• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.70.1-70.1
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• 2012

In-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy studies of SOFC cathode materials will be discussed in this presentation. The mixed conducting perovskites (ABO3) containing rare and alkaline earth metals on the A-site and a transition metal on the B-site are commonly used as cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). However, the details of the oxygen reduction reaction are still not clearly understood. The information about the type of adsorbed oxygen species and their concentration is important for a mechanistic understanding of the oxygen incorporation into these cathode materials. XPS has been widely used for the analysis of adsorbed species and surface structure. However, the conventional XPS experiments have the severe drawback to operate at room temperature and with the sample under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, which is far from the relevant conditions of SOFC operation. The disadvantages of conventional XPS can be overcome to a large extent with a "high pressure" XPS setup installed at the BESSY II synchrotron. It allows sample depth profiling over 2 nm without sputtering by variation of the excitation energy, and most importantly measurements under a residual gas pressure in the mbar range. It is also well known that the catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction is very sensitive to their electrical conductivity and oxygen nonstoichiometry. Although the electrical conductivity of perovskite oxides has been intensively studied as a function of temperature or oxygen partial pressure (Po2), in-situ measurements of the conductivity of these materials in contact with the electrolyte as a SOFC configuration have little been reported. In order to measure the in-plane conductivity of an electrode film on the electrolyte, a substrate with high resistance is required for excluding the leakage current of the substrate. It is also hardly possible to measure the conductivity of cracked thin film by electrical methods. In this study, we report the electrical conductivity of perovskite $La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}CoO_{3-{\delta}}$ (LSC) thin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte quantitatively obtained by in-situ IR spectroscopy. This method enables a reliable measurement of the electronic conductivity of the electrodes as part of the SOFC configuration regardless of leakage current to the substrate and cracks in the film.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 1992

Acicular ${\gamma}-Fe_{2}O_{3}$ particles were heated at $90^{\circ}C$ in alkaline solution containing mixed solution of dyadic metal with $Co^{+2}/Fe^{+2}$ ratio of 0.5. When cobalt content was increased, the coercivity of resultant product increased linearly, and surface area decreased. The cobalt ferrite was grown epitaxially on the surface ${\gamma}-Fe_{2}O_{3}$ crystal, and the increase of coercivity was attributed to the crystalline magnetic anisotropy of the cobalt ferrite which is conform to coating layer. We can expect superior magnetic properties above normal ratio of 2. The progress of reaction has an effect on coercivity of cobalt ferrite epitaxial iron oxide. The stability of temperature and the change om standin& of $Co-{\gamma}-Fe_{2}O_{3}$ was largely influenced by the composition of coating layer.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.426-431
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• 2016

The Fe-Cr-Al alloy system shows an excellent heat resistance because of the formation of an $Al_2O_3$ film on the metal surface in an oxidizing atmosphere at high temperatures up to $1400^{\circ}C$. The Fecralloy needs an additive that can act as a binder because of its bad compactability. In this study, the green compacts of STS434L and Al powder added to Fecralloy are oxidized at $950^{\circ}C$ for up to 210 h. Fecralloy and Al is mixed by two types of ball milling. One is vented to air and the other was performed in a sealed jar. In the case of Al addition, there are no significant changes in the electrical resistance. Before the oxidation test, Al oxides are present in the Fecralloy surface, as determined from the energy dispersive spectroscopy results. The addition of Al improves the compactability because of an increased density, and the addition of STS434L increases the electrical resistivity by forming a composite oxide.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.70-79
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• 2022

Biodiesel production has attracted attention as a sustainable source of fuel and is a competitive alternate to diesel engines. The glycerol that is produced as a by-product is generally discarded as waste and can be converted to green chemicals such as acetins to increase bio-diesel profitability. Acetins find application in fuel, food, pharmaceutical and leather industries. Batch experiments and analysis have been previously conducted for synthesis of acetins using glycerol esterification reaction aided by sulfated metal oxide catalysts (SO₄^2-/CeO₂-ZrO₂). The aim of this study was to optimize process parameters: effects of mole ratio of reactants (glycerol and acetic acid), catalyst concentration and reaction temperature to maximize glycerol conversion/acetin selectivity. The optimum conditions for this reaction were determined using response surface methodology (RSM) designed as per a five-level-three-factor central composite design (CCD). Statistica software 10 was used to analyze the experimental data obtained. The optimized conditions obtained were molar ratio - 1:12, catalyst concentration - 6 wt.% and temperature -90 ℃. A packed bed reactor was fabricated and column studies were performed using the optimized conditions. The breakthrough curve was analyzed.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.101-105
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• 2024

4H-SiC power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) have been developed to achieve lower specific-on-resistance (R_on,sp), and the gate oxides have been thermally grown. The poor channel mobility resulting from the high interface trap density (D_it) at the SiO₂/4H-SiC interface significantly affects the higher switching loss of the power device. Therefore, the development of novel fabrication processes to enhance the quality of the SiO₂/4H-SiC interface is required. In this paper, NO post-oxidation annealing (POA) by using the conditions of N₂ diluted NO at a high temperature (1,300℃) is proposed to reduce the high interface trap density resulting from thermal oxidation. The NO POA is carried out in various NO ambient (0, 10, 50, and 100% NO mixed with 100, 90, 50, and 0% of high purity N₂ gas to achieve the optimized condition while maintaining a high temperature (1,300℃). To confirm the optimized condition of the NO POA, measuring capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V), and time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) are employed. It is confirmed that the POA condition of 50% NO at 1,300℃ facilitates the equilibrium state of both the oxidation and nitridation at the SiO₂/4H-SiC interface, thereby reducing the D_it.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.306-315
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• 2016

Amorphous vanadium titanates (aVTOs) are examined for use as a negative electrode in lithium-ion batteries. These amorphous mixed oxides are synthesized in nanosized particles (<100 nm) and flocculated to form secondary particles. The $V^{5+}$ ions in aVTO are found to occupy tetrahedral sites, whereas the $Ti^{4+}$ ions show fivefold coordination. Both are uniformly dispersed at the atomic scale in the amorphous oxide matrix, which has abundant structural defects. The first reversible capacity of an aVTO electrode ($295mAhg^{-1}$) is larger than that observed for a physically mixed electrode (1:2 $aV_2O_5$ | $aTiO_2$, $245mAhg^{-1}$). The discrepancy seems to be due to the unique four-coordinated $V^{5+}$ ions in aVTO, which either are more electron-accepting or generate more structural defects that serve as $Li^+$ storage sites. Coin-type Li/aVTO cells show a large irreversible capacity in the first cycle. When they are prepared under nitrogen (aVTO-N), the population of surface hydroxyl groups is greatly reduced. These groups irreversibly produce highly resistive inorganic compounds (LiOH and $Li_2O$), leading to increased irreversible capacity and electrode resistance. As a result, the material prepared under nitrogen shows higher Coulombic efficiency and rate capability.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.217-222
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• 2010

Zirconium diboride (ZrB2) and mixed diboride of (Zr0.7Ta0.3)B2 containing 30 vol.% silicon carbide (SiC) composites were prepared by hot-pressing at $1800^{\circ}C$. XRD analysis identified the high crystalline metal diboride-SiC composites at $1800^{\circ}C$. The TaB2 addition to ZrB2-SiC showed a slight peak shift to a higher angle of 2-theta of ZrB2, which confirmed the presence of a homogeneous solid solution. Elastic modulus, hardness and fracture toughness were slightly increased by addition of TaB2. A volatility diagram was calculated to understand the oxidation behavior. Oxidation behavior was investigated at $1500^{\circ}C$ under ambient and low oxygen partial pressure (pO2~10-8 Pa). In an ambient environment, the TaB2 addition to the ZrB2-SiC improved the oxidation resistance over entire range of evaluated temperatures by formation of a less porous oxide layer beneath the surface SiO2. Exposure of metal boride-SiC at low pO2 resulted in active oxidation of SiC due to the high vapor pressure of SiO (g), and, as a result, it produced a porous surface layer. The depth variations of the oxidized layer were measured by SEM. In the ZrB2-SiC composite, the thickness of the reaction layer linearly increased as a function of time and showed active oxidation kinetics. The TaB2 addition to the ZrB2-SiC composite showed improved oxidation resistance with slight deviation from the linearity in depth variation.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.240-247
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• 2023

Even among gas separation methods, CO₂ capture and separation via membranes is an ever-growing field, with many different membrane compositions continually being developed. Ionic liquid (IL) based composite membranes show excellent performance values in separating CO₂. Similarly, various copolymer/IL composite membranes also display improved performance. The addition of fillers such as graphene oxide to these copolymer/IL composite membranes shows a further enhanced version of these fillers, most likely due to the strong interactions that occur between ILs and organic fillers, which consequently improves factors such as the affinity, selectivity, and adsorption of CO₂. Copolymer/IL composite membranes utilizing a metal-organic framework (MOF) showed improved CO₂ permeability. This review discusses the study of various combinations of ionic liquid and copolymer composite membranes for carbon dioxide separation.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.272-279
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• 2012

In this study, an environmental-friendly cleaning agent utilizing organic acids and various additives has been developed and applied to the field for removal of scale deposited on the cleaning beds or distribution reservoirs of the waterworks. As an analytical result of scale on the cleaning beds, we found that it consists of mainly metallic oxides such as $SiO_2$, $Al_2O_3$, $Fe_2O_3$, and MnO. Malic acid, malonic acid, and citric acid showed relatively better solvency on $Al_2O_3$, $Fe_2O_3$, and MnO except $SiO_2$ among various organic acids. Mixed organic acid solutions of malic acid, malonic acid, and citric acid were prepared with certain weight ratios and their solvencies on mixed metal oxides of $Al_2O_3$, $Fe_2O_3$, and MnO were investigated. The experimental results showed that an 10% mixed organic acid solution prepared with weight ratio of malic acid : malonic acid : citric acid = 6 : 2 : 2 were found to have best scale solvency power of about 29%. The formulated cleaning agents with a small amount of nonionic surfactant showed much better solvency on mixed oxides than mixed organic solution alone. Especially, the formulated cleaning agent with 0.2 wt% LA-7 surfactant appeared to have best scale removal efficiency of about 35%. However, the formulated cleaning agent with disinfectants such as NaClO, $H_2O_2$ and $Ca(ClO)_2$ showed poor solvency on mixed oxides. It is inferred that surfactants are able to improve scale removal efficiency due to their capability of emulsification, and disinfectants cause to degrade scale solvency in water because of their oxidation. Based on these basic experimental results, formulated cleaning agents have been prepared with mixed organic acid solution, nonionic surfactants, and disinfectants and successfully applied to removal of scales on the cleaning beds and distribution reservoir at city D waterworks.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1220-1225
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• 2011

Anaerobic decomposition of organic materials in flooded rice fields produces methane ($CH_4$) gas, which escapes to the atmosphere primarily by transport through organs of the rice plants such as arenchyma etc., Although the annual amount of methane emitted from a given area is influenced by cultivation periods of rice and organic/inorganic amendments etc., soil type also affects methane emission from paddy soil during a rice cultivation. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of soil type on $CH_4$ emission in two paddy soils. One is a red-yellow soil classified as a Hwadong series (fine, mixed, mesic family of Aquic Hapludalfs), and the other is a gley soil classified as a Shinheung series (fine loamy, mixed, nonacid, mesic family of Aeric Fluvaquentic Endoaquepts). During a flooded periods, redox potentials of red-yellow soil were significantly higher than gley soil. $CH_4$ emission in red-yellow soil ($0.21kg\;ha^{-1}\;day^{-1}$) was lower than that in gley soil ($5.25kg\;ha^{-1}\;day^{-1}$). In the condition of different soil types, $CH_4$ emissions were mainly influenced by the content of total free metal oxides in paddy soil. The results strongly imply that iron- or manganese-oxides of well ordered crystalline forms in soil such as goethite and hematite influenced on a $CH_4$ emission, which is crucial role as a $CH_4$ oxidizers in paddy soil during a rice cultivation.