• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 2010

A simple and rapid method is described for detecting nitroaromatic explosives in air or seawater with the use of photoluminescent organosilicon compounds. The synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and fluorescence quenching efficiency of silafluorenes are reported. Silafluorenes were synthesized from the reduction of dilithiobiphenyl with dichlorosilanes. Two silafluorenes were used for the detection of nitroaromatic compounds. Detection of nitroaromatic molecules, such as 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), and picric acid (PA), has been explored. A linear Stern-Volmer relationship was observed for the first three analytes. Fluorescence spectra of silafluorenes obtained in either toluene solutions or thin films displayed no shift in the maximum of the emission wavelength. The photoluminescence quenching occurs by a static mechanism.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.202-205
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• 2010

Nanocrystalline porous silicon surfaces have been used to detect nitroaromatic compounds in vapor phase. The mode of photoluminescence is emphasized as a sensing attitude or detection technique. Quenching of photoluminescence from nanocrystalline porous surfaces as a transduction mode is measured upon the exposure of nitroaromatic compounds. Reversible detection mode for nitroaromatics is, too, observed. To verify the detection afore-mentioned, photoluminescent freshly prepared porous silicons are functionalized with different groups. The mechanism of quenching of photoluminescence is attributed to the electron transfer behaviors of quantum-sized nano-crystallites in the porous silicon matrix to the analytes(nitroaromatics). An attempt has been done to prove that the surface-derivatized photoluminescent porous silicone surfaces can act as versatile substrates for sensing behaviors due to having a large surface area and highly sensitive transduction mode.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.85-93
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• 1999

The destruction of hazardous chemicals such as chlorinated organic compounds(COCs) and nitroaromatic compounds(NACs) by zero-valent iron powder is one of the latest innovative technologies. In this paper. the rapid dechlorination of chlorinated compounds as well as transformation of nitro functional group to amine functional group in the nitroaromatic compounds using synthesized zero-valent iron powder with nanoscale were studied in anaerobic batch system. Nanoscale iron, characterized by high surface area to mass ratios(31.4$\textrm{m}^2$/g) and high reactivity, could quickly reacts with compounds such as TCE, chloroform, nitrobenzene, nitrotoluene, dinitrobenzene and dinitrotoluene, at concentration of 10mg/L in aqueous solution at room temperature and pressure. In this study, the TCE was dechlorinated to ethane and chloroform to methane and nitro groups in NACs were transformed to amino groups in less than 30min. These results indicated that this chemical method using nanoscale iron powder has the high potential for the remediation of soils and groundwater contaminated with hazardous toxic chemicals including chlorinated organic compounds and nitro aromatic compounds.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.2497-2500
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• 2011

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.37-40
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• 2009

Synthesis and characterization of alkyl-capped nanocrystalline silicon (R-n-Si) have been achieved from the reaction of silicontetrachloride with magnesiumsilicide. Surface of silicon nanocrystal has been derivatized with various alkyl groups (R=methyl, n-butyl, etc.). Silicon nanoparticles have been also obtained by the sonication of luminescent porous silicon. Former exhibits an emission band at 360 nm, but latter exhibits an emission band at 680 nm. In this study very sensitive detection of TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene), DNT (2,4-dinitrotoluene), NB (nitrobenzene), and PA (picric acid) has been achieved in gas phase with porous silicon using photoluminescence quenching of the silicon crystallites as a transduction mode. Porous silicon are electrochemically etched from crystalline silicon wafers in an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid. We have characterized these silicon nanoparticles by Luminescence Spectrometer (LS 55).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.89-110
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• 2003

The limitations of conventional soil and groundwater contamination remediation technologies have motivated a search for innovative technologies; particularly in situ technologies that do not require extraction of contaminants from the subsurface. All engineered in situ remediation systems require that the contaminant be mixed with a remedial compound. Horizontal flow treatment wells (HFTWs), an innovative technology that consists of a pair of dual-screened treatment wells, were used at a trichloroethylene (TCE) contaminated site to efficiently achieve this mixing of contaminant and remedial compound in order to effect in situ bioremediation (McCarty et al., 1998). In this paper, the potential of HFTWs to treat chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) as well as other soil and groundwater contaminants of concern, such as nitroaromatic compounds (NACs), perchlorate, and methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), is examined. Through a combination of laboratory studies, model analyses, and field evaluations, the effectiveness of this innovative technology to manage these contaminants is investigated.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 2009

A quick and simple detection method of explosive compounds in environmental matrix (soil and water) can provide a screening step which reduces the number of unnecessary samples and the cost of expensive laboratory analysis at a site investigation. A commercially available EXPRAY$^{(R)}$Explosives Field Detection Kit (EXPRAY) was used to determine the minimum detection concentration and to test the possibility of semi-quantitative analysis of 14 explosive compounds using standard solutions. The results showed that EXPRAY could detect 5 explosive compounds, TNT, RDX, HMX, Tetryl, and TNB, out of 14 US EPA designated explosives. The minimum detection limit of the nitramine explosives was 14 ng/$^2$ for HMX and RDX. EXPRAY was more sensitive to nitroaromatics than the nitramines and the minimum detection limits per unit area (mm$^2$) for Tetryl, TNB, and TNT, were 3 ng, 3 ng, and 0.3 ng, respectively. The semi-quantification of 5 explosive compounds in an order ofmagnitude could be achieved by the intensity of developed color only when EXPRAY was applied on the standard solutions under controlled laboratory conditions. With contaminated soil samples, however, only the presence and type of explosive compounds was identified. Therefore, EXPRAY is an economic and sensitive method that can be used in a screening step for the identification of explosives in the field samples.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.103-110
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• 2015

Nitro-aromatic Compounds (NACs) of explosives are structurally non-degradable materials that have an adverse effect to humans and ecosystems in case of emissions in natural due to the strong toxicity. In this study, batch test in the laboratory-scale has been conducted to find some process parameters of alkaline hydrolysis by considering the characteristics of NACs which are unstable in a base status and field application evaluation have been performed on the batch test results. Based on the experimental results of both laboratory and pilot-scale test, the optimum conditions of parameters for the alkaline hydrolysis of soils contaminated with explosives were pH 12.5, above the solid-liquid ratio 1 : 3, above the room temperature and 30 minute reaction time. In these four process parameters, the most important influencing factor was pH, and the condition of above pH 12.0 was necessary for high contaminated soils (more than 60 mg/kg). In the case of above pH 12.5, the efficiency of alkaline hydrolysis was very high regardless of the concentrations of contaminated soils. At pH 11.5, the removal efficiency of TNT was increased from 76.5% to 97.5% when the temperature in reactor was elevated from room temperature to 80℃. This result shows that it is possible to operate the alkaline hydrolysis at even pH 11.5 due to increased reaction rate depending on temperature adjustment. The results found in above experiments will be able to be used in alkaline hydrolysis for process improvement considering the economy.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.11-19
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• 2004

Chlorinated and nitroaromatic compounds are non-degradable substances that are extremely toxic and are known to be carcinogens and mutation causing agents. Moreover, the half-lives of substances such as carbon tetrachloride, hexachloroethane and nitroaromatic compounds are several decades. In this study, the optimal conditions to detoxify chlorinated compounds by the reductive degradation were investigated. The following results were obtained in the reductive degradation of CCl$_4$, C$_2$Cl$\_$6/, C$_2$HCl$\_$5/, C$_2$Cl$_4$, and C$_2$HCl$\_$5/ by using Fe, FeS and FeS$_2$ as mediators. CCl$_4$ was reduced to CH$_2$Cl$_3$ and CH$_2$Cl$_2$in anaerobic conditions when FeS was used as a mediator. While the reduction of CCl$_4$ to CHCl$_3$ was rapidly proceeded, the reduction of CHCl$_3$ to CH$_2$Cl$_2$ was occurred slowly. Further reduction to CH$_3$Cl was not observed. Unlike CCl$_4$, C$_2$Cl$\_$6/ was degraded to C$_2$HCl$\_$5/, C$_2$Cl$_4$. C$_2$HCl$_3$ and cis-1,2-C$_2$H$_2$Cl$_2$ by complicated pathways such as hydrogenolysis, dehalo-elimination and dehydrohalogenation. A small amount of C$_2$HCl$\_$5/ was detected only in the early stages of the reduction. However, majority of the C$_2$Cl$\_$6/ was reduced to C$_2$Cl$_4$. cis-1,2-C$_2$H$_2$C1$_2$ was the only product among other possible isomers.