• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.196-200
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• 2011

The formation of niobium oxide microcones on niobium substrates was investigated in NaF to the HF electrolytes. This condition builds on the uniqueness of the microstructures niobium oxide. The dimensions and integrity of the bulk microstructures were found to be strongly dependent on potential, temperature, electrolyte composition, and anodization time. The anodic oxide was initially amorphous at all temperatures, but crystalline oxide nucleated during anodization. From XRD patterns of the anodized specimens, the microcones consisted of crystalline $Nb_2O_5$. We demonstrated niobium oxide microcone structures with nanorods. The anodized niobium oxide microcone texture revealed nanorod bundles. The surface of $Nb_2O_5$ microcones is very regular and has a nano-scale. The surface morphologies of the nanorods were examined using FE-SEM. EDS analyses show that the anodically prepared niobium oxide consists of $Nb_2O_5$. The aim of this study is to find the condition of forming the favorable nanorods by anodization method.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.2675-2678
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• 2012

Studies on niobium anodization in the mixture of 1 M $H_3PO_4$ and 1 wt % HF at galvanostatic anodization are described here in detail. Interestingly, duplex niobium oxide consisting of thick barrier oxide and correspondingly thick porous oxide was prepared at a constant current density of higher than 0.3 $mAcm^{-2}$, whereas simple porous type oxide was formed at a current density of lower than 0.3 $mAcm^{-2}$. In addition, simple barrier or porous type oxide was obtained by galvanostatic anodization at a single electrolyte of either 1 M $H_3PO_4$ or 1 wt % HF, respectively. The formation mechanism of duplex type structures was ascribed to different forming voltages required for moving anions.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.163-168
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• 2010

Effects of Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB), which is a kind of cationic surfactants, and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS), which is a kind of anionic surfactants on the anodic formation of nanoporous niobium oxide were compared. The addition of SDS could protect the surface from dissolution for long time, leading to the formation of niobium oxide with a double thickness (~400 nm) compared to that prepared without surfactant, whereas dissolution seriously occurred in the solution containing CTAB. The different behaviors were attributed to the interaction between the surfactants with positive (or negative) charge and positively charged niobium oxide.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.306.2-306.2
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• 2016

Niobium oxide thin films were synthesized by reactive rf magnetron sputtering. The target was metallic niobium with 2 inch in diameter and the substrate was n-type Si wafer. To control the surface properties of the films, Nb oxide thin films were obtained at various mixing ratios of argon and oxygen gases. Nb oxide thin films were analyzed with alpha step, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The result of alpha step showed that the thickness of Nb oxide thin films were decreased with increasing the oxygen gas ratios. SEM images showed that the granular morphology was formed at 0% of oxygen gas ratio and then disappeared at 20 and 75% of oxygen gas ratio. The amorphous Nb oxide was observed by XRD at all films. The oxidation state of Nb and O were studied with high resolution Ni 2p and O 1s XPS spectra. And the change in the chemical environment of Nb oxide thin films was investigated by XPS with Ar+ sputtering.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.129-134
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• 1998

Conversion of propane to acrylonitrile via ammoxidation was studied using physically mixed catalysts composed of $Nb_2O_5(10{\sim}30wt%)$ and $V_{0.4}Mo_1Te_{0.1}$. Catalytic activities of ammoxidation were improved by adding strong acidic niobium oxide to $V_{0.4}Mo_1Te_{0.1}$, the selectivities to acrylonitrile+propylene being remained constant. The maximum activity was obtained at the mixing ratio 25wt% niobium oxide in $Nb_2O_5-V_{0.4}Mo_1Te_{0.1}$. Niobium oxide was found to be a selective catalyst for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.125-129
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• 2009

The preparation and characterization of niobium carbide crystallites were investigated in this study, and in particular, the effect of preparation conditions were studied on the synthesis of niobium carbides crystallites. For this purpose, various characterization techniques including x-ray diffraction, BET surface area, and oxygen uptake measurements were employed to characterize the synthesized niobium carbide crystallites. The niobium carbide crystallites were prepared using niobium oxide and methane gas or methane-hydrogen mixture. Using x-ray diffraction a lattice parameter of $4.45{\AA}$ and a crystallite size ranging from $52{\AA}$ to $580{\AA}$ was found. BET surface areas ranged from $3.2\;m^2/g$ to $16.6\;m^2/g$ and oxygen uptake values varied from $0.5{\mu}mol/g$ to $6.1{\mu}mol/g$. It was observed that niobium carbide crystallites were active for ammonia decomposition reaction. While the BET surface area increased with increasing the oxygen uptake, the conversion of ammonia decomposition reaction decreased. These results indicated that the ammonia decomposition over these materials was considered to be structure-sensitive.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.79-88
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• 2005

This study was performed to investigate the surface properties of electrochemically oxidized pure niobium by anodic oxide and hydrothermal treatment technique. Niobium specimens of $10\times10mm$ in dimension were polished sequentially from #600, #800, #1000 emery paper. The surface pure niobium specimens were anodized in an electrolytic solution that was dissolved calcium and phosphate in water. The electrolytic voltage was set in the range of 250 V and the current density was 10 $mA/cm^2$. The specimen was hydrothermal treated in high-pressure steam at 300$^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours using an autoclave. Then, specimens were immersed in the Hanks' solution with pH 7.4 at 37$^{\circ}C$ for 30 days. The surface of specimen was characterized by scanning electron microscope(SEM), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis(EDX), potentiostat/galvanostat test, and cytotoxicity test. The results obtained was summarized as follows; According to the result of measuring corrosion behavior at 0.9% NaCl, corrosion resistance was improved more specimens treated with anodic oxide than in hydrothermal treated ones. The multi-porous oxide layer on surface treated through anodic oxidation showed a structure that fine pores overlap one another, and the early precipitation of apatite was observed on the surface of hydrothermal treated samples. According to the result of EDX after 30 days deposition in Hanks' solution, Ca/P was 1.69 in hydrothermal treated specimens. In MTT test, specimens treated through anodic oxidation and hydrothermal treated ones showed spectrophotometer similar to that of the control group. Thus no significant difference in cytotoxicity was observed (P>0.05).

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.1-5
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• 2021

Among elemental metals, niobium (Nb) has the highest superconducting transition temperature (T_c) at ambient pressure. Thus, Nb films have been used in superconducting electronics and radio frequency cavity applications. In this study, the depositional factors determining the crystallinity and T_c of Nb films were investigated. An Nb film grown at a sputtering temperature of 240℃ exhibited the maximum crystallinity of Nb and the minimum crystallinity of niobium oxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed a maximum atomic percent of niobium and a minimum atomic percent of oxygen. A sputtering power of 210 W and a sputtering time of 50 min were the optimal conditions for Nb deposition, and the T_c of the optimized film (9.08 K) was close to that of bulk Nb (9.25 K). Transmission electron microscopy images of the thick film directly confirmed the removal of the typical in-plane compressive strain in the (110) plane caused by residual stress.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2018

PURPOSE. This study was performed to evaluate the osteogenic potential of 3mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (3Y-TZP) and niobium oxide containing Y-TZPs with specific ratios, new (Y,Nb)-TZPs, namely YN4533 and YN4533/Al20 discs. MATERIALS AND METHODS. 3Y-TZP, YN4533 and YN4533/Al20 discs (15 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness) were prepared and their average surface roughness ($R_a$) and surface topography were analyzed using 3-D confocal laser microscope (CLSM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Mouse pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells were seeded onto all zirconia discs and evaluated with regard to cell attachment and morphology by (CLSM), cell proliferation by PicoGreen assay, and cell differentiation by Reverse-Transcription PCR and Quantitative Real-Time PCR, and alkaline phosphatase (Alp) staining. RESULTS. The cellular morphology of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts was more stretched on a smooth surface than on a rough surface, regardless of the material. Cellular proliferation was higher on smooth surfaces, but there were no significant differences between 3Y-TZP, YN4533, and YN4533/Al20. Osteoblast differentiation patterns on YN4533 and YN4533/Al20 were similar to or slightly higher than seen in 3Y-TZP. Although there were no significant differences in bone marker gene expression (alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin), Alp staining indicated better osteoblast differentiation on YN4533 and YN4533/Al20 compared to 3Y-TZP. CONCLUSION. Based on these results, niobium oxide containing Y-TZPs have comparable osteogenic potential to 3Y-TZP and are expected to be suitable alternative ceramics dental implant materials to titanium for aesthetically important areas.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.134-138
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• 2005

This study was performed to investigate the surface properties of electrochemically oxidized pure niobium by anodic oxide and hydrothermal treatment technique. Niobium specimens of $10mm\times10mm\times1.0mm$ in dimension were polished sequentially from $\#600,\;\#800,\;\#1000$ emery paper. The surface of pure niobium sperimens was anodized in an electrolytic solution that was dissolved calcium and phosphate in water. The electrolytic voltage was set in the range of 250 V and the current density was $10mA/cm^2$. The specimen was hydrothermal treated in high-pressure steam at $300^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours using an autoclave. And all specimens were immersed in the in the Hanks' solution nth pH 7.4 at $37^{\circ}C$ for 30 days. The surface of specimen was characterized by surface roughness, scanning electron microscope(SEM), energy dispersion X-ray analysis(EDX), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy(XPS) test. The value of surface roughness was the highest in the anodized sample and $0.41{\pm}0.04\;{\mu}m$. The results of the SEM observation show that oxide layers of the multi porosity in the anodized sample were piled up on another, and hydroxyapatite crystal was precipitate from the surface of the hydrothermal treated sample. In the XPS analysis, O, Nb, C peak and small amounts of N peak were found in the polished specimens while Ca and P peak in addition to O, Nb, C and peak were observed in the hydrothermal treated sample.