• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.10
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• pp.818-822
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• 2011

ZnO nanorods were grown on Au-coated Si substrates by vapor phase transport (VPT) at the growth temperature of $600^{\circ}C$ using a mixture of zinc oxide and graphite powders as source material. Au thin films with the thickness of 5 nm were deposited by ion sputtering. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) was carried out to investigate the optical properties of the ZnO nanorods. Five peaks at 3.363, 3.327, 3.296, 3.228, and 3.143 eV, corresponding to the free exciton (FX), neutral donor bound exciton ($D^{\circ}X$), first order longitudinal optical phonon replica of free exciton (FX-1LO), FX-2LO, and FX-3LO emissions, were obtained at low-temperature (10 K). The intensity of these peaks decreased and their position was red shifted with the increase in the temperature. The FX emission peak energy of the ZnO nanorods exhibited an anomalous behavior (red-blue-red shift) with the increase in temperature. This is also known as an "S-shaped" emission shift. The thermal activation energy for the exciton with increasing temperature in the ZnO nanorods is found to be about 26.6 meV; the values of Varshni's empirical equation fitting parameters are = $5{\times}10^{-4}eV/K$, ${\beta}=350K$, and $E_g(0)=3.364eV$.

• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1540-1545
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• 2018

SiGe alloy is widely used thermoelectric materials for high temperature thermoelectric generator applications. However, its high thermoelectric performance has been thus far realized only in alloys synthesized employing mechanical alloying techniques, which are time-consuming and employ several materials processing steps. In the current study, for the first time, we report an enhanced thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) ~ 1.1 at $900^{\circ}C$ in ntype $Si_{80}Ge_{20}$ nano-alloys, synthesized using a facile and up-scalable methodology consisting of rapid solidification at high optimized cooling rate ${\sim}3.4{\times}10^7K/s$, employing melt spinning followed by spark plasma sintering of the resulting nano-crystalline melt-spun ribbons. This enhancement in ZT > 20% over its bulk counterpart, owes its origin to the nano-crystalline microstructure formed at high cooling rates, which results in crystallite size ~7 nm leading to high density of grain boundaries, which scatter heat-carrying phonons. This abundant scattering resulted in a very low thermal conductivity ${\sim}2.1Wm^{-1}K^{-1}$, which corresponds to ~50% reduction over its bulk counterpart and is amongst the lowest reported thus far in n-type SiGe alloys. The synthesized samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, based on which the enhancement in their thermoelectric performance has been discussed.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.910-914
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• 2018

Since catalyst technology is one of the promising technologies to improve the working performance of next generation energy and electronic devices, many efforts have been made to develop various catalysts with high efficiency at a low cost. However, there are remaining challenges to be resolved in order to use the suggested catalytic materials, such as platinum (Pt), gold (Au), and palladium (Pd), due to their poor cost-effectiveness for device applications. In this study, to overcome these challenges, we suggest a useful method to increase the surface area of a noble metal catalyst material, resulting in a reduction of the total amount of catalyst usage. By employing block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly and nano-transfer printing (n-TP) processes, we successfully fabricated sub-20 nm Pt line and cross-bar patterns. Furthermore, we obtained a highly ordered Pt cross-bar pattern on a Ni thin film and a Pt-embedded Ni thin film, which can be used as hetero hybrid alloy catalyst structure. For a detailed analysis of the hybrid catalytic material, we used scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), which revealed a well-defined nanoporous Pt nanostructure on the Ni thin film. Based on these results, we expect that the successful hybridization of various catalytic nanostructures can be extended to other material systems and devices in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.342-347
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• 2011

We fabricated the silicon nanodots using the low pressure chemical vapor deposition technique to investigate their electron field emission characteristics. Atomic force microscope measurements performed for the silicon nanodot samples having various process parameters, such as, deposition time and deposition pressure, revealed that the silicon nanodots with an average size of 20 nm, height of 5 nm, and density of $1.3\;{\times}\;10^{11}\;cm^{-2}$ were easily formed. Electron field emission measurements were performed with the silicon nanodot layer as the cathode electrode. The current-voltage curves revealed that the threshold electric field was as low as $8.3\;V/{\mu}m$ and the field enhancement factor reached as large as 698, which is compatible with the silicon cathode tips fabricated by other techniques. These electron field emission results point to the possibility of using a silicon-based light source for display devices.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.12
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• pp.995-1000
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• 2011

The microstructure of Cu-24 wt.%Ag filamentary nanocomposite fabricated by a thermo-mechanical process has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. This study is focused on the stability of Ag filaments formed by cold drawing; the effects of thermal treatment on the precipitation behavior and distribution of Ag-rich precipitates were also investigated. The Ag filaments elongated along the <111> orientation were observed in Cu-rich ${\alpha}$ phase of the as-drawn specimen and the copper matrix and the silver filament have a cube on cube orientation relationship. Annealing at temperatures lower than $200^{\circ}C$ for the as-drawn specimen caused insignificant change of the fibrous morphology but squiggly interfaces or local breaking of the elongated Ag filaments were easily observed with annealing at $300^{\circ}C$. When samples were annealed at $400^{\circ}C$, discontinuous precipitation was observed in supersaturated Cu solid solution. Ag precipitates with a thickness of 7-20 nm were observed along the <112> direction and the orientation relationship between the copper matrix and the Ag precipitates maintained the same orientation relationship in the as-drawn specimen. The interface between the copper matrix and the Ag precipitates is parallel to {111} and micro-twins were observed in the Ag precipitates.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.605-611
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• 2012

ZnO nanostructures were grown on R-plane sapphire substrates with seed layers annealed at different temperatures ranging from 600 to $800^{\circ}C$. The properties of the ZnO nanostructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectrophotometer, and photoluminescence. For the as-prepared seed layers, ZnO nanorods and ZnO nanosheets were observed. However, only ZnO nanorods were grown when the annealing temperature was above $700^{\circ}C$. The crystal qualities of the ZnO nanostructures were enhanced when the seed layers were annealed at $700^{\circ}C$. In addition, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of near-band-edge emission (NBE) peak was decreased from 139 to 129 meV by increasing the annealing temperature to $700^{\circ}C$. However, the FWHM was slightly increased again by a further increase in the annealing temperature. Optical transmittance in the UV region was almost zero, while that in the visible region was gradually increased as the annealing temperature increased to $700^{\circ}C$. The optical band gap of the ZnO nanostructures was increased as the annealing temperature increased to $700^{\circ}C$. It is found that the optical properties as well as the structural properties of the rod-shaped ZnO nanostructures grown on R-plane sapphire substrates by hydrothermal method are improved when the seed layers are annealed at $700^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2011

Double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) with high purity were produced by the catalytic decomposition of tetrahydrofuran (THF) using a Fe-Mo/MgO catalyst at $800^{\circ}C$. The as-synthesized DWCNTs typically have catalytic impurities and amorphous carbon, which were removed by a two-step purification process consisting of acid treatment and oxidation. In the acid treatment, metallic catalysts were removed in HCl at room temperature for 5 hr with magnetic stirring. Subsequently, the oxidation, using air at $380^{\circ}C$ for 5 hr in the a vertical-type furnace, was used to remove the amorphous carbon particles. The DWCNT suspension was prepared by dispersing the purified DWCNTs in the aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate solution with horn-type sonication. This was then air-sprayed on ITO glass to fabricate DWCNT field emitters. The field emission properties of DWCNT films related to transmittance were studied. This study provides the possibility of the application of large-area transparent CNT field emission cathodes.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.374-379
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• 2011

Nano-powders of $Ti_3Al$ and $2Al_2O_3$ were synthesized from $3TiO_2$ and 5Al powders by high energy ball milling. A nanocrystalline $Al_2O_3$ reinforced composite was consolidated by pulsed current activated sintering within 2 minutes from mechanochemically synthesized powders of $Al_2O_3$ and $Ti_3Al$. Nanocrystalline materials, have received much attention as advanced engineering materials due to their improved physical and mechanical properties. The relative density of the composite was 99.5%. The average obtained hardness and fracture toughness values were 1510 kg/$mm^2$ and $9\;MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$, respectively.

• Biomaterials Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 2018

Background: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are, due to their pluripotency, useful sources of cells for stem cell therapy and tissue regeneration. The phenotypes of hMSCs are strongly influenced by their microenvironment, in particular the extracellular matrix (ECM), the composition and structure of which are important in regulating stem cell fate. In reciprocal manner, the properties of ECM are remodeled by the hMSCs, but the mechanism involved in ECM remodeling by hMSCs under topographical stimulus is unclear. In this study, we therefore examined the effect of nanotopography on the expression of ECM proteins by hMSCs by analyzing the quantity and structure of the ECM on a nanogrooved surface. Methods: To develop the nanoengineered, hMSC-derived ECM, we fabricated the nanogrooves on a coverglass using a UV-curable polyurethane acrylate (PUA). Then, hMSCs were cultivated on the nanogrooves, and the cells at the full confluency were decellularized. To analyze the effect of nanotopography on the hMSCs, the hMSCs were re-seeded on the nanoengineered, hMSC-derived ECM. Results: hMSCs cultured within the nano-engineered hMSC-derived ECM sheet showed a different pattern of expression of ECM proteins from those cultured on ECM-free, nanogrooved surface. Moreover, hMSCs on the nano-engineered ECM sheet had a shorter vinculin length and were less well-aligned than those on the other surface. In addition, the expression pattern of ECM-related genes by hMSCs on the nanoengineered ECM sheet was altered. Interestingly, the expression of genes for osteogenesis-related ECM proteins was downregulated, while that of genes for chondrogenesis-related ECM proteins was upregulated, on the nanoengineered ECM sheet. Conclusions: The nanoengineered ECM influenced the phenotypic features of hMSCs, and that hMSCs can remodel their ECM microenvironment in the presence of a nanostructured ECM to guide differentiation into a specific lineage.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.310-315
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• 2012

Nano-powders of 1.5TiAl and $Al_2O_3$ were synthesized from $1.5TiO_2$ and 3Al powders by high energy ball milling. Nanocrystalline $Al_2O_3$ reinforced composite was consolidated by pulsed current activated sintering within 2 minutes from mechanochemically synthesized powders of $Al_2O_3$ and 1.5TiAl. The relative density of the composite was 99.5%. The average hardness and fracture toughness values obtained were $1250kg/mm^2$ and $10MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$, respectively.