• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.74-81
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• 2021

Silicon (Si) is recognized as a promising anode material for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. However, under a condition of electrode comparable to commercial graphite anodes with low binder content and a high electrode density, the practical use of Si is limited due to the huge volume change associated with Si-Li alloying/de-alloying. Here, we report a novel core-shell composite, having a reversible capacity of ~ 500 mAh g-1, by forming a shell composed of a mixture of nano-Si, graphite nanosheets and a pitch carbon on a spherical natural graphite particle. The electrochemical measurements are performed using electrodes with 2 wt % styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and 2 wt.% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) binder in an electrode density of ~ 1.6 g cm-3. The core-shell composites having the reversible capacity of 478 mAh g-1 shows the outstanding capacity retention of 99% after 100 cycles with the initial coulombic efficiency of 90%. The heterostructure of core-shell composites appears to be very effective in buffering the volume change of Si during cycling.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.94-99
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• 2017

Dinickel-silicide $(Ni_2Si)/glass$ was employed as a counter electrode for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. $Ni_2Si$ was formed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at $700^{\circ}C$ for 15 seconds of a 50 nm-Ni/50 nm-Si/glass structure. For comparison, $Ni_2Si$ on quartz was also prepared through conventional electric furnace annealing (CEA) at $800^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. XRD, XPS, and EDS line scanning of TEM were used to confirm the formation of $Ni_2Si$. TEM and CV were employed to confirm the microstructure and catalytic activity. Photovoltaic properties were examined using a solar simulator and potentiostat. XRD, XPS, and EDS line scanning results showed that both CEA and RTA successfully led to tne formation of nano $thick-Ni_2Si$ phase. The catalytic activity of $CEA-Ni_2Si$ and $RTA-Ni_2Si$ with respect to Pt were 68 % and 56 %. Energy conversion efficiencies (ECEs) of DSSCs with $CEA-Ni_2Si$ and $RTA-Ni_2Si$catalysts were 3.66 % and 3.16 %, respectively. Our results imply that nano-thick $Ni_2Si$ may be used to replace Pt as a reduction catalytic layer for a DSSCs. Moreover, we show that nano-thick $Ni_2Si$ can be made available on a low-cost glass substrate via the RTA process.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.132-136
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• 2009

This study investigates GaAs dry etching in capacitively coupled $BCl_3/N_2$ plasma at a low vacuum pressure (>100 mTorr). The applied etch process parameters were a RIE chuck power ranging from $100{\sim}200W$ on the electrodes and a $N_2$ composition ranging from $0{\sim}100%$ in $BCl_3/N_2$ plasma mixtures. After the etch process, the etch rates, RMS roughness and etch selectivity of the GaAs over a photoresist was investigated. Surface profilometry and field emission-scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the etch characteristics of the GaAs substrate. It was found that the highest etch rate of GaAs was $0.4{\mu}m/min$ at a 20 % $N_2$ composition in $BCl_3/N_2$ (i.e., 16 sccm $BCl_3/4$ sccm $N_2$). It was also noted that the etch rate of GaAs was $0.22{\mu}m/min$ at 20 sccm $BCl_3$ (100 % $BCl_3$). Therefore, there was a clear catalytic effect of $N_2$ during the $BCl_3/N_2$ plasma etching process. The RMS roughness of GaAs after etching was very low (${\sim}3nm$) when the percentage of $N_2$ was 20 %. However, the surface roughness became rougher with higher percentages of $N_2$.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.223-227
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• 2010

Recently, one-dimensional semiconducting nanomaterials have attracted considerable interest for their potential as building blocks for fabricating various nanodevices. Among these semiconducting nanomaterials,, $SnO_2$ nanostructures including nanowires, nanorods, nanobelts, and nanotubes were successfully synthesized and their electrochemical properties were evaluated. Although $SnO_2$ nanowires and nanobelts exhibit fascinating gas sensing characteristics, there are still significant difficulties in using them for device applications. The crucial problem is the alignment of the nanowires. Each nanowire should be attached on each die using arduous e-beam or photolithography, which is quite an undesirable process in terms of mass production in the current semiconductor industry. In this study, a simple process for making sensitive $SnO_2$ nanowire-based gas sensors by using a standard semiconducting fabrication process was studied. The nanowires were aligned in-situ during nanowire synthesis by thermal CVD process and a nanowire network structure between the electrodes was obtained. The $SnO_2$ nanowire network was floated upon the Si substrate by separating an Au catalyst between the electrodes. As the electric current is transported along the networks of the nanowires, not along the surface layer on the substrate, the gas sensitivities could be maximized in this networked and floated structure. By varying the nanowire density and the distance between the electrodes, several types of nanowire network were fabricated. The $NO_2$ gas sensitivity was 30~200 when the $NO_2$ concentration was 5~20ppm. The response time was ca. 30~110 sec.

• Carbon letters
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.117-120
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• 2013

In this study, an electro-catalyst of Pt nanoparticles supported by polypyrrole-functionalized graphene (Pt/PPy-reduced graphene oxide [RGO]) is reported. The Pt nanoparticles are deposited on the PPy-RGO composite by chemical reduction of H2PtCl6 using NaBH4. The presence of graphene (RGO) caused higher activity. This might have been due to increased electro-chemically accessible surface areas, increased electronic conductivity, and easier charge-transfer at polymer-electrolyte interfaces, allowing higher dispersion and utilization of the deposited Pt nano-particles. Microstructure, morphology and crystallinity of the synthesized materials were investigated using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed successful deposition of Pt nano-particles, with crystallite size of about 2.7 nm, on the PPy-RGO support film. Catalytic activity for methanol electro-oxidation in fuel cells was investigated using cyclic voltammetry. The fundamental electrochemical test results indicated that the electro-catalytic activity, for methanol oxidation, of the Pt/PPy-RGO combination was much better than for commercial catalyst.

• Nano
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• 제13권12호
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• pp.1850143.1-1850143.9
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• 2018

Natural biotemplates - such as bacteria, fungi and viruses - are used in nanostructured metal oxide production. The pollen can be found abundantly in nature, and their microcapsules can be easily isolated from the pollen by chemical treatments. To date, pollen microcapsules are mostly used as drug carriers and catalytic agent templates. In the present study, nanoporous-structured nickel oxide is produced using Pistachio pollen microcapsules. The raw pollen, chemically treated pollen and metal-coated pollen were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The natural Pistachio pollen which were procured from Gaziantep, Turkey, are spherical, with a diameter of approximately $23{\mu}m$. The maximum surface area obtained for nickel oxide-coated microcapsules is $228.82m^2/g$. This result shows that Pistachio pollen are an excellent candidate for the production of porous nanostructured materials for supercapacitor electrodes.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제53권2호
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• pp.253-257
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• 2016

We added 0 ~ 5 wt% $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$ nano powders in a scattering layer of a working electrode to improve the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) of a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). FESEM and XRD were used to characterize the microstructure and phase. PL and micro Raman were used to determine the fluorescence and the composition of $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$ phosphor. A solar simulator and a potentiostat were used to confirm the photovoltaic properties of the DSSC with $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$. From the results of the microstructure and phase of the fabricated $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$ nano powders, we identified $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$ having particle size less than 100 nm. Based on the microstructure and micro Raman results, we confirmed the existence of $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$ in the scattering layer and found that it was dispersed uniformly. Through photovoltaic properties results, the maximum ECE was shown to be 5.20%, which can be compared to the value of 5.00% without $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$. As these results are derived from conversion of light in the UV range into visible light by employing $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$ in the scattering layer, these indicate that the ECE of a DSSC can be enhanced by employing an appropriate amount of $YBO_3:Eu^{3+}$.

• Nano
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• 제13권12호
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• pp.1850148.1-1850148.9
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• 2018

The interconnected three-dimensional Ni-Co-S nanosheets were successfully deposited on ZnO nanorods by a one-step potentiostatic electrodeposition. The Ni-Co-S nanosheets provide a large electrode/electrolyte interfacial area which has adequate electroactive sites for redox reactions. Electrochemical characterization of the ZnO@Ni-Co-S core-shell nanorods presents high specifc capacitance (1302.5 F/g and 1085 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g and 20 A/g), excellent rate capabilities (83.3% retention at 20 A/g) and great cycling stability (65% retention after 5000 cycles at a current density of 30 A/g). The outstanding electrochemical performance of the as-prepared electrode material also can be ascribed to these reasons that the special structure improved electrical conductivity and allowed the fast diffusion of electrolyte ions.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제11권1호
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• pp.1-10
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• 2010

This is an overview paper reporting our most recent work on processing and microstructure of nano-structured oxides and their photoluminescence and photo-catalysis properties. Zinc oxide and related transition metal oxides such as vanadium pentoxide and titanium dioxide were produced by a combination of magnetron sputtering, hydrothermal growth and atmosphere controlled heat treatment. Special morphology and microstructure were created including nanorods arrays, core-brushes, nano-lollipops and multilayers with very large surface area. These structures showed special properties such as much enhanced photoluminescence and chemical reactivity. The photo-catalytic properties have also been promoted significantly. It is believed that two factors contributed to the high reactivity: the large surface area and the interaction between different oxides. The transition metal oxides with different band gaps have much enhanced photoluminescence under laser stimulation. Use of these complex oxide structures as electrodes can also improve the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells. The mixed oxide complex may provide a promising way to high-efficiency photo emitting materials and photo-catalysts.

• 한국전기전자재료학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국전기전자재료학회 2003년도 하계학술대회 논문집 Vol.4 No.2
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• pp.1184-1187
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• 2003

Electrochemical capacitors are becoming attractive energy storage systems particularly for applications involving high power requirements such as hybrid systems consisting of batteries and electrochemical capacitors for electric vehicle propulsion. A new type electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) was constructed by using carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and DAAQ(1,5-diaminoanthraquinone) electrode. Carbonaceous materials are found in variety forms such as graphite, diamond, carbon fibers etc. While all the carbon nanofibers include impurities such as amorphous carbon, nanoparticles, catalytic metals and incompletely grown carbons. We have eliminated of Ni particles and some carbonaceous particles in nitric acid. Nitric acid treated CNFs could be covered with very thin DAAQ oligomer from the results of CV and TG analyses and SEM images. DAAQ oligomer film exhibited a specific capacity as 45-50 Ah/kg in 4M $H_2SO_4$. We established Process Parameters of the technique for the formation of nano-structured materials. Furthermore, improved the capacitive properties of the nano structured CNFs electrodes using controlled solution chemistry. As a result, CNFs coated by DAAQ composite electrode showed relatively good electrochemical behaviors in acidic electrolyte system with respect to specific capacity and scan rate dependency.