• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2742-2746
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• 2023

The corrosion behavior of copper immersed in dilute oxychloride solution (100 mM) was studied through surface investigation and in-situ monitoring of open-circuit potential. The copper corrosion was initiated with copper dissolution into a form of CuCl^-₂, resulting in mass decrease within the first 40 h of immersion. This was followed by a hydrolysis reaction initiated by the CuCl^-₂ at the copper surface, after which oxide products were formed and deposited on the surface, resulting in a mass increase. The formation of nucleation sites for copper oxide and its lateral extension during the corrosion process were examined using focused ion beam (FIB)-scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of metastable compounds such as atacamite (CuCl₂·3Cu(OH)₂) on the corroded copper surface was revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.3051-3058
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• 2022

In the present work, untreated Iraqi sand with grain sizes varied between 100 and 200 ㎛ was used to produce a colored glass sample that has shielding features against the low gamma-ray energy. Therefore, a weight of 70-60 wt % sand was mixed with 9-14 wt% B₂O₃, 8-10 wt% Na₂O, 4-6 wt% of CaO, 3-6 wt% Al₂O₃, in addition to 0.3% of Co₂O₃. After melting and annealing the glass sample, the X-ray diffraction spectrometry was applied to affirm the amorphous phase of the fabricated glass samples. Moreover, the X-ray dispersive energy spectrometry was used to measure the chemical composition, and the MH-300A densimeter was applied to measure the fabricated sample's density. The Makishima-Makinzie model was applied to predict the mechanical properties of the fabricated glass. Besides, the Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate the fabricated glass sample's radiation shielding capacity in the low-energy region between 22.1 and 160.6 keV. Therefore, the simulated linear attenuation coefficient changed between 10.725 and 0.484 cm^-1, raising the gamma-ray energy between 22.1 and 160.6 keV. Also, other shielding parameters such as a half-value layer, pure lead equivalent thickness, and buildup factors were calculated.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.33-41
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• 2017

Background: Phosphate rock and its by-product are widely used in various industries to produce phosphoric acid, gypsum, gypsum board, and fertilizer. Owing to its high level of natural radioactive nuclides (e.g., $^{238}U$ and $^{226}Ra$), the radiological safety of workers who work with phosphate rock should be systematically managed. In this study, $^{238}U$, $^{232}Th$, $^{226}Ra$, and $^{40}K$ levels were measured to analyze the transport characteristics of these radionuclides in the production cycle of phosphate rock. Materials and Methods: Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and gamma spectrometry were used to determine the activity of $^{238}U$, $^{232}Th$, $^{226}Ra$, and $^{40}K$. To evaluate the extent of secular disequilibrium, the analytical results were compared using statistical methods. Finally, the distribution of radioactivity across different stages of the phosphate rock production cycle was evaluated. Results and Discussion: The concentration ratios of $^{226}Ra$ and $^{238}U$ in phosphate rock were close to 1.0, while those found in gypsum and fertilizer were extremely different, reflecting disequilibrium after the chemical reaction process. The nuclide with the highest activity level in the production cycle of phosphate rock was $^{40}K$, and the median $^{40}K$ activity was $8.972Bq{\cdot}g^{-1}$ and $1.496Bq{\cdot}g^{-1}$, respectively. For the $^{238}U$ series, the activity of $^{238}U$ and $^{226}Ra$ was greatest in phosphate rock, and the distribution of activity values clearly showed the transport characteristics of the radionuclides, both for the byproducts of the decay sequences and for their final products. Conclusion: Although the activity of $^{40}K$ in k-related fertilizer was relatively high, it made a relatively low contribution to the total radiological effect. However, the activity levels of $^{226}Ra$ and $^{238}U$ in phosphate rock were found to be relatively high, near the upper end of the acceptable limits. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically manage the radiological safety of workers engaged in phosphate rock processing.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.197-203
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• 2002

The main emphasis of this study was to find an new hydrogen absorbing alloy such as Mg-Ti-Ni-H systems, and to investigate their hydrogenation properties. ($Mg_9Ti_x$)-10, 20wt%Ni-Hx systems were prepared by hydrogen induced mechanical alloying(HIMA) using Mg and Ni chips and sponge Ti. The particles synthesized were characterized by X-ray diffraction, and their morphologies were observed by means of scanning electron microscopy(SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). In addition, the crystal structures were analyzed in terms of their bright-/ dark field images and the selected area diffraction pattern(SADP) of transmission electron microscopy(TEM).

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.402.2-402.2
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• 2016

In photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) compound has attracted intense attention as a photocathode due to not only large optical absorption coefficient, but also earth-abundance of constituent elements and suitable band alignment. With rapid development of nanotechnology, one-dimensional nanostructures of CZTS have been investigated as a potential form to achieve high efficiency because the nanostructures are expected to be capable of capturing more light and enhancing charge separation and transport. Here, we report a well-controlled fabrication route for vertically-aligned CZTS nanorod arrays on anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) template via simple sol-gel process followed by deposition of ZnS or CdS buffer layers on the CZTS nanorod to enhance charge separation. The structure, morphology, composition, optical absorption, and PEC properties of the resulting CZTS nanorod samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.469-476
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• 2003

In order to examine the pre-treatment effect of crab shell en Pb$^{2+}$ removal by crab shell in aqueous solution, acid and alkali pre-treated crab shell were used. Electron microscopy techniques such as TEM (transmission electron microscopy) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and EDX (energy dispersive X-ray) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectrometry techniques were used to investigate the process of Pb$^{2+}$ removal by acid and alkali pre-treated crab shell. The Pb$^{2+}$ removal by acid pre-treated crab shell was much lower than that by untreated crab shell because of the decrease of CaCO$_3$ from the crab shell. However, the Pb$^{2+}$removal by alkali pre-treated crab shell increased compared to that by untreated crab shell. The results were confirmed by TEM, SEM, EDX and FTIR.nd FTIR.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.293-298
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• 2007

Influences of aluminum carbide ($Al_4C_3$) addition on microstructure and damping capacity of Mg-3%Al casting alloy have been investigated based on experimental results of optical micrography, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry analysis and damping capacity measurement at RT. The addition of $Al_4C_3$ particles results in an efficient grain refinement. The damping capacity shows an increasing tendency with an increase in $Al_4C_3$ content. The damping value associated with $Al_4C_3$ particles is linearly dependent on the volume fraction of $Al_4C_3$ particles to the 2/3 power, $f_{2/3}$, which corresponds to the total surface area of the particles.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.233-243
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• 2012

Thermal reactive diffusion coating of vanadium carbide on DIN 2714 steel substrate was performed in a molten borax bath at $950-1050^{\circ}C$. The coating formed on the surface of the substrate had uniform thickness ($1-12{\mu}m$) all over the surface and the coating layer was hard (2430-2700 HV), dense, smooth and compact. The influence of the kinetics parameters, temperature and time, has been investigated. Vanadium carbide coating was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The corrosion resistance of the coating was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization in 3.5% NaCl solution. The results obtained showed that decrease of coating microhardness following increasing time and temperature is owing to the coarsening of carbides and coating grain size.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1287-1292
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• 2013

Extracellular biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles with various shapes using the rice bacterial blight bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae BXO8 is reported. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Based on the evidence of HR-TEM, the synthesized particles were found to be spherical, with anisotropic structures such as triangles and rods, with an average size of 14.86 nm. The crystalline nature of silver nanoparticles was evident from the bright circular spots in the SAED pattern, clear lattice fringes in the high-resolution TEM images, and peaks in the XRD pattern. The FTIR spectrum showed that biomolecules containing amide and carboxylate groups are involved in the reduction and stabilization of the silver nanoparticles. Using such a biological method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles is a simple, viable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly process, which can be used in antimicrobial therapy.

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.400-405
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• 1995

ZnO films have been grown easily with the conventional thermal evaporation method on SiO$\_$2/ coated Si wafers. Anhydrous zinc acetate has been used as evaporation source. Zinc-acetate was directly heated in the laboratory-made brass boat. Zinc-acetate was sublimed at the boat temperature of about 220.deg. C. The substrates were heated to 600.deg. C with home made tantalium heater. Oxygen has been flowed into the deposition chamber to change the partial pressure of oxygen. X-ray diffraction patterns showed all the films to be amorphous. The films deposited at high oxygen pressure exhibit higher resistivity than films at low pressure. Energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) and rutherford backscattering spectrometry(RBS) were conducted on the films to reveal the composition of the ZnO films.