• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 2024

Large amounts of liquid radioactive waste or radioactive contaminated water could be produced during the treatment of radiation accidents or during the dismantling and decontamination process of nuclear power plants. Since most of the decontamination agents to date are difficult to recover after adsorption of radioactive isotopes, their use in open environments such as rivers, reservoirs, or oceans is limited. In this study, as a radioactive decontamination agent that can overcome the current limitations when used in an open environment, a paramagnetic core inorganic composite (PMCIC) decomposite agent with high selectivity to cesium ions was developed. PMCore was prepared by synthesizing paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, and inorganic crystals such as metal-ferrocyanide were conjugated to the surface so that PMCore could be selective to cesium ions. The developed PMCIC could be easily recovered from the water by magnetism and could adsorb up to 94 μM of Cs atoms per 1 g of PMCIC.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.737-742
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• 2004

$CuInSe_2$ (CIS) nanoparticles of chalcopyrite structure were directly synthesized by a solvothemal method in an autoclave with diethylamine as a solvent. A morphology change of the nanoparticles was observed as a function of reaction temperatures and times. Dense rod-type CIS nanoparticles with width of $5\sim10mm$ and length in the range of 30-80 nm were obtained at $180^{\circ}C$ for 36 hrs whereas spherical particles with diameter in the range of 5-10 nm were observed at $250^{\circ}C$ for 36 hrs. The formation of the rod-like nanoparticles in diethylamine, without double N-chelation, was explained by the Solution-Liquid-Solid (SLS) mechanism.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.146-154
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• 2006

Organic and inorganic hybrid nanocomposites based on poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN) and silica nanoparticles were prepared by a melt blending process. In particular, polymer nanocomposites consisting mostly of cheap conventional polyesters with very small quantities of inorganic nanoparticles are of great interest from an industrial perspective. The crystallization behavior of PEN/silica hybrid nanocomposites depended significantly on silica content and crystallization temperature. The activation energy of crystallization for PEN/silica hybrid nanocomposites was decreased by incorporating a small quantity of silica nanoparticles. Double melting behavior was observed in PEN/silica hybrid nanocomposites, and the equilibrium melting temperature decreased with increasing silica content. The fold surface free energy of PEN/silica hybrid nanocomposites decreased with increasing silica content. The work of chain folding (q) for PEN was estimated as $7.28{\times}10^{-20}J$ per molecular chain fold, while the q values for the PEN/silica 0.9 hybrid nanocomposite was $3.71{\times}10^{-20}J$, implying that the incorporation of silica nanoparticles lowers the work required to fold the polymer chains.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1061-1068
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• 2010

The biological synthesis of nanoparticles has gained considerable attention in view of their excellent biocompatibility and low toxicity. We isolated and purified rhamnolipids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain BS-161R, and these purified rhamnolipids were used to synthesize silver nanoparticles. The purified rhamnolipids were further characterized and the structure was elucidated based on one- and two-dimensional $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ NMR, FT-IR, and HR-MS spectral data. Purified rhamnolipids in a pseudoternary system of n-heptane and water system along with n-butanol as a cosurfactant were added to the aqueous solutions of silver nitrate and sodium borohydride to form reverse micelles. When these micelles were mixed, they resulted in the rapid formation of silver nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The nanoparticles formed had a sharp adsorption peak at 410 nm, which is characteristic of surface plasmon resonance of the silver nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were monodispersed, with an average particle size of 15.1 nm (${\sigma}={\pm}5.82$ nm), and spherical in shape. The EDS analysis revealed the presence of elemental silver signal in the synthesized nanoparticles. The formed silver nanoparticles exhibited good antibiotic activity against both Grampositive and Gram-negative pathogens and Candida albicans, suggesting their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.626-630
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• 2008

Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) was used successfully to control the size and distribution of silver nanoparticles generated on inorganic silica nanofibers. The inorganic nanofibers were electro spun using sol-gel chemistry of silicates, and the diameter of the prepared nanofibers was unaffected by adding up to 7% of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). The silver ions, in the form of silver nitrate, were introduced into the silica nanofibers and reduced to metallic silver by ultraviolet irradiation with a subsequent thermal treatment. The size of the generated silver particles was decreased dramatically by adding poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). The size of the silver nanoparticles was 73 nm when no poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) was added but 23 nm with the addition of only 1% of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone). The extent of reduction could be checked by determining the concentration of silver ions leached into water from the silica nanofibers. After thermal treatment of the silica nanofibers, more than 99% of the silver remained in the nanofibers, indicating almost complete reduction of the silver ions to silver metal.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.83-89
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• 2011

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), PVA/Montmorillonite (MMT), PVA/Silver (Ag), and PVA/MMT/Ag nanocomposite nanowebs were prepared by electrospinning technique in aqueous solution. In order to investigate the effect of inorganic materials on the morphology and thermal properties of PVA based nanocomposite nanowebs, experiments were performed with 5 wt.% of MMT and Ag. Field emission type scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), reflection type X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal gravimetric analyzer were utilized to characterize nanocomposite nanowebs. TEM and XRD results show MMT and Ag were well dispersed in PVA nanowebs. Those inorganic nanoparticles enhanced thermal property of the nanocomposite nanowebs.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2021

In cancer therapy, it is often desirable to use precision medicine that involves treatments of high specificity. One such treatment is the use of photo-triggered theranostic nanoparticles. These nanoparticles make it possible to visualize and treat tumors specifically in a controlled manner with a single injection. Several novel and powerful photo-triggered theranostic nanoparticles have been developed. These range from small organic dyes, semiconducting and biopolymers, to inorganic nanomaterials such as iron-oxide or gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and upconversion nanoparticles. Using photo-triggered theranostic nanoparticles and localized irradiation, complete tumor ablation can be achieved without causing significant toxicity to normal tissue. Given the great advances and promising future of theranostic nanoparticles, this review highlights the progress that has been made in the past couple of years, the current challenges faced and offers a future perspective.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.13-24
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• 2017

In this study, nanoparticles which encapsulated hydrophobic antimicrobial compounds with 50wt% of payload and 70%of solid content were prepared. These nanoparticles could be dispersed at water as well as various medium. Water dispersible organic-inorganic (O-I) hybrid nanoparticles were first prepared using alkoxysilane-functionalized amphiphilic polymer precursors through a conventional sol-gel process. Hydrophobic antimicrobial compound, Eugenol encapsulated nanoparticles were prepared using these O-I hybrid nanoparticles through a new nanoprecipitation process. The effect of various preparation on the size of nanoparticles, amount of payload, antimicrobial activity, and release rate of encapsulated compounds was investigated. All eugenol-encapsulated O-I nanoparticles regardless of preparation condition showed the same minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) (50mg/ml) and 99% of antimicrobial activity for every strain. Their antimicrobial activity could maintain longer than two weeks. Especially, eugenol-encapsulated O-I nanoparticles prepared using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) exhibited the highest payload (50wt%) and the lowest release rate which was owing to higher inorganic content in the O-I nanoparticles. And these O-I nanoparticles dispersed in hexanediol (HD) showed the highest antimicrobial activity and solid content (70wt%) because HD acted as a solvent as well as a antimicrobial agent.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.326-331
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• 2017

The structural formation of inorganic nanoparticles dispersed in polymer matrices is a key technology for producing advanced nanocomposites with a unique combination of optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. Barium titanate ($BaTiO_3$) nanoparticles are attractive for increasing the refractive index and dielectric constant of polymer nanocomposites. Current synthesis processes for $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles require expensive precursors or organic solvents, complicated steps, and long reaction times. In this study, we demonstrate a simple and continuous approach for synthesizing $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles based on a salt-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. This process allows the synthesis of $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles with diameters of 20-50 nm and a highly crystalline tetragonal structure. The optical properties and photocatalytic activities of the nanoparticles show that they are suitable for use as fillers in various nanocomposites.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.95-104
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• 2024

Nanoparticles are commonly used to avoid the opaque white color of TiO₂ based sunscreen. However, a dispersing agent is typically required because of the tendency of the nanoparticles (NPs) to agglomerate. Stearic acid is one kind of dispersing agent often used for sunscreen products. However, according to the MSDS data sheet on stearic acid, stearic acid is highly hazardous to aquatic life and causes irritation on human skin. To avoid this problem, in this study a safer organic dispersing agent extracted from Korean seaweed has been studied to disperse TiO₂ nanoparticles, and further use as an active agent in sunscreen products. The presence of phytochemicals in seaweed extract, especially alginate, can disperse TiO₂ nanoparticles and improve TiO₂ dispersion properties. Results show that seaweed extract can improve the dispersion properties of TiO₂ nanoparticles and sunscreen products. Reducing the agglomeration of TiO₂ nanoparticles improves sunscreen properties, by making it less opaque white in color, and increasing UV protection value. It was also confirmed that adding seaweed extract into sunscreen products had no irritating effects on the human skin, making it more desirable for cosmetics application.