• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.115-120
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• 2017

In recent, it is worldwide issued that nanoscale science and technology as a solution have supported to increase the sensing performance in carbon nanotube based biosensor system. Containing material chemistry in various nanostructures has formed their high potentials for stabilizing and activating biocatalyst as a bioreceptor for medical, food contaminants, and environmental detections using electrode modification technologies. Especially, the large surface area provides the attachment of biocatalysts increasing the biocatalyst loading. Therefore, nano-scale engineering of the biocatalysts have been suggested to be the next stage advancement of biosensors. Here, we would like to study the electrical mechanism depending on the exposure methods (soaking or dropping) to the sample solution to the assembled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the gold electrodes of biosensor for a simple and highly sensitive detection. We performed various experiments using polar and non-polar solutions as sampling tests and identified electrical response of assembled CNTs in those solutions.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.276-284
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• 2000

A wettability chemogradient on poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) films was prepared by treating the films in air with corona from a knife-type electrode whose power increases gradually along the sample length. The PLGA surfaces oxidized gradually with the increasing corona power, and the wettability chemogradient was created on the surfaces as evidenced by the measurement of water contact angles and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. The wettability chemogradient PLGA surfaces were used to investigate the interaction of four different types of cells such as hepatoma (Hep G2), osteoblast (MG 63), bovine aortic endothelial (CPAE), and fibroblast (NIH/3T3) cells in terms of the surface hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of PLGA. The cells adhered and grown on the chemogradient surface along the sample length were counted and observed by scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that the cells were adhered, spread, and grown more onto the positions with moderate hydrophilicity of the wettability chemogradient PLGA surface than the more hydrophobic or hydrophillic positions, regardless of the cell types used. The maximum adhesion and growth of the cells appeared at around water contact angles of 53～55°. This result seems closely related with the serum protein adsorption on the surface; the serum proteins were also adsorbed more onto the positions with moderate hydrophilicity of the wettability chemogradient surface. It seems that the wettability plays important roles for cell adhesion, spreading and growth on the PLGA surface. The surface modification technique used in this study may be applicable tothe area of tissue engineering for the improvement of tissue compatibility of films- or scaffold-type substrates.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.569-574
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• 2014

Inverted bulk hetero-junction polymer solar cells (iPSC) composed of P3HT/PC61BM blends on the ZnO modified with benzoic acid derivatives-based self-assembled monolayers (SAM) are fabricated. Compared with the device using the pristine ZnO, the devices with ZnO surface modified SAMs derived from benzoic acid such as 4-(diphenylamino)benzoic acid (DPA-BA) and 4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)benzoic acid (Cz-BA) as an electron transporting layer show improved the performances. It is mainly attributed to the favorable interface dipole at the interface between ZnO and the active layer, the eective passivation of the ZnO surface traps, decrease of the work function and facilitating transport of electron from PCBM to ITO electrode. The power conversion eciency (PCE) of iPSCs based on DPA-BA and Cz-BA treated ZnO reaches 2.78 and 2.88%, respectively, while the PCE of the device based on untreated ZnO is 2.49%. The open circuit voltage values ($V_{oc}$) of the devices with bare ZnO and SAM treated ZnO are not much different. Whereas, higher the fill factor (FF) and lower the series resistance ($R_s$) are obtained in the devices with SAMs modification.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.107-114
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• 2015

Electrochemical fabrication of nanostructured Au surfaces has received increased attention. In the present work, electrochemical modification of Au surfaces for fabricating nanostructured Au surfaces in the absence of externally added precursors is presented, which is different to the previous methods utilizing electrochemical deposition of externally added precursors. Application of anodic potential at Au surfaces in phosphate buffers containing $Br^-$ resulted in the anodic dissolution of Au, which produced Au precursors at the electrode surfaces. The resulting Au precursors were further reduced at the surface to produce nanostructured Au structures. The effects of applied potential and time on the morphology of Au nanostructures were systematically examined, from which a unique backbone type Au nanostructures was produced. The backbone type Au nanostructures exhibited high surface-enhanced Raman activity. The present work would give insights into the formation of electrochemical fabrication of nanostructured Au surfaces.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.298-305
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• 2016

In this study, we treated pitch-based activated carbon fibers (ACFs) in hydrogen peroxide using electron beam (E-beam) irradiation to improve nitrogen monoxide (NO) sensing ability as an electrode material of gas sensor. The specific surface area of ACFs treated by E-beam irradiation with 400 kGy increased from $885m^2/g$ (pristine) to $1160m^2/g$ without any changes in structural property and functional group. The increase in specific surface area of the E-beam irradiated ACFs enhanced NO gas sensing properties such as response time and sensitivity. When the ACFs irradiated with 400 kGy, response time was remarkably reduced from 360 s to 210 s and sensitivity was increased by 4.5%, compared to the pristine ACFs. These results demonstrate convincingly that surface modification of ACFs using E-beam in hydrogen peroxide solution can enhance textural properties of ACFs and NO gas sensing ability of gas sensor at room temperature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.75.2-75.2
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• 2013

Atomic layer deposition (ALD), utilizing self-limiting surface reactions, could offer promising perspectives for future efficient energy conversion devices. The capabilities of ALD for surface/interface modification and construction of novel architectures with sub-nanometer precision and exceptional conformality over high aspect ratio make it more valuable than any other deposition methods in nanoscale science and technology. In the context, a variety of researches on fabrication of active materials for energy conversion applications by ALD are emerging. Among those materials, one-dimensional nanotubular titanium dioxide, providing not only high specific surface area but also efficient carrier transport pathway, is a class of the most intensively explored materials for energy conversion systems, such as photovoltaic cells and photo/electrochemical devices. The monodisperse, stoichiometric, anatase, TiO2 nanotubes with smooth surface morphology and controlled wall thickness were fabricated via low-temperature template-directed ALD followed by subsequent annealing. The ALD-grown, anatase, TiO2 nanotubes in alumina template show unusual crystal growth behavior which allows to form remarkably large grains along axial direction over certain wall thickness. We also fabricated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) introducing our anatase TiO2 nanotubes as photoanodes, and studied the effect of blocking layer, TiO2 thin films formed by ALD, on overall device efficiency. The photon convertsion efficiency ~7% were measured for our TiO2 nanotubebased DSCs with blocking layers, which is ~1% higher than ones without blocking layer. We also performed open circuit voltage decay measurement to estimate recombination rate in our cells, which is 3 times longer than conventional nanoparticulate photoanodes. The high efficiency of our ALD-grown, anatase, TiO2 nanotube-based DSCs may be attributed to both enhanced charge transport property of our TiO2 nanotubes photoanode and the suppression of recombination at the interface between transparent conducting electrode and iodine electrolytes by blocking layer.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.80-87
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• 2019

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted great attention as sustainable energy devices. The efficiency and long-term stability of DSSCs are greatly influenced by electrode materials and electrolytes. In this review, we focused on the electrolytes of DSSCs. Polymer electrolyte membranes have been proposed as an alternative to conventional liquid electrolytes in DSSCs. Conventional liquid electrolytes can exhibit a high efficiency, but due to some problems such as poor long-term stability of device and leakage of liquid, much interest in polymer electrolyte membranes continues to rise and the papers on polymer electrolytes membranes have been extensively reported recently. This review covers the concept and development of polymer electrolyte membranes for DSSCs, and discusses the efficiency and electrochemical properties of DSSCs, highlighting the modification of polymer matrix, the introduction of additives such as organic-inorganic plasticizers and ionic liquids.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.237-245
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• 2021

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) enhances the stability of cathode materials via surface modification. Previous studies have demonstrated that an Ni-rich cathode, such as LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂, is a promising candidate owing to its high capacity, but is limited by poor cycle stability. In this study, to enhance the stability of the Ni-rich cathode, synthesized LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ was coated with Al₂O₃ using ALD. Thus, the surface-modified cathode exhibited enhanced stability by protecting the interface from Ni-O formation during the cycling process. The coated LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ exhibited a capacity of 176 mAh g^-1 at 1 C and retained up to 72% of the initial capacity after 100 cycles within a range of 2.8-4.3 V (vs Li/Li⁺. In contrast, pristine LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ presented only 58% of capacity retention after 100 cycles with an initial capacity of 173 mAh g^-1. Improved cyclability may be a result of the ALD coating, which physically protects the electrode by modifying the interface, and prevents degradation by resisting side reactions that result in capacity decay. The electrochemical impedance spectra and structural and morphological analysis performed using electron microscopy and X-ray techniques establish the surface enhancement resulting from the aforementioned strategy.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.447-454
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• 2014

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have intensively studied in recent years due to their advantages such as cost effectiveness and possibility of applications in flexible devices. In spite of the high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10 %, the OSCs still have a draw back of their low environmental stability due to the oxidization of aluminum cathode and etching of transparent conducting oxide as electrode. To solve these problems, the inverted structured OSCs (I-OSCs) having greatest potential for achieving an improvement of device performances are suggested. Therefore, there are a lot of studies to develope of interface layer based on organic/inorganic materials for the electron transport layer (ETL) and passivation layer, significant advancements in I-OSCs have driven the development of interface functional materials including electron transport layer. Recent efforts to employing 2D/3D zinc oxide (ZnO) based ETL into I-OSCs have produced OSCs with a power conversion efficiency level that matches the efficiency of ~9 %. In this review, the technical issues and recent progress of ZnO based ETL in I-OSCs to enhancement of device efficiency and stability in terms of materials, process and characterization have summarized.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.424-432
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• 2019

Planar BiVO₄ and 3 wt% Mo-doped BiVO₄ (abbreviated as Mo:BiVO₄) film were prepared by the facile spin-coating method on fluorine doped SnO₂(FTO) substrate in the same precursor solution including the Mo precursor in Mo:BiVO₄ film. After annealing at a high temperature of 450℃ for 30 min to improve crystallinity, the films exhibited the monoclinic crystalline phase and nanoporous architecture. Both films showed no remarkably discrepancy in crystalline or morphological properties. To investigate the effect of surface passivation exploring the Al₂O₃ layer, the ultra-thin Al₂O₃ layer with a thickness of approximately 2 nm was deposited on BiVO₄ film using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. No distinct morphological modification was observed for all prepared BiVO₄ and Mo:BiVO₄ films. Only slightly reduced nanopores were observed. Although both samples showed some reduction of light absorption in the visible wavelength after coating of Al₂O₃ layer, the Al₂O₃ coated BiVO₄ (Al₂O₃/BiVO₄) film exhibited enhanced photoelectrochemical performance in 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ solution (pH 6.5), having higher photocurrent density (0.91 mA/㎠ at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), briefly abbreviated as V_RHE) than BiVO₄ film (0.12 mA/㎠ at 1.23 V_RHE). Moreover, Al₂O₃ coating on the Mo:BiVO₄ film exhibited more enhanced photocurrent density (1.5 mA/㎠ at 1.23 V_RHE) than the Mo:BiVO₄ film (0.86 mA/㎠ at 1.23 V_RHE). To examine the reasons, capacitance measurement and Mott-Schottky analysis were conducted, revealing that the significant degradation of capacitance value was observed in both BiVO₄ film and Al₂O₃/Mo:BiVO₄ film, probably due to degraded capacitance by surface passivation. Furthermore, the flat-band potential (V_FB) was negatively shifted to about 200 mV while the electronic conductivities were enhanced by Al₂O₃ coating in both samples, contributing to the advancement of PEC performance by ultra-thin Al₂O₃ layer.