• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.192-197
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• 2010

The spinel compound was obtained by the thermal decomposition of Zn-Co and Zn-Ni gel prepared by sol-gel method using oxalic acid as a chelating agent. The formation of spinel compound has been comfirmed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The particle size of 13 nm~16 nm was calculated by Scherrer's equation. The sol-gel method provides a practicable and effective route for the synthesis of the spinel compound at low temperature ($350^{\circ}C$). The kinetic parameters such as activation energy (Ea) and pre-exponential factor (A) for each compound were found by means of the Kissinger method and Arrhenius equation. The decomposition of spinel compound has an activation energy about 155 kJ/mol. Finally, the thermodynamic parameters (${\Delta}G^{\varphi}$, ${\Delta}H^{\varphi}$, ${\Delta}S^{\varphi}$) for decomposition of spinel compound was determined.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.381-390
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• 2016

In this study, the natural mordenite (MOR) zeolite seeds were used for the synthesis of high purity mordenite crystals. The effect of seed concentration and crystallization time on the phase purity and surface morphology of MOR crystals has also been reported. The diffraction, elemental and scanning analysis of MOR zeolite particles obtained from 100 g hydrothermal solution batch containing 3 g natural seed, hydrothermally treated at $140^{\circ}C$ for 72 h reveal the high phase-purity of as-synthesized sample having crystals of uniform size ($1-2{\mu}m$). Moreover, high seed concentration leads to the production of mesoporous MOR particles composed of needle shape primary nano crystallites. The gases adsorption performances of as-synthesized MOR particle were carried out at $25^{\circ}C$ and 0-1 bar. Surprisingly, MOR particles show good adsorption potential for $CO_2$ (97.19 mg/g) compared to other gases. Thus it confirms that high purity MOR particles can be synthesized without using any organic template which gives an advantage of separation performance at lower price.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.2 s.52
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• pp.135-145
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• 2007

The needs for the ultra fine particles have been increased in preparation field of raw powders such as fine ceramics and high functional products. In this study, a series of wet grinding experiments were carried out on inorganic powders such as calcite, pyrophyllite and talc by a stirred ball mill. The particle size distribution of ground products of each test material fur a given grinding time was found to be expressed by the grinding rate (selection function) which was obtained from the grinding kinetics analysis. The median diameter decreased from 6.49 to $0.47{\mu}m$ in calcite, and decreased from 3.91 to $1.14{\mu}m$ in pyrophyllite. However, in talc, median diameter was decreased a little bit from 10.30 to $6.67{\mu}m$. The grinding rate changing on calcite and pyriphyllite were similar at the same conditions. However, in the case of talc, it was observed that the grinding rate was not increased compared to other samples.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.24-27
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• 2007

Silkworm fed on the mulberry leaf mixed with silver nanoparticle to produce silver-nanoparticle embedded cocoon. Comparative analysis of silver content of cocoon shell, percentage of pupation and percentage of cocoon-shell weight showed that the optimum concentration and the feeding period of mulberry leaf mixed with silver nanoparticle were 500 ppm and the period from 3 day 5 instar to mounting of silkworm. The silver content of cocoon was observed variously by silkworm breedings. C212 variety makes pale yellow cocoon with the highest silver content(69%). Using the scanning electron microscope, we showed that the size of silver nanoparticles in silk was observed from 26.98 to 99.81nm. Silver-nanoparticle embedded silk is expected to use as high valuable application owing to the different functional properties including antibiotic characteristics and mechanical and electronic properties. The applicable fields expected is antistatic and/or electronic products with biological degradable natural materials.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.97-97
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• 2013

Recently, Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSS), which is one of the In- and Ga- free absorber materials, has been attracted considerable attention as a new candidate for use as an absorber material in thin film solar cells. The CZTSS-based absorber material has outstanding characteristics such as band gap energy of 1.0 eV to 1.5 eV, high absorption coefficient on the order of 104 cm-1, and high theoretical conversion efficiency of 32.2% in thin film solar cells. Despite these promising characteristics, research into CZTSS based thin film solar cells is still incomprehensive and related reports are quite few compared to those for CIGS thin film solar cells, which show high efficiency of over 20%. I will briefly overview the recent technological development of CZTSS thin film solar cells and then introduce our research results mainly related to sputter based process. CZTSS thin film solar cells are prepared by sulfurization of stacked both metallic and sulfide precursors. Sulfurization process was performed in both furnace annealing system and rapid thermal processing system using S powder as well as 5% diluted H2S gas source at various annealing temperatures ranging from $520^{\circ}C$ to $580^{\circ}C$. Structural, optical, microstructural, and electrical properties of absorber layers were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis spectroscopy, Hall-measurement, TRPL, etc. The effects of processing parameters, such as composition ratio, sulfurization pressure, and sulfurization temperature on the properties of CZTSS absorber layers will be discussed in detail. CZTSS thin film solar cell fabricated using metallic precursors shows maximum cell efficiency of 6.9% with Jsc of 25.2 mA/cm2, Voc of 469 mV, and fill factor of 59.1% and CZTS thin film solar cell using sulfide precursors shows that of 4.5% with Jsc of 19.8 mA/cm2, Voc of 492 mV, and fill factor of 46.2%. In addition, other research activities in our lab related to the formation of CZTS absorber layers using solution based processes such as electro-deposition, chemical solution deposition, nano-particle formation will be introduced briefly.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.256-262
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• 2010

Dispersion polymerization of methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, and glycidyl methacrylate were performed in supercritical $CO_2$ at $80\;^{\circ}C$ and 346 bar. Glycidyl methacrylate linked poly(dimethylsiloxane) (GMS-PDMS) surfactant, which was prepared by linking glycidyl methacrylate to monoglycidyl ether terminated PDMS with amino-propyltriethoxysilane, was used as surfactant for the dispersion polymerization in $CO_2$. The yield of the poly(alkyl acrylate) polymers, synthesized in $CO_2$ medium, decreased as the alkyl tail of the acrylate monomers increased. Poly(glycidyl methacrylate) and poly(methyl acrylate) were produced in bead form whereas poly(ethyl acrylate) and poly(butyl acrylate) were viscous liquid. The poly(glycidyl methacrylate) particles had a number average diameter of 2.45 ${\mu}m$ and monodisperse distribution. The poly(methyl acrylate) had a number average diameter of 0.52 ${\mu}m$ and the particle size distribution was bimodal. The glass transition temperatures ($T_g$) of the poly(glycidyl methacrylate) and the poly(alkyl acrylate) products were 4~9 K higher than the $T_g$ of the corresponding acrylate polymers synthesized in conventional processes.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.559-569
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• 2018

Catalytic supports made of carbon have many advantages, such as high coking resistance, tailorable pore and surface structures, and ease of recycling of waste catalysts. Moreover, they do not require pre-reduction. In this study, ash-free coal (AFC) was obtained by the thermal extraction of carbonaceous components from raw coal and its performance as a carbon catalytic support was compared with that of well-known activated carbon (AC). Nickel was dispersed on the carbon supports and the resulting catalysts were applied to the steam reforming of toluene (SRT), a model compound of biomass tar. Interestingly, nickel catalysts dispersed on AFC, which has a very small surface area (${\sim}0.13m^2/g$), showed higher activity than those dispersed on AC, which has a large surface area ($1,173A/cm^2$). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the particle size of nickel deposited on AFC was smaller than that deposited on AC, with the average values on AFC ${\approx}11nm$ and on AC ${\approx}23nm$. This proved that heteroatomic functional groups in AFC, such as carboxyls, can provide ion-exchange or adsorption sites for the nano-scale dispersion of nickel. In addition, the pore structure, surface morphology, chemical composition, and chemical state of the prepared catalysts were analyzed using Brunauer-Emmett-Taylor (BET) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR).

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.150-162
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• 2022

In the field of water treatment and pharmaceutical bio an alumina hollow fiber membrane used for mixture separation. However, due to the lack of strengths it is very brittle to handle and apply. Therefore, it is necessary to study and improve the bending strength of the membrane to 100 MPa or more. In this study, as the mixing ratio of the nano-particles increased to 0, 1, 3, and 5 wt%, the viscosity of the fluid mixture increased. The pore structure of the hollow membrane produced by interrupting the diffusion exchange rate of the solvent and non-solvent during the spinning process suppresses the formation of the finger-like structure and gradually increases the ratio of the sponge-like structure to improve the membrane mechanical strength to more than 100 MPa. As a result, an interparticle space was ensured to improve the porosity of the sponge-like structure with high permeability, and it showed excellent N2 permeability of about 100000 GPU and high water permeability of 3000 L/m² h. Therefore, it can be concluded, that the addition of γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles as sintering aid is an important method to enhance the mechanical strength of the α-alumina hollow fiber membrane to maintain high permeability.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2022

Tungsten carbide is widely used in carbide tools. However, its production process generates a significant number of end-of-life products and by-products. Therefore, it is necessary to develop efficient recycling methods and investigate the remanufacturing of tungsten carbide using recycled materials. Herein, we have recovered 99.9% of the tungsten in cemented carbide hard scrap as tungsten oxide via an alkali leaching process. Subsequently, using the recovered tungsten oxide as a starting material, tungsten carbide has been produced by employing a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) method. SHS is advantageous as it reduces the reaction time and is energy-efficient. Tungsten carbide with a carbon content of 6.18 wt % and a particle size of 116 nm has been successfully synthesized by optimizing the SHS process parameters, pulverization, and mixing. In this study, a series of processes for the high-efficiency recycling and quality improvement of tungsten-based materials have been developed.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.38-49
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• 2024

Wastewater treatment using membrane bioreactors has been extensively used to alleviate water shortage and pollution by improving the quality of the treated water discharged into the environment. However, membrane biofouling persistently holds back an MBR process by reducing the process efficiency. Herein, we synthesized carbon nanospheres (CNSs) with many hydrophilic oxygen groups and utilized them as an additive to prepare high-performance ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with hydrophilicity and porous pore structure. CNSs were found to form crescent-shaped pores on the membrane surface, increasing the mean surface pore size by about 40% without causing significant defects larger than bubble points, as the CNS content increased by 4.6 wt%. In addition, the porous pore structure of CNS composite membranes was also attributable to the CNS's isotropic morphologies and relatively low particle number density because the aforementioned properties contributed to preventing the polymer solution viscosity from soaring with the loading of CNS. However, too porous structure compromised the mechanical properties, such that CNS2.3 was the best from a comprehensive consideration including the pore structure and mechanical properties. As a result, CNS2.3 showed not only 2 times higher water permeability than CNS0 but also 5 times longer operation duration until membrane cleaning was required.