• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.278-285
• /
• 2021

This study produces electroconductive polycaprolactone (PCL)-based film with different amounts of graphene (G) through electrospinning, and the characteristics of the produced G/PCL composites are investigated. The G/PCL results are analyzed by comparing them with those obtained using pure PCL electrospun film as a control. The morphology of electrospun material is analyzed through scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical and electrical properties are also evaluated. Composites containing 1 % graphene have the highest elongation rate, and 5 % samples have the highest strength and elasticity. Graphene contents > 25 % show electro-conductivity, which level improves with increase of graphene content. Biological characteristics of G/PCL composites are assessed through behavioral analysis of neural cell attachment and proliferation. Cell experiments reveal that compositions < 50 % show slightly reduced cell viability. Moreover, graphene combinations facilitated cell proliferation compared to pure PCL. These results confirm that a 25 % G/PCL composition is best for application to systems that introduce external stimuli such as electric fields and electrodes to lead to synergistic efficiency of tissue regeneration.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.297-302
• /
• 2022

This study compares the characteristics of a compact TiO₂ (c-TiO₂) powdery film, which is used as the electron transport layer (ETL) of perovskite solar cells, based on the manufacturing method. Additionally, its efficiency is measured by applying it to a carbon electrode solar cell. Spin-coating and spray methods are compared, and spray-based c-TiO₂ exhibits superior optical properties. Furthermore, surface analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) exhibits the excellent surface properties of spray-based TiO₂. The photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) is 14.31% when applied to planar perovskite solar cells based on metal electrodes. Finally, carbon nanotube (CNT) film electrode-based solar cells exhibits a 76% PCE compared with that of metal electrode-based solar cells, providing the possibility of commercialization.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.61-66
• /
• 2017

The cycle performance of Ti-Si alloy anode material for Li-ion batteries has been investigated as a function of loading level of electrode using a nodule type of substrate, in which the current collector of flat foil is also used for comparison. The Ti-Si alloy powders are prepared by mechanical alloying method. The electrodes with the nodule type of current collector exhibit enhanced cycling performance compared to those using the flat foil because the alloy particles are more strongly adhered to substrate and the stress caused by lithiation and delithiation reaction can be effectively relaxed by nodule-type morphology. It appears, however, that the cycle performance is critically dependent on the loading level of electrode, even when the nodule type of current collector is applied. With high loading level, cracks are initiated at surface of electrode due to a steep stress gradient through the electrode thickness during cycling, leading to capacity fading.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.243-247
• /
• 2012

A ruthenium (Ru) catalytic layer and a conventional Pt layer were assessed as counter electrodes (CE) for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Ru films with different thicknesses of 34, 46, and 90 nm were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Pt layers with the same thicknesses were prepared by sputtering. $0.45cm^2$ DSSCs were prepared and their properties were characterized by FE-SEM, cyclic voltammetry (CV), impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and current-voltage (I-V). FE-SEM revealed that the crystallized Ru films and Pt films had been deposited quite conformally. CV showed that the catalytic activity of Pt was much greater than that of Ru. In addition, although the catalytic activity of Pt did not depend on the thickness, that of Ru showed an increase with increasing thickness. Impedance analysis revealed high charge transfer resistance at the Ru interface and a decrease with increasing Ru thickness, whereas Pt showed low resistance with no thickness dependence. Despite the relatively small catalytic activity of Ru, the I-V result revealed the average energy conversion efficiency of Ru and Pt to be 2.98% and 6.57%, respectively. These results suggest that Ru can be used as counter electrodes in DSSCs due to its extremely low temperature process compatibility.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.138-145
• /
• 2009

The combination of focused ion beam (FIB) and 4 point probe nanomanipulator could make various nano manufacturing and electrical measurements possible. In this study, we manufactured individual ZnO nanowire devices and measured those electrical properties. In addition, tensile experiments of metallic Au and Pd nanowires was performed by the same directional alignment of two nanomanipulators and a nanowire. It was confirmed from I-V curves that Ohmic contact is formed between electrodes and nanomanipulators, which is able to directly measure the electrical properties of a nanowire itself. In the mechanical tensile test, Au and Pd nanowires showed a totally different fracture behavior except the realignment from <110> to <002>. The deformation until the fracture was governed by twin for Au and by slip for Pd nanowires, respectively. The crystallographic relationship and fracture mechanism was discussed by TEM observations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2009.06a
• /
• pp.104-104
• /
• 2009

Critical dimensions has rapidly shrunk to increase the degree of integration and to reduce the power consumption. However, it is accompanied with several problems like direct tunneling through the gate insulator layer and the low conductivity characteristic of poly-silicon. To cover these faults, the study of new materials is urgently needed. Recently, high dielectric materials like $Al_2O_3$, $ZrO_2$ and $HfO_2$ are being studied for equivalent oxide thickness (EOT). However, poly-silicon gate is not compatible with high-k materials for gate-insulator. To integrate high-k gate dielectric materials in nano-scale devices, metal gate electrodes are expected to be used in the future. Currently, metal gate electrode materials like TiN, TaN, and WN are being widely studied for next-generation nano-scale devices. The TaN gate electrode for metal/high-k gate stack is compatible with high-k materials. According to this trend, the study about dry etching technology of the TaN film is needed. In this study, we investigated the etch mechanism of the TaN thin film in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) system with $O_2/BCl_3/Ar$ gas chemistry. The etch rates and selectivities of TaN thin films were investigated in terms of the gas mixing ratio, the RF power, the DC-bias voltage, and the process pressure. The characteristics of the plasma were estimated using optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The surface reactions after etching were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and auger electron spectroscopy (AES).

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.194-199
• /
• 2016

We prepared polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) beads with a particle size of 80 nm to improve the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) by increasing the effective surface area and the dye absorption ability of the working electrodes (WEs) in a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). We prepared the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA beads of 0.0~1.0 wt%; then, finally, a DSSC with $0.45cm^2$ active area was obtained. Optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA. UV-VIS-NIR was used to determine the optical absorbance of the WEs with PMMA. A solar simulator and a potentiostat were used to determine the photovoltaic properties of the PMMA-added DSSC. Analysis of the microstructure showed that pores of 200 nm were formed by the decomposition of PMMA. Also, root mean square values linearly increased as more PMMA was added. The absorbance in the visible light regime was found to increase as the degree of PMMA dispersion increased. The ECE increased from 4.91% to 5.35% when the amount of PMMA beads added was increased from 0.0 to 0.4 wt%. However, the ECE decreased when more than 0.6 wt% of PMMA was added. Thus, adding a proper amount of PMMA to the $TiO_2$ layer was determined to be an effective method for improving the ECE of a DSSC.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.49 no.6
• /
• pp.498-504
• /
• 2011

We examined the microstructure and optical properties of crystallized ~30 nm-ZnO/~10 nm amorphous $TiO_2$ nano bilayered films as nano electrodes were deposited at extremely low substrate temperatures of $150-210^{\circ}C$. The bilayered films were deposited on silicon substrates with 10 cm diameters by ALD (atomic layer deposition) using DEZn (diethyl zinc(Zn(C2H5)2)) and TDMAT (tetrakis dimethyl-amid $titanium(Ti(N(CH_3)_2)_4)$ as the ZnO and $TiO_2$ precursors, respectively, and $H_2O$ as the oxidant. The microstructure, phase, and optical properties of the bilayered films were examined by FE-SEM, TEM, XRD, AES, and UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy. FE-SEM and TEM showed that all bilayered films were deposited very uniformly and showed crystallized ZnO and amorphous $TiO_2$ layers. AES depth profiling showed that the ZnO and $TiO_2$ films had a stoichiometric composition of 1:1 and 1:2, respectively. These bilayered films have optical absorption properties in a wide range of ultraviolet wavelengths, 250-390 nm, whereas the single ZnO and $TiO_2$ films showed an absorption range of 350-380nm.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2011.05a
• /
• pp.95.1-95.1
• /
• 2011

In this work, graphene was prepared by modified Hummers method and prepared graphene was applied to electrode materials for supercapacitor. In addition, to enhance the electrochemical performance of graphene, carbon black was deposited onto graphene via chemical reduction. The effect of the carbon black content incorporated on the electrochemical properties of the graphene-based electrodes was investigated. It was found that nano-scaled carbon black aggregates were deposited and dispersed onto the graphene by the chemical reduction of acid treated carbon black and graphite oxide. From the cyclic voltammograms, carbon black-deposited graphene (CB-GR) showed improved electrochemical performance, i.e., current density, quicker response, and better specific capacitance than that of pristine graphene. This indicates that the carbon black deposited onto graphene served as an conductive materials between graphene layers, leading to reducing the contact resistance of graphene and resulted in the increase of the charge transfer between graphene layers by bridge effect.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2012.02a
• /
• pp.546-546
• /
• 2012

Traditional screen printing is still a dominant method to print electrodes on c-Si solar cells. In order to achieve higher efficiency for c-Si solar cells, improvement of the electrode material is one of the key approaches. Shadowing loss can be reduced by using high aspect ratio finger electrode with width of finger electrode less than 80um. The rheological properties of Ag paste for applying c-Si solar cells are improved by using Ag nanowires. The printing properties including the aspect ratio of printed electrode can be improved with higher Thixotropic index (T.I.) values.