• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.110-115
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• 2024

Global sustainable energy needs and carbon neutrality goals make hydrogen a key future energy source. South Korea and Japan lead with proactive hydrogen policies, including South Korea's Hydrogen Law and Japan's strategy updates aiming for a hydrogen-centric society by 2050. A notable advance is the solar thermal chemical water-splitting cycle for green hydrogen production, spotlighted by Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) and Niigata University's joint initiative. This method uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, offering a carbon-neutral hydrogen production route. The study focuses on international collaboration in solar energy for thermochemical water-splitting and E-fuel production, highlighting breakthroughs in catalyst and reactor design to enhance solar thermal technology's commercial viability for sustainable fuel production. Collaborations, like ARENA in Australia, target global carbon emission reduction and energy system sustainability, contributing to a cleaner, sustainable energy future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.232.2-232.2
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• 2014

Since its discovery in 2004, graphene, a sp2-hybridized 2-Dimension carbon material, has drawn enormous attention. A variety of approaches have been attempted, such as epitaxial growth from silicon carbide, chemical reduction of graphene oxide and CVD. Among these approaches, the CVD process takes great attention due to its guarantee of high quality and large scale with high yield on various transition metals. After synthesis of graphene on metal substrate, the subsequent transfer process is needed to transfer graphene onto various target substrates, such as bubbling transfer, renewable epoxy transfer and wet etching transfer. However, those transfer processes are hard to control and inevitably induce defects to graphene film. Especially for wet etching transfer, the metal substrate is totally etched away, which is horrendous resources wasting, time consuming, and unsuitable for industry production. Thus, our group develops one-step process to directly grow graphene on glass substrate in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Copper foil is used as catalyst to enhance the growth of graphene, as well as a temperature shield to provide relatively low temperature to glass substrate. The effect of growth time is reported that longer growth time will provide lower sheet resistance and higher VSG flakes. The VSG with conductivity of $800{\Omega}/sq$ and thickness of 270 nm grown on glass substrate can be obtained under 12 min growing time. The morphology is clearly showed by SEM image and Raman spectra that VSG film is composed of base layer of amorphous carbon and vertically arranged graphene flakes.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.367-373
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• 2014

In this study, the reducing agent hydrazine and precipitator NaOH were used with $NiCl_2$ as a starting material in order to compound Ni-based material with spherical nano characteristics; resulting material was used as an anode for SOFC. Synthetic temperature, pH, and solvent amounts were experimentally optimized and the synthesis conditions were confirmed. Also, a 0 ~ 0.15 mole ratio of metal(Co, Fe) was alloyed in order to increase the catalyst activation performance of Ni and finally, spherical nano $Ni_{(1-x)}-M_{(x=0{\sim}0.15)}$(M = Co, Fe) alloy materials were compounded. In order to evaluate the catalyst activation for hydrocarbon fuel, fuel gas(10%/$CH_4$+10%/Air) was added and the responding gas was analyzed with GC(Gas Chromatography). Catalyst activation improvement was confirmed from the 3% hydrogen selectivity and 2.4% methane conversion rate in $Ni_{0.95}-Co_{0.05}$ alloy; those values were 4.4% and 19%, respectively, in $Ni_{0.95}-Fe_{0.05}$ alloy.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.180-186
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• 2022

The production of hydrogen via water electrolysis (i.e., green hydrogen) using renewable energy is key to the development of a sustainable society. However, most current electrocatalysts are based on expensive precious metals and require the use of highly purified water in the electrolyte. We demonstrated the preparation of a non-precious metal catalyst based on CuCo₂O₄ (CCO) via simple electrodeposition. Further, an optimization process for electrodeposition potential, solution concentration and electrodeposition method was develop for a catalyst-substrate integrated electrode, which indicated the highly electrocatalytic performance of the material in electrochemical tests and when applied to an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.252.2-252.2
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• 2013

ZnO nanostructures have a lot of interest for decades due to its varied applications such as light-emitting devices, power generators, solar cells, and sensing devices etc. To get the high performance of these devices, the factors of nanostructure geometry, spacing, and alignment are important. So, Patterning of vertically- aligned ZnO nanowires are currently attractive. However, many of ZnO nanowire or nanorod fabrication methods are needs high temperature, such vapor phase transport process, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy, thermal evaporation, pulse laser deposition and thermal chemical vapor deposition. While hydrothermal process has great advantages-low temperature (less than $100^{\circ}C$), simple steps, short time consuming, without catalyst, and relatively ease to control than as mentioned various methods. In this work, we investigate the dependence of ZnO nanowire alignment and morphology on si substrate using of nanosphere template with various precursor concentration and components via hydrothermal process. The brief experimental scheme is as follow. First synthesized ZnO seed solution was spun coated on to cleaned Si substrate, and then annealed $350^{\circ}C$ for 1h in the furnace. Second, 200nm sized close-packed nanospheres were formed on the seed layer-coated substrate by using of gas-liquid-solid interfacial self-assembly method and drying in vaccum desicator for about a day to enhance the adhesion between seed layer and nanospheres. After that, zinc oxide nanowires were synthesized using a low temperature hydrothermal method based on alkali solution. The specimens were immersed upside down in the autoclave bath to prevent some precipitates which formed and covered on the surface. The hydrothermal conditions such as growth temperature, growth time, solution concentration, and additives are variously performed to optimize the morphologies of nanowire. To characterize the crystal structure of seed layer and nanowires, morphology, and optical properties, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) studies were investigated.

• Ceramist
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.200-210
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• 2020

Supported catalysts are at the heart of manufacturing essential chemical, agricultural and pharmaceutical products. While the longevity of such systems is critically hinged on the durability of metal nanoparticles, the conventional deposition/dispersion techniques are difficult to enhance the stability of the metal nanoparticles due to the lack of control over the interaction between metal-support. Regarding this matter, ex-solution has begun to be recognized as one of the most promising methodologies to develop thermally and chemically robust nanoparticles. By dissolving desired catalysts as a cation form into a parent oxide, fine and uniformly distributed metal nano-catalysts can be subsequently grown in situ under reductive heat treatment, which is referred to ex-solution. Over the several years, ex-solved analog has resulted in tremendous progress in the chemical-electrochemical applications due to the exceptional robustness coupled with ease synthesis. Herein, we describe the ex-solution process in detail which therein introducing the unique characteristics of ex-solved particles that distinguish them from conventionally dispersed nanoparticles. We then go through the history of science regarding the ex-solution phenomena and summarize several major research achievements which embrace the ex-solved nanoparticles to markedly promote the catalytic performances. In conclusion, we address the remaining challenges and the future perspectives of this rapidly growing field.

• Clean Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.375-382
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• 2014

This work investigated the plasma-catalytic decomposition of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and the behavior of the byproduct compounds over monolith-supported metal oxide catalysts. Iron oxide ($Fe_2O_3$) or copper oxide (CuO) was loaded on a monolithic porous ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ support, which was placed inside the coaxial electrodes of plasma reactor. The IPA decomposition efficiency itself hardly depended on the presence and type of metal oxides because the rate of plasma-induced decomposition was so fast, but the behavior of byproduct formation was largely affected by them. The concentrations of the unwanted byproducts, including acetone, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, methane, carbon monoxide, etc., were in order of $Fe_2O_3/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ < $CuO/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ < ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ from low to high. Under the condition (flow rate: $1L\;min^{-1}$; IPA concentration: 5,000 ppm; $O_2$ content: 10%; discharge power: 47 W), the selectivity towards $CO_2$ was about 40, 80 and 95% for ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$, $CuO/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ and $Fe_2O_3/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$, respectively, indicating that $Fe_2O_3/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ is the most effective for plasma-catalytic oxidation of IPA. Unlike plasma-alone processes in which tar-like products formed from volatile organic compounds are deposited, the present plasma-catalyst hybrid system did not exhibit such a phenomenon, thus retaining the original catalytic activity.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.600-605
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• 2022

In this study, nitrogen oxide (NO_x) removal experiments were performed using a graphene based ceramic filter coated with a V₂O₅-WO₃-TiO₂ catalyst. Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared by Hummer's method using graphite, and the reduced graphene oxide was produced by reducing with hydrazine (N₂H₄). Vanadium (V), Tungsten (W), and Titanium (Ti) were coated by the sol-gel method, and then a metal oxide-supported filter was prepared through a calcination process at 350 ℃. A NO_x removal efficiency test was performed for the catalytic ceramic filters with UV light in a humid condition. When graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were present on the filter, the NOx removal efficiency was superior to that of the conventional ceramic filter. Most likely, this is due to an improvement in the adsorption properties of NOx molecules on graphene coated surfaces. As the concentration of graphene increased, higher NO_x removal efficiency was confirmed.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2013

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is a power generation system to convert chemical energy of fuels and oxidants to electricity directly by electrochemical reactions. As a catalyst support for PEMFCs, carbon black has been generally used due to its large surface area and high electrical conductivity. However, under certain circumstances (start up/shut down, fuel starvation, ice formation etc.), carbon supports are subjected to serve corrosion in the presence of water. Therefore, it would be desirable to switch carbon supports to corrosion-resistive support materials such as metal oxide. $TiO_2$ has been attractive as a support with its stability in fuel cell operation atmosphere, low cost, commercial availability, and the ease to control size and structure. However, low electrical conductivity of $TiO_2$ still inhibits its application to catalyst support for PEMFCs. In this paper, to explore feasibility of $TiO_2$ as a catalyst support for PEMFCs, $TiO_2$ nanofibers were synthesized by electrospinning and calcinated at 600, 700, 800 and $900^{\circ}C$. Effects of calcination temperature on crystal structure and electrical conductivity of electrospun $TiO_2$ nanofibers were examined. Electrical conductivity of $TiO_2$ nanofibers increased significantly with increasing calcination temperature from $600^{\circ}C$ to $700^{\circ}C$ and then increased gradually with increasing the calcination temperature from $700^{\circ}C$ to $900^{\circ}C$. It was revealed that the remarkable increase in electrical conductivity could be attributed to phase transition of $TiO_2$ nanofibers from anatase to rutile at the temperature range from $600^{\circ}C$ to $700^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2016

Combined removal of n-heptane and carbon monoxide (CO) using a plasma-catalytic process was investigated. The performance of the plasma-catalytic process was compared with that of the catalyst-alone process to characterize the decomposition of n-heptane and CO with the operation parameters such as the type of catalyst, reaction temperature, and discharge power. From several sets of experiments, it was found that the decomposition efficiency of n-heptane mainly depended on the specific input energy rather than the reactor temperature, whereas the oxidation of CO on both the energy density and the reaction temperature. The results conducted over several metal oxide catalysts exhibited that the decomposition efficiency of n-heptane was in the order: $Pd/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ > $Ru/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3{\approx}Ag/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$. Especially, $Pd/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalyst did hardly generate CO as a byproduct during the decomposition of n-heptane under an appropriate condition, revealing $CO_2$ selectivity of nearly 100%. The CO oxidation efficiency was largely affected by the type of catalyst ($Pd/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ > $Ru/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ > $Ag/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$). At temperatures below $180^{\circ}C$, the plasma-catalytic process was more effective in the oxidation of CO, while above $180^{\circ}C$, the catalytic process resulted in slightly higher CO oxidation efficiency.