• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the electrochemical characteristics of nanotubular Ti-25Nb-xZr ternary alloys for dental implant materials. Materials and Methods: Ti-25Nb-xZr alloys with different Zr contents (0, 3, 7, and 15 wt.%) were manufactured using commercially pure titanium (CP-Ti), niobium (Nb), and zirconium (Zr) (99.95 wt.% purity). The alloys were prepared by arc melting in argon (Ar) atmosphere. The Ti-25Nb-xZr alloys were homogenized in Ar atmosphere at $1,000^{\circ}C$ for 12 hours followed by quenching into ice water. The microstructure of the Ti-25Nb-xZr alloys was examined by a field emission scanning electron microscope. The phases in the alloys were identified by an X-ray diffractometer. The chemical composition of the nanotube-formed surfaces was determined by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Self-organized $TiO_2$ was prepared by electrochemical oxidation of the samples in a $1.0M\;H_3PO_4+0.8wt.%$ NaF electrolyte. The anodization potential was 30 V and time was 1 hour by DC supplier. Surface wettability was evaluated for both the metallographically polished and nanotube-formed surfaces using a contact-angle goniometer. The corrosion properties of the specimens were investigated using a 0.9 wt.% aqueous solution of NaCl at $36^{\circ}C{\pm}5^{\circ}C$ using a potentiodynamic polarization test. Result: Needle-like structure of Ti-25Nb-xZr alloys was transform to equiaxed structure as Zr content increased. Nanotube formed on Ti-25Nb-xZr alloys show two sizes of nanotube structure. The diameters of the large tubes decreased and small tubes increased as Zr content increased. The lower contact angles for nanotube formed Ti-25NbxZr alloys surfaces showed compare to non-nanotube formed surface. The corrosion resistance of alloy increased as Zr content increased, and nanotube formed surface showed longer the passive regions compared to non-treatment surface. Conclusion: It is confirmed that corrosion resistance of alloy increased as Zr content increased, and nanotube formed surface has longer passive region compared to without treatment surface.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.6 s.289
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• pp.369-375
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• 2006

[ $(Ba_{0.5}Sr_{0.5})_{0.99}Co_{x}Fe_{1-x}O_{3-{\delta}}$ ] [x=0.8, 0.2](BSCF) powders were synthesized by a Glycine-Nitrate Process (GNP) and the electrochemical performance of the BSCF cathode on a scandia stabilized zirconia, $[(Sc_{2}O_3)_{0.11}(ZrO_2)_{0.89}]-1Al_{2}O_3$ was investigated. In order to prevent unfavorable solid-state reactions between the cathode and zirconia electrolyte, a GDC ($Gd_{0.1}Ce_{0.9}O_{2-{delta}}$) buffer layer was applied on ScSZ. The BSCF (x = 0.8) cathode formed on GDC(Buffer)/ScSZ(Disk) showed poor electrochemical property, because the BSCF cathode layer peeled off after the heat-treatment. On the other hand, there were no delamination or peel off between the BSCF and GDC buffer layer, and the BSCF (x = 0.2) cathode exhibited fairly good electrochemical performances. It was considered that the observed phenomenon was associated with the thermal expansion mismatch between the cathode and buffer layer. The ohmic resistance of the double layer cathode was slightly lower than that of the single layer BSCF cathode due to the incorporation of platinum particle into the BSCF second layer.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.102-107
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• 2012

The recovery of a Pt anode in a PEMFC through 30 ppm $H_2S/H_2$ exposure was evaluated by using a cyclic voltametry(CV) scan. First, the PEMFC unit cell performanc loss was measured three times under an anode feeding with 30 ppm $H_2S/H_2$ for 1hr at $0.5A/cm^2$ of current density. The initial cell performance was $1.16A/cm^2$ at 0.6 V without $H_2S$ poisoning. After first poisoning step for 1hr the cell performance was decrease to $0.77A/cm^2$, and the further poisoning steps decreased up 0.57 V. Finally, the recovery of the cell performance of $H_2S$ poisoned PEMFC was achieved up to 90.3% by applying CV scan. Moreover, we also found out that another possible approach for over 80% recovery of the cell performance of $H_2S$ poisoned anode Pt catalyst layer was to just inject fresh hydrogen into the anode feeding stream.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.362-370
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• 2013

The coconut shell based activated carbon was applied for EDLC (electric double layer capacitor) electrode with the post treatments. The electrochemical properties were evaluated with a coin cell using the activated carbon as electrode. The initial gravimetric and volumetric capacitance of the coconut shell based activated carbon electrode s were 66 F/g and 39 F/cc, and these values decreased to 54 F/g and 32 F/cc after 100 cycles, respectively showing 82% of charge-discharge efficiency. The properties of CV graph with the commercial activated carbon electrodes showed the serious polarization as the result of additional reaction between electrolyte and impurities of the electrode materials. In order to remove impurities efficiently, the commercial activated carbon was treated by alkali and acid solutions consecutively, and then heat treated to control the pore size distribution and the content of surface functional groups. The surface functional groups decreased with the increased heat temperature and the specific capacitance increased with the decreased surface functional groups. The initial capacitance of coconut shell based activated carbon elec trode which was treated with NaOH and HNO3, and then heat treated at $800^{\circ}C$ was 44 F/cc, and the value turned out to be 42 F/cc after 100 cycles, showing over 95% of charge-discharge efficiency.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.64-71
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• 2017

The study was performed on the effects of crop load of pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) trees on shoot growth, reserved nutrients, and fruit production for two years, as well as regrowth of cuttings treated with various cold temperatures in 2012 and 2013. Crop load adjustments included three levels of fruiting; 54 (60%), 90 (100%), and 126 fruits per tree (140%). As increasing crop load from 60% to 140%, water sprout growth decreased, and one-year old shoot resulted in declined concentrations of total carbon, macro-nutrients, and free sugar. The 140% of crop load greatly increased fruit yield of approximately 35 tons per ha in both 2011 and 2012 but slightly reduced weight, size, and soluble solid contents in fruit. However, 140% of crop load increased annual production income to approximately over 10 million won compared to the 60% and 100% of crop load. Germination rates in the cuttings did not rapidly decrease up to $-20^{\circ}C$ in a growth chamber condition. The 140% of crop load decreased germination rates less than 70% of cuttings grown under $-30^{\circ}C$. Amounts of electrolyte leakage in the cuttings under various cold temperatures were not significantly different among the adjustment of crop load.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2008

We have studied the effect of heat treatment of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as a counter electrode on the electro-chemical properties of dye-snsitized solar cells. MWNTs on the p-type Si substrate were synthesized by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using Fe catalysts. We prepared the two types of MWNTs samples with the different diameters. The rapid thermal annealing (RTA) treatment for the MWNTs was carried out at the growth temperature ($900^{\circ}C$) for 1 minute with $N_2$ gas atmosphere. The structural, electrical and electrochemical properties of MWNTs were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Raman spectroscopy, 2-point probe station and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The I(D)/I(G) ratio of heat-treated MWNTs in Raman spectra was considerably decreased. It was also found that the heat-treated MWNTs showed better redox reaction of iodide at the interface between MWNTs surface and electrolyte than that of as-grown MWNTs. The redox resistance value of heat-treated electrodes was measured to be much lower than that of as-grown electrode at the interface. As a result, the counter electrode using the heat-treated MWNTs showed better electrochemical properties.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.463-463
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• 2014

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have generated a strong interest in the development of solid-state devices owing to their low cost and simple preparation procedures. Effort has been devoted to the study of electrolytes that allow light-to-electrical power conversion for DSSC applications. Several attempts have been made to substitute the liquid electrolyte in the original solar cells by using (2,2',7,7'-tetrakis (N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9-9'-spirobi-fluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) that act as hole conductor [1]. Although efficiencies above 3% have been reached by several groups, here the major challenging is limited photoelectrode thickness ($2{\mu}m$), which is very low due to electron diffusion length (Ln) for spiro-OMeTAD ($4.4{\mu}m$) [2]. In principle, the $TiO_2$ layer can be thicker than had been thought previously. This has important implications for the design of high-efficiency solid-state DSSCs. In the present study, we have fabricated 3-D Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) by growing tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowire (NWs) arrays via a vapor transport method [3] and mesoporous $TiO_2$ nanoparticle (NP)-based photoelectrodes were prepared using doctor blade method. Finally optimized light-harvesting solid-state DSSCs is made using 3-D TCO where electron life time is controlled the recombination rate through fast charge collection and also ITO NWs length can be controlled in the range of over $2{\mu}m$ and has been characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Structural analyses by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) results reveal that the ITO NWs formed single crystal oriented [100] direction. Also to compare the charge collection properties of conventional NPs based solid-state DSSCs with ITO NWs based solid-state DSSCs, we have studied intensity modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS), intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS) and transient open circuit voltages. As a result, above $4{\mu}m$ thick ITO NWs based photoelectrodes with Z907 dye shown the best performing device, exhibiting a short-circuit current density of 7.21 mA cm-2 under simulated solar emission of 100 mW cm-2 associated with an overall power conversion efficiency of 2.80 %. Finally, we achieved the efficiency of 7.5% by applying a CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite sensitizer.

• 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.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.6-14
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• 2001

The monomer N,N'-bis(3-pyrrol-1-yl-propyl)-4,4'-bipyridinium$(PF_6)_2$ was electrochemically polymerized on glassy carbon electrode surface. This polymer film electrode has electroactive sites on its bipyridinium ions distributed at the polymer strands. The formal potentials of the electrodes were -0.41V and -0.81V(vs. SSCE) for each step at phosphate buffer(pH=5.70). The diffusion coefficients of the dopants ions into the polymer matrix were $1.57{\times}10^{-4}$ and $4.35{\times}10^{-5}cm^2s^{-1}$ for first and second redox couple, respectively. The rate constants of electron transfer at $V^{2+/+}$ of the first step was a $57.53s^{-1}$, which was 22 times higher than $V^{+/0}$ one having $2.63s^{-1}$ in the solution. The charge transfer resistance of the polymer film was influenced by the dopant ion of the electrolyte. Thus the resistances were 22.63, 16.81, 12.44 and $11.36k{\Omega}$ for $LiClO_4,\;NaClO_4,\;KClO_4$, and phosphate buffer, respectively. The reaction order of the electropolymerization was first order and the rate constant of the polymerization was $1.31{\times}10^{-1}s^{-1}$ as determined by EQCM method. The G.C./p-BPB type electrode doped with phosphate ions showed a stability and reproducibility in CV procedure over 20 cycles.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.299-305
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• 2011

This study deals with the preparation of polymeric electrolyte membranes having high durability for the application of fuel cells. The membranes under investigation were prepared the impregnation to porous polyethylene membranes with poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA), poly(styrene sulfonic acid-co-maleic acid), and (PSSA-MA)3-(trihydroxysilyl)-1-propanesulfonic acid (THS-PSA). To characterize the resulting membranes, the water contents, the contact angles, FT-IR, the proton conductivity and the the modulus were measured. The proton conductivity of 30% content of THS-PSA at $55^{\circ}C$ gave excellent $1.27{\times}10^{-1}S/cm$ and the mechanical strength was improved 7 times higher up to the THS-PSA content 15%, as a result, the durability was elevated extensively.