• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.256-261
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• 2009

Hydrophilic and transparent $TiO_2$ thin film was fabricated by sol-gel method and the properties of contact angle, surface morphology, and transmittance were measured. In addition, surfactant Tween 80 was used for increasing the hydrophilic property of thin film. When the contents of Tween 80 in $TiO_2$ solution was 0, 10, 30, 50wt%, the contact angles of $TiO_2$ thin film were $41.4^{\circ}$, $18.2^{\circ}$, $16.0^{\circ}$, $13.2^{\circ}$, respectively. Fabricated $TiO_2$ thin film showed the photocatalytic property that decomposed methylene blue and decreased the absorbance of solution after UV irradiation. $TiO_2$ thin films fabricated with the solution of 30 wt% Tween 80 were deposited on glass (bare), antimony tin oxide (ATO), fluorine tin oxide (FTO), indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates, and the contact angle and transmittance of thin film was measured. The contact angles of thin films deposited on four substrates were $16.2\sim27.1^{\circ}$ and was decreased to the range of $13.2\sim17.6^{\circ}$ after UV irradiation, Especially, the thin films coated on ATO and FTO glass substrate showed high transmittance of 74.6% in visible range, respectively, and low transmittance of 54.2% and 40.4% in infrared range, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.296-302
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• 2006

ILow-temperature $TiO_2$ sol was synthesized with various catalyst contents by using a sol-gel method. $TiO_2$ thin films were produced by a dip-coating method and their optical, structural and photocatalytic properties were examined. Transmittance of $TiO_2$ thin films with 0.10 mol, 0.25 mol, 0.50 mol and 0.75 mol catalyst content showed high transmittance in the visible range. XRD results showed the anatase-to-rutile phase transition was accelerated with increasing catalyst content and the crystallinity size of the $TiO_2$ thin films increased with increasing catalyst content. SEM results indicated that the particle size of the $TiO_2$ thin films was the smallest with catalyst content of 0.25 mol. Photocatalytic results showed that methylene blue was completely decomposed in the presence of anatase film prepared with 0.10 mol, 0.25 mol and 0.50 mol catalyst content.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2022

As the use of chemical products increases in daily life, the removal of dye waste has also emerged as an important environmental issue. This dye waste can be decomposed using a photocatalyst, and the photocatalyst can be synthesized very cost-effectively by using the sol-gel technology. The sol-gel technology is not only very useful for nanoscale film formation, but also can simply form multilayer structures. Using a multiple spin coating method, in this study, a ZnO film with a multilayered structure (3 layers, 5 layers) was formed by using zinc oxide (ZnO), which is effective in decomposing various dyes. For performance comparison, a ZnO film having a single layer structure by a single spin coating method was prepared as a control. Structural and elemental analysis of ZnO film was performed using an X-ray diffraction analyzer and an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. A nanowire-like surface morphology could be observed through a scanning electron microscope. Additionally, UV-Vis spectrophotometer was used to measure the absorbance of UV light. The ZnO film with a five-layer structure degraded the simulated methylene blue by 49% more than the ZnO film with a single-layer structure. In conclusion, it was found that ZnO having a multilayered structure is useful as a photocatalyst that decomposes methylene blue dye more effectively.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.420-424
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• 2016

In this study, we developed photocatalytic technology to address the emerging serious problem of air pollution through indoor air cleaning. A single layer of $WO_3$ was prepared by using the dry process of general RF magnetron sputtering. At a base vacuum of $1.8{\times}10^{-6}$[Torr], the optical and electrical properties of the resulting thin films were examined for use as a transparent electrode as well as a photocatalyst. The single layer of $WO_3$ prepared at an RF power of 100 [W], a pressure of 7 [mTorr] and Ar and $O_2$ gas flow rates of 70 and 2 sccm, respectively, showed uniform and good optical transmittance of over 80% in the visible wavelength range from 380 [nm] to 780 [nm]. The optical catalyst characteristics of the $WO_3$ thin film were examined by investigating the optical absorbance and concentration variance in methylene blue, where the $WO_3$ thin film was immersed in the methylene blue. The catalytic characteristics improved with time. The concentration of methylene blue decreased to 80% after 5 hours, which confirms that the $WO_3$ thin film shows the characteristics of an optical catalyst. Using the reflector of a CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) and the lens of an LED (lighting emitting diode), it is possible to enhance the air cleaning effect of next-generation light sources.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.185-202
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• 2018

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells can convert solar energy, the largest potential source of renewable energy, into hydrogen fuel which can be stored, transported, and used on demand. In terms of cost competitiveness compared with fossil fuels, however, both photocatalytic efficiency and cost-effectiveness must be achieved simultaneously. Improvement of cost-effective, scalable, versatile, and eco-friendly fabrication methods has emerged as an urgent mission for PEC cells, and solution-based fabrication methods could be capable of meeting these demands. Herein, we review recent challenges for various nanostructured oxide photoelectrodes fabricated by solution-based processes. Hematite, tungsten oxide, bismuth vanadate, titanium oxide, and copper oxides are the main oxides focused on, and various strategies have been attempted with respect to these photocatalyst materials. The effects of nanostructuring, heterojunctions, and co-catalyst loading on the surface are discussed. Our review introduces notable solution-based processes for water splitting photoelectrodes and gives an outlook on eco-friendly and cost-effective approaches to solar fuel generation and innovative artificial photosynthesis technologies.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

The effects of $TiO_2$ contents and UV irradiation treatment on the surface properties of PLA films embedded with $TiO_2$ nanoparticle were investigated. Whereas UV irradiation decreased reflectance of the treated PLA films proportionally with increasing UV energy, the reflectance of PLA/$TiO_2$ films increased with increasing UV energy. The UV irradiation treatment caused PLA/$TiO_2$ blend films more polar as indicated in the generation of new carbonyl group and decrease in zeta potentials, which was more pronounced with the introduction of $TiO_2$. Upon UV irradiation, $TiO_2$ particles appeared on the film surface as observed in SEM images. The PLA/$TiO_2$ blend films showed photocatalytic properties such as photobleaching of methylene blue, deodorization of ammonia and antimicrobial activity in comparison with pure PLA films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.160-160
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• 2011

In the present work, $TiO_2$ fiilms supported by porous silica gel with high surface area synthesized by atomic layer deposition(ALD). Porous structure of silica substrate could be maintained even after deposit large amount of $TiO_2$ (500 cycles of ALD process), suggesting the differential growth mode of $TiO_2$ on top surface and inside the pore. All the $TiO_2$-covered silica samples showed improved MB adsorption abilities, comparing to bare one. In addition, when silica surface was covered with $TiO_2$ films, MB adsorption capacity was almost fully recovered by re-annealing process (500$^{\circ}C$, for 1 hr, in ambient pressure), whereas MB adsorption capacity of bare silica was decreased after re-heaing process. FT-IR study demonstrated that $TiO_2$ film could prevent deposition of surface-bound intermediate species during thermal decomposition of adsorbed MB molecules. Photocatalytic activity of $TiO_2$/silica sample was also investigated.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.270-276
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• 2008

$N_2$ doped $TiO_2$ nano-sized powder was prepared using a DC arc plasma jet and investigated with XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, and photo-catalytic decomposition. Recently the research interest about the nano-sized $TiO_2$ powder has been increased to improve its photo-catalytic activity for the removal of environmental pollutants. Nitrogen gas, reacting gas, and titanium tetrachloride ($TiCl_4$) were used as the raw materials and injected into the plasma reactor to synthesize the $N_2$ doped $TiO_2$ power. The particle size and XRD peaks of the synthesized powder were analyzed as a function of the flow rate of the nitrogen gas. Also, the characteristics of the photo-catalytic decomposition using the prepared powder were studied. For comparing the photo-catalytic decomposition performance of $TiO_2$ powder with that of $TiO_2$ coating, $TiO_2$ thin films were prepared by the spin coating and the pulsed laser deposition. For the results of the acetaldehyde decomposition, the photo-catalytic activity of $TiO_{2-x}N_x$ powder was higher than that of the pure $TiO_2$ powder in the visible light region. For the methylene blue decomposition, the decomposition efficiency of $TiO_2$ powder was also higher than that of $TiO_2$ film.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2002

CdS and $TiO_2$ nanoparticles were made by the precipitation method and sol-gel method, respectively, and they were mixed mechanically and then treated with the hydrothermal processing. CdS-$TiO_2$ composite particulate films were thus prepared by casting CdS-$TiO_2$ mixed sol onto $SnO_2$ conducting glass and a subsequent heat-treatment at $400^{\circ}C$. Again, the physico-chemical and photoelectrochemical properties of these films were controlled by the surface treatment with $TiCl_4$ aqueous solution. The photocurrents and the hydrogen production rates measured under the present experimental conditions varied in the range of $3.5{\sim}4.5mA/cm^2$ and $0.3{\sim}1.8cc/cm^2$-hr, respectively, and showed the maximum values at the $CdS/[CdS+TiO_2]$ mole ratio of 0.2. Also, the surface treatment with $TiCl_4$ aqueous solution caused a considerable improvement in the photocatalytic activity, Probably as a result of close contacts between the primary particles by the etching effect of $TiCl_4$ It was found that the photoelectrochemical performance of these particulate films could be effectively enhanced by this approach.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.634-641
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• 2004

The photocatalytic performance of $TiO_2$ thin films coated on porous alumina balls using various aqueous $TiOCl_2$ solutions as starting precursors, to which 1.0 $mol\%$ transition metal ($Ni^{2+},\;Cr^{3+},\;Fe^{3+},\;Nb^{3+},\;and\;V^{5+}$) chlorides had been already added, has been investigated, together with characterizations for $TiO_2$ sols synthesized simultaneously in the same autoclave through hydrothermal method. The synthesized $TiO_2$ sols were all formed with an anatase phase, and their particle size was between several nm and 30 nm showing ${\zeta}-potential$ of $-25{\sim}-35$ mV, being maintained stable for over 6 months. However, the $TiO_2$ sol added with Cr had a much lower value of -potential and larger particle sizes. The coated $TiO_2$ thin films had almost the same shape and size as those of the sol. The pure $TiO_2$ sol showed the highest optical absorption in the ultraviolet light region, and other $TiO_2$ sols containing $Cr^{3+},\;Fe^{3+}\;and\;Ni^{2+}$ showed higher optical absorption than pure sol in the visible light region. According to the experiments for removal of a gas-phase benzene, the pure $TiO_2$ film showed the highest photo dissociation rate in the ultraviolet light region, but in artificial sunlight the photo dissociation rate of $TiO_2$ coated films containing $Cr^{3+},\;Fe^{3+}\;and\;Ni^{2+}$ was measured higher together with the increase of optical absorption by doping.