly by the purity, size and distribution of spinel particles, and also by the microstructure of electrode plates. A proper selection of electrolytes is another important task in cyclability enhancements. In the spinel preparation, impurity formation and cation mixing should be minimized. The carbon content in composite cathodes should also be minimized to the extent where the cell polarization does not bring about adverse effects on cell performances. The binder content should be optimized on the basis of dispersion of component materials and mechanical strength of the plates. Cathodic capacity losses arising from solvent oxidation and spinel dissolution can be mitigated by using electrolytes composed of carbonates and/or fluorine-containing lithium salts. The carbon additives may be selected after a trade-off between the cell polarization in composite cathodes and the solvent oxidation on carbon surface.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.41 no.10 s.269
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• pp.783-787
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• 2004

Microwave dielectric properties and the microstructure of $Ba_5Nb_4O_{15}$ ceramics with $PbO-B_2O_3-SiO_2$ glass frit were investigated to reduce the sintering temperature of $Ba_5Nb_4O_{15}$ ceramics as a function of the amount of glass frit from $0.5wt\%$ to $10wt\%$ and the sintering condition. The sintered density and the microwave dielectric properties of $Ba_5Nb_4O_{15}$ ceramics were remarkably changed with the amount of glass fit which existed as a liquid phase and assisted the densification. $Ba_5Nb_4O_{15}$ with $3wt\%$ $PbO-B_2O_3-SiO_2$ glass frit sintered at $900^{\circ}C$ for 2 h showed dielectric constant (K) of 41.4, a quality factor (Q $\times$f) of 13,485 GHz, and a Temperature Coefficient of resonant Frequency (TCF) of 9 ppm/$^{\circ}C$. Due to no trace of physical and chemical reaction between this composition and Ag electrode cofired at $900^{\circ}C$ for 2 h, this ceramics can be a good candidate for the multilayer dielectric filter.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.4013-4018
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• 2014

A 0.45 $cm^2$ DSSC device with a glass/FTO/blocking layer/$TiO_2$/N719(dye)/electrolyte/50 nm-Pt/50 nm-Au/FTO/glass was prepared to examine the stability of the Au/Pt bilayered counter electrode (CE) with electrolyte and the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). For comparison, a 100 nm-thick Pt only CE DSSC was also prepared using the same method. The photovoltaic properties, such as the short circuit current density ($J_{sc}$), open circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$), fill factor (FF), and ECE, were checked using a solar simulator and potentiostat with time after assembling the DSSC. The microstructure of the Au/Pt bilayer was examined by optical microscopy after 0~25 minutes. The ECE of the Pt only CE-employed DSSC was 4.60 %, which did not show time dependence. On the other hand, for the Au/Pt CE DSSC, the ECEs after 0, 5 and 15 minutes were 5.28 %, 3.64 % and 2.09 %, respectively. The corrosion areas of the Au/Pt CE determined by optical microscopy after 0, 5, and 25 minutes were 0, 21.92 and 34.06 %. These results confirmed that the ECE and catalytic activity of Au/Pt CE decreased drastically with time. Therefore, a Au/Pt CE-employed DSSC may be superior to the Pt only CE-employed one immediately after integration of the device, but it would degrade drastically with time.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.877-885
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• 2013

A seawater pipe of the engine room in the ships is being surrounded with severely corrosive environments caused by fast flowing of the seawater, containing aggressive chloride ion and high conductivity etc.. Therefore, the leakage of the seawater from its pipe have been often occurred due to its local corrosion by aggressive chloride ions. Subsequently, its leakage area is usually welded by AC shielded metal arc welding with various electrodes. In this study, when the sea water pipe is welded with several types of electrodes such as E4301, E4311, E4313 and E4316, a difference of the corrosion resistance on the welding metal zones was investigated using an electrochemical method, observing microstructure, measuring polarization behaviors and hardness. The weld metal zone welded with E4313 electrode exhibited the lowest value of hardness compared to other weld metal zones. In addition, its zone indicated also the best corrosion resistance than those of other weld metal zones. Furthermore, all of the weld metal zones revealed a relatively better corrosion resistance than those of the base metal zones. and also showed higher hardness than the base metal zones.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.805-810
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• 2012

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) have wide range of application areas in transparent electrode for display devices, Transparent coating for solar energy heat mirrors, and electromagnetic wave shield. $SnO_2$ is intrinsically an n-type semiconductor due to oxygen deficiencies and has a high energy-band gap more than 3.5 eV. It is known as a transparent conducting oxide because of its low resistivity of $10^{-3}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ and high transmittance over 90% in visible region. In this study, co-doping effects of Al and Y on the properties of $SnO_2$ were investigated. The addition of Y in $SnO_2$ was tried to create oxygen vacancies that increase the diffusivity of oxygen ions for the densification of $SnO_2$. The addition of Al was expected to increase the electron concentration. Once, we observed solubility limit of $SnO_2$ single-doped with Al and Y. $\{(x/2)Al_2O_3+(x/2)Y_2O_3\}-SnO_2$ was used for the source of Al and Y to prevent the evaporation of $Al_2O_3$ and for the charge compensation. And we observed the valence changes of aluminium oxide because generally reported of valence changes of aluminium oxide in Tin - Aluminium binary system. The electrical properties, solubility limit, densification and microstructure of $SnO_2$ co-doped with Al and Y will be discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2023

The cathode, which is one of the four major components of a lithium secondary battery, is an important component responsible for the energy density of the battery. The mixing process of active material, conductive material, and polymer binder is very essential in the commonly used wet manufacturing process of the cathode. However, in the case of mixing conditions of the cathode, since there is no systematic method, in most cases, differences in performance occur depending on the manufacturer. Therefore, LiMn₂O₄ (LMO) cathodes were prepared using a commonly used THINKY mixer and homogenizer to optimize the mixing method in the cathode slurry preparation step, and their characteristics were compared. Each mixing condition was performed at 2000 RPM and 7 min, and to determine only the difference in the mixing method during the manufacture of the cathode other experiment conditions (mixing time, material input order, etc.) were kept constant. Among the manufactured THINKY mixer LMO (TLMO) and homogenizer LMO (HLMO), HLMO has more uniform particle dispersion than TLMO, and thus shows higher adhesive strength. Also, the result of the electrochemical evaluation reveals that HLMO cathode showed improved performance with a more stable life cycle compared to TLMO. The initial discharge capacity retention rate of HLMO at 69 cycles was 88%, which is about 4.4 times higher than that of TLMO, and in the case of rate capability, HLMO exhibited a better capacity retention even at high C-rates of 10, 15, and 20 C and the capacity recovery at 1 C was higher than that of TLMO. It's postulated that the use of a homogenizer improves the characteristics of the slurry containing the active material, the conductive material, and the polymer binder creating an electrically conductive network formed by uniformly dispersing the conductive material suppressing its strong electrostatic properties thus avoiding aggregation. As a result, surface contact between the active material and the conductive material increases, electrons move more smoothly, changes in lattice volume during charging and discharging are more reversible and contact resistance between the active material and the conductive material is suppressed.