• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.133-141
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• 2019

High specific surface area zirconia with acid-basic property was synthesized by precipitation using reflux method or hydrothermal synthesis method using ammonium hydroxide solution as precipitant in the range of pH of Zr solution from 2 to 10. The prepared zirconia was characterized by the nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), isopropanol temperature programmed desorption (IPA-TPD), scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the catalytic activity in the IPA decomposition reaction was correlated with the acid-basic properties. When using reflux method, high pH of Zr solution was required to obtain high fraction of tetragonal zirconia, and pure tetragonal zirconia was possible at pH 9 or higher. High pH was required to obtain high specific surface area zirconia, and the hydrous zirconia synthesized at pH 10 had high specific surface area zirconia of $260m^2g^{-1}$ even after calcination at $600^{\circ}C$. However, hydrothermal synthesis with high pressure under the same conditions resulted in very low specific surface area below $40m^2g^{-1}$ and monoclinic phase zirconia was synthesized. High pH of the solution was required to obtain high specific surface area tetragonal phase zirconia. In hydrothermal synthesis requiring high pressure, monoclinic zirconia was produced irrespective of the pH of the solution, and the specific surface area was relatively low. Zirconia with high specific surface area and tetragonal phase was predominantly acidic compared to basicity and only propylene, which was observed as selective dehydration reaction in IPA decomposition reaction, was produced.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.192-198
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• 2017

Carbon nanofiber (CNF) is used as an electrode material for electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), and is being consistently researched to improve its electrochemical performance. However, CNF still faces important challenges due to the low mesopore volume, leading to a poor high-rate performance. In the present study, we prepared the unique architecture of the activated mesoporous CNF with a high specific surface area and high mesopore volume, which were successfully synthesized using PMMA as a pore-forming agent and the KOH activation. The activated mesoporous CNF was found to exhibit the high specific surface area of $703m^2g^{-1}$, total pore volume of $0.51cm^3g^{-1}$, average pore diameter of 2.9 nm, and high mesopore volume of 35.2 %. The activated mesoporous CNF also indicated the high specific capacitance of $143F\;g^{-1}$, high-rate performance, high energy density of $17.9-13.0W\;h\;kg^{-1}$, and excellent cycling stability. Therefore, this unique architecture with a high specific surface area and high mesopore volume provides profitable synergistic effects in terms of the increased electrical double-layer area and favorable ion diffusion at a high current density. Consequently, the activated mesoporous CNF is a promising candidate as an electrode material for high-performance EDLCs.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2022

Fibrous supercapacitors (FSs), owing to their high power density, good safety characteristic, and high flexibility, have recently been in the spotlight as energy storage devices for wearable electronics. However, despite these advantages, FCs face many challenges related to their active material of carbon fiber (CF). CF has low surface area and poor wettability between electrode and electrolyte, which result in low capacitance and poor long-term stability at high current densities. To overcome these limits, fibrous supercapacitors made using surface-activated CF (FS-SACF) are here suggested; these materials have improved specific surface area and better wettability, obtained by introducing porous structure and oxygen-containing functional groups on the CF surface, respectively, through surface engineering. The FS-SACF shows an improved ion diffusion coefficient and better electrochemical performance, including high specific capacity of 223.6 mF cm^-2 at current density of 10 ㎂ cm^-2, high-rate performance of 171.2 mF cm^-2 at current density of 50.0 ㎂ cm^-2, and remarkable, ultrafast cycling stability (96.2 % after 1,000 cycles at current density of 250.0 ㎂ cm^-2). The excellent electrochemical performance is definitely due to the effects of surface functionalization on CF, leading to improved specific surface area and superior ion diffusion capability.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.623-630
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• 2019

Because of their excellent stability and highly specific surface area, carbon based materials have received attention as electrode materials of electrical double-layer capacitors(EDLCs). Biomass based carbon materials have been studied for electrode materials of EDLCs; these materials have low capacitance and high-rate performance. We fabricated tofu based porous activated carbon by polymer dissolution reaction and KOH activation. The activated porous carbon(APC-15), which has an optimum condition of 15 wt%, has a high specific surface area($1,296.1m^2\;g^{-1}$), an increased average pore diameter(2.3194 nm), and a high mesopore distribution(32.4 %), as well as increased surface functional groups. In addition, APC has a high specific capacitance($195F\;g^{-1}$) at low current density of $0.1A\;g^{-1}$ and excellent specific capacitance($164F\;g^{-1}$) at high current density of $2.0A\;g^{-1}$. Due to the increased specific surface area, volume ratio of mesopores, and surface functional groups, the specific capacitance and high-rate performance increased. Consequently, the tofu based activated porous carbon can be proposed as an electrode material for high-performance EDLCs.

• Carbon letters
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• v.28
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• pp.47-54
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• 2018

High surface carbon aerogels with hierarchical and tunable pore structure were prepared using ionic liquid as carbon precursor via a simple salt templating method. The as-prepared carbon aerogels were characterized by nitrogen sorption measurement and scanning electron microscopy. Through instant visual observation experiments, it was found that salt eutectics not only serve as solvents, porogens, and templates, but also play an important role of foaming agents in the preparation of carbon aerogels. When the pyrolyzing temperature rises from 800 to $1000^{\circ}C$, the higher temperature deepens the carbonization reaction further to form a nanoporous interconnected fractal structure and increase the contribution of super-micropores and small mesopores and improve the specific surface area and pore volume, while having few effects on the macropores. As the mass ratio of ionic liquid to salt eutectics drops from 55% to 15%, that is, the content of salt eutectics increases, the salt eutectics gradually aggregate from ion pairs, to clusters with minimal free energy, and finally to a continuous salt phase, leading to the formation of micropores, uniform mesopores, and macropores, respectively; these processes cause BET specific surface area initially to increase but subsequently to decrease. With the mass ratio of ionic liquids to salts at 35% and carbonization temperature at $900^{\circ}C$, the specific surface area of the resultant carbon aerogels reached $2309m^2g^{-1}$. By controlling the carbonization temperature and mass ratio of the raw materials, the hierarchically porous architecture of carbon aerogels can be tuned; this advantage will promote their use in the fields of electrodes and adsorption.

• Journal of Korea Foresty Energy
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.17-24
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• 2002

Activated carbons were prepared from pine bark by steam activation, and pore structures and specific surface areas were then investigated. Three different types of kilns were used for the activation. When the stationary-vertical-or stationary-horizontal-type kiln was used for the steam activation to prepare an activated carbon from the bark, it was not possible to produce activated carbon having high specific surface areas exceeding 1,000 $m^2／g$. Using bark powder improved the specific surface area, but it was still not high enough. When the rotary-horizontal-type kiln was used for the activation, the activated carbons prepared had high specific surface areas of more than 1,000$m^2／g$, which was similar to a commercial first-grade activated carbon. The activated carbon prepared by the rotary kiln had a wide distribution of pore size ranging from microporous to mesoporous.

• Carbon letters
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.86-88
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• 2005

Mesoporous activated carbon (AC) was prepared from aged petroleum coke through chemical activation. The AC has a specific surface area of 1733 $m^2/g$ and a mean pore diameter of 2.37 nm. The volume fraction of 2 to 4nm pores is 56.74%. At a current density of 10 mA/$cm^2$, a specific capacitance of 240 F/g is achieved representing the use factor of the surface area of 69.2%. And the electrical double layer capacitor (EDLC) based on the AC shows an excellent power performance. This result suggests that the presence of high fraction of mesopores can effectively increase the adsorption efficiency of the specific surface area of the AC and enhance the power performance of EDLC based on the efficient surface area of the AC.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.643-648
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• 2013

Activated carbon (AC) was synthesized from rice husks using the chemical activation method with KOH, NaOH, a combination of (NaOH + $Na_2CO_3$), and a combination of (KOH + $K_2CO_3$) as the chemical activating reagents. The activated carbon with the highest surface area (around $2000m^2/g$) and high porosity, which allows the absorption of a large number of ions, was applied as electrode material in electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs). The AC for EDLC electrodes is required to have a high surface area and an optimal pore size distribution; these are important to attain high specific capacitance of the EDLC electrodes. The electrodes were fabricated by compounding the rice husk activated carbons with super-P and mixed with polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) at a weight ratio of 83:10:7. AC electrodes and nickel foams were assembled with potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution as the electrolyte. Electrochemical measurements were carried out with a three electrode cell using 6 M KOH as electrolyte and Hg/HgO as the reference electrode. The specific capacitance strongly depends on the pore structure; the highest specific capacitance was 179 F/g, obtained for the AC with the highest specific surface area. Additionally, different activation times, levels of heating, and chemical reagents were used to compare and determine the optimal parameters for obtaining high surface area of the activated carbon.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.141-149
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• 2019

Nanocellulose, which can exist as either cellulose nanocrystals or cellulose nanofibrils, has been used as a biomaterial for drug delivery owing to its non-immunogenicity, biocompatibility, high specific area, good mechanical properties, and variability for chemical modification. Various water-soluble drugs can be bound to and released from nanocelluloses through electrostatic interactions. The high specific surface area of nanocellulose allows for high specific drug loading. Additionally, a broad spectrum of drugs can bind to nanocellulose after facile chemical modifications of its surface. Controlled release can be achieved for various pharmaceuticals when the nanocellulose surface is chemically modified or physically formulated in an adequate manner. This review summarizes the potential applications of nanocelluloses in drug delivery according to published studies on drug delivery systems.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.387-393
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• 2019

Activated carbons (ACs) are considered important electrode materials for supercapacitors because their large specific surface areas lead to high charging capacities. In the conventional synthesis of ACs, a substantial amount of carbon is lost during carbonization of a precursor. The development of a method to synthesize ACs in high yield would lower their manufacturing cost. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of high-specific-surface-area NaOH-AC from carbon prepared via a hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) route, with a higher yield than that achieved through conventional pyrolysis carbonization. The amorphous carbon was derived from HTC of sugar and subsequently activated at 800℃ with various NaOH etchant/C ratios under a N₂ atmosphere. The AC prepared at 4:1 NaOH/C exhibited the highest surface area (as high as 2,918 ㎡ g^-1) and the highest specific capacitance (157 F g^-1 in 1 M aqueous Na₂SO₄ electrolyte solution) among the NaOH-AC samples prepared in this work. On the basis of their high specific capacitance, the NaOH-ACs prepared from HTC sugar are suitable for use as electrode materials for supercapacitors.