• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1767-1778
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• 2010

This study investigates applying $TiO_2$ (titanium dioxide) nanoparticles to polypropylene nonwoven fabrics via electrospinning for the development of UV-protective materials. To fabricate uniform nanocomposite fibers, three types of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles were applied: powder, colloid, and $TiO_2$ coated polymer pellets. $TiO_2$/polyurethane (PU) and $TiO_2$/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite fibers were electrospun and the morphology was examined using a field-emission scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope. Layered fabric systems with electrospun $TiO_2$ nanocomposite fiber webs were developed at various concentrations of $TiO_2$ in a range of the web area density. The effects of $TiO_2$ concentration and web area density on UV-protective properties were examined. When $TiO_2$ colloid was added into a PVA polymer solution, uniform nanocomposite fiber webs in which $TiO_2$ particles were evenly dispersed were produced. Water-soluble PVA nanofiber webs were given a heat treatment to stabilize the electrospun PVA fibrous structure against dissolution in water. $TiO_2$/PVA nanoeomposite fiber webs with 2wt% $TiO_2$ and 3.0g/$m^2$ web area density exhibited an ultraviolet protection factor of greater than 50, indicating excellent UV protection.

• Carbon letters
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.236-242
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• 2011

The oxyfluorination effects of activated carbon nanofibers (OFACFs) were investigated for $CO_2$ storage. Electrospun CFs were prepared from a polyacrylonitrile/N,N-dimethylformamide solution via electrospinning and heat treatment. The electrospun CFs were chemically activated in order to generate the pore structure, and then oxyfluorination was used to modify the surface. The samples were labeled CF (electrospun CF), ACF (activated CF), OFACF-1 ($O_2:F_2$ = 7:3), OFACF-2 ($O_2:F_2$ = 5:5) and OFACF-3 ($O_2:F_2$ = 3:7). The functional group of OFACFs was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The C-F bonds formed on surface of ACFs. The intensities of the C-O peaks increased after oxyfluorination and increased the oxygen content in the reaction gas. The specific surface area, pore volume and pore size of OFACFs were calculated by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and density functional theory equation. Through the $N_2$ adsorption isotherm, the specific surface area and pore volume slightly decreased as a result of oxyfluorination treatment. Nevertheless, the $CO_2$ adsorption efficiency of oxyfluorinated ACF improved around 16 wt% due to the semi-ionic interaction effect of surface modificated oxygen functional groups and $CO_2$ molecules.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.372-385
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• 2014

Lignin is an abundant natural polymer in the biosphere and second only to cellulose; however, it is under-utilized and considered a waste. In this study, lignin was fabricated into nanofibers via electrospinning. The critical parameters that affected the electrospinnability and morphology of the resulting fibers were examined with the aim to utilize lignin as a resource for a new textile material. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was added as a carrier polymer to facilitate the fiber formation of lignin, and the electrospun fibers were deposited on polyester (PET) nonwoven substrate. Eleven lignin/PVA hybrid solutions with a different lignin to PVA mass ratio were prepared and then electrospun to find an optimum concentration. Lignin nano-fibers were electrospun under a variety of conditions such as various feed rates, needle gauges, electric voltage, and tip-to-collector distances in order to find an optimum spinning condition. We found that the optimum concentration for electrospinning was a 5wt% PVA precursor solution upon the addition of lignin with the mass ratio of PVA:lignin=1:5.6. The viscosity of the lignin/PVA hybrid solution was determined as an important parameter that affected the electrospinning process; in addition, the interrelation between the viscosity of hybrid solution and the electrospinnability was examined. The solution viscosity increased with lignin loading, but exhibited a shear thinning behavior beyond a certain concentration that resulted in needle clogging. A steep increase in viscosity was also noted when the electrospun system started to form fibers. Consequently, the viscosity range to produce bead-free lignin nanofibers was revealed. The energy dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed that lignin remained after being transformed into nanofibers. The results indicate the possibility of developing a new fiber material that utilizes biomass with resulting fibers that can be applied to various applications such as filtration to wound dressing.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.552-558
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• 2006

Biodegradable nanofibrous poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffold was prepared by an electrospinning process for use in tissue regeneration. The nanofiber scaffold was treated with oxygen plasma and then simultaneously in situ grafted with hydrophilic acrylic acid (AA) to obtain PLLA-g-PAA. The fiber diameter, pore size, and porosity of the electrospun nanofibrous PLLA scaffold were estimated as $250\sim750nm,\;\sim30{\mu}m$, and 95%, respectively. The ultimate tensile strength was 1.7 MPa and the percent elongation at break was 120%. Although the physical and mechanical properties of the PLLA-g-PAA scaffold were comparable to those of the PLLA control, a significantly lower contact angle and significantly higher ratio of oxygen to carbon were notable on the PLLA-g-PAA surface. After the fibroblasts were cultured for up to 6 days, cell adhesion and proliferation were much improved on the nanofibrous PLLA-g-PAA scaffold than on either PLLA film or unmodified nanofibrous PLLA scaffold. The present work demonstrated that the applications of plasma treatment and hydrophilic AA grafting were effective to modify the surface of electrospun nanofibrous polymer scaffolds and that the altered surface characteristics significantly improved cell adhesion and proliferation.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.434-439
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• 2012

To improve the performance of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators, Nafion films sandwiched with Nafion/conducting nanoparticulate electrospun webs were used as polymer electrolytes of IPMC. Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) and silver were the conducting nanoparticulates and the nanoparticles dispersed in a Nafion solution were electrospun. IPMCs with the Nafion/conducting nanoparticulate electrospun webs displayed improved displacements, response rates, and blocking forces. MWNT was superior to silver in terms of displacement and blocking force, and the webs without the conducting fillers also caused enhanced performances compared with the conventional IPMCs. These improvements were attributed to an elevated electrolyte flux through highly porous interlayers and capacitance induced by well dispersed conducting fillers, and low interfacial resistance between electrolyte and electrodes.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2012

Cellulose nanowhisker (CNW) isolated from hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HW-BKP) using sulfuric acid hydrolysis was suspended in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and electrospun into composites nanofibers. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the CNW to be rod-like, approximately of $16.1{\pm}4.6$ nm wide and $194{\pm}61$ nm long, providing an aspect ratio of about 12, with a particle size distribution range of $662.2{\pm}301.2$ nm. Uniform and high quality CNW/PVA composite nanofibers were successfully manufactured by the electrospinning method. As the CNW loading increases, the viscosity of CNW/PVA solutions shows a minimum at 1% CNW level which subsequently results in the smallest diameter (193 nm) of electrospun nanofibers. The average diameter of the nanofibers increased up to 284 nm with increasing CNW loading. These results suggest that the electrospinning method provides a great potential of manufacturing consistent and reliable nanofibers from CNW/PVA solution for the formation of scaffolds with potentials in future application.

• Carbon letters
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 2011

A novel electrode for an NO gas sensor was fabricated from electrospun polyacrylonitrile fibers by thermal treatment to obtain carbon fibers followed by chemical activation to enhance the activity of gas adsorption sites. The activation process improved the porous structure, increasing the specific surface area and allowing for efficient gas adsorption. The gas sensing ability and response time were improved by the increased surface area and micropore fraction. High performance gas sensing was then demonstrated by following a proposed mechanism based on the activation effects. Initially, the pore structure developed by activation significantly increased the amount of adsorbed gas, as shown by the high sensitivity of the gas sensor. Additionally, the increased micropore fraction enabled a rapid sensor response time due to improve the adsorption speed. Overall, the sensitivity for NO gas was improved approximately six-fold, and the response time was reduced by approximately 83% due to the effects of chemical activation.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.219.2-219.2
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• 2011

The oxyfluorination effects of electrospun carbon nanofibers (OFACFs) were investigated for $CO_2$ storage. Carbon nanofibers were prepared form poly acrylonitrile / N,N-dimethylformamide solution through electrospinning method and heat treatment. Chemical activation of carbon nanofibers were carried out in order to improve the pore structure. And the surface modification of activated carbon nanofibers was conducted by oxyfluorination to improve the $CO_2$ storage on effect of introduced functional groups. The samples were labeled CF (electrospun carbon nanofiber), ACF (activated carbon nanofibers), OFACF-1 ($F_2:O_2$ = 3:7), OFACF-2 ($F_2:O_2$ = 5:5) and OFACF-3 ($F_2:O_2$ = 7:3). The functional group of OFACFs was investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The specific surface area, pore volume and pore size of OFACFs were calculated and pore shape was estimated by the BET equation. Through the adsorption isotherm, the specific surface area and pore volume significantly decreased by oxyfluorination.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.42-45
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• 2014

Recently, tremendous application utilizing electrospun nanofibers have been actively reported due to its several advantages, such as high surface to volume ratio, simple fabrication and high-throughput manufacturing. In this paper, we developed highly sensitive and consistent nanofiber humidity sensor by electrospinning. The humidity sensor was fabricated by rapid electrospinning (~2 sec) $TiO_2$/PVP/LiCl mixed solution on the micro-interdigitated electrode. In order to evaluate the humidity sensing performances, we measured current response using DC bias voltage under various relative humidity levels. The results show fast response / recovery time and marginal hysteresis as well as long-term stability. In addition, with the aid of micro-interdigitated electrode, we can reduce a total resistance of the sensor and increase the total reaction area of nanofibers across the electrodes resulting in high sensitivity and enhanced current level. Therefore, we expect that the electrospun nanofiber array for humidity sensor can be feasible and promising for diverse humidity sensing application.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.122-129
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• 2012

To develop a waterproof breathable material, we fabricated three kinds of nanofiber web laminates using a massproduced electrospun nanofiber web with different substrates and layer structures. The waterproofness and breathability of nanofiber web laminates were evaluated after repeated launderings and compared with those of conventional waterproof breathable fabrics currently in use, including densely woven fabric, microporous membrane laminated fabric, and coated fabric. The durability of nanofiber web laminates, including adhesion strength, abrasion resistance, tensile strength, and tearing strength, was also assessed and compared with those of conventional waterproof breathable fabrics. The water vapor transmission of nanofiber web laminates increased slightly after repeated launderings, whereas the air permeability somewhat decreased after launderings but still maintained an acceptable level of air permeability. Laundering reduced the resistance to water penetration of nanofiber web laminates, which implies that laminating techniques or substrate materials that could support waterproofness of the laminated structure should be explored. The adhesion strength, abrasion resistance, tensile strength, and tearing strength of nanofiber web laminates were in a range comparable to conventional waterproof breathable materials.