• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2019

Recent industrialization has led to a high demand for the use of fossil fuels. Therefore, the need for producing hydrogen and its utilization is essential for a sustainable society. For an eco-friendly future technology, photoelectrochemical water splitting using solar energy has proven promising amongst many other candidates. With this technique, semiconductors can be used as photocatalysts to generate electrons by light absorption, resulting in the reduction of hydrogen ions. The photocatalysts must be chemically stable, economically inexpensive and be able to utilize a wide range of light. From this perspective, cuprous oxide($Cu_2O$) is a promising p-type semiconductor because of its appropriate band gap. However, a major hindrance to the use of $Cu_2O$ is its instability at the potential in which hydrogen ion is reduced. In this study, gold is used as a bottom electrode during electrodeposition to obtain a preferential growth along the (111) plane of $Cu_2O$ while imperfections of the $Cu_2O$ thin films are removed. This study investigates the photoelectrochemical properties of $Cu_2O$. However, severe photo-induced corrosion impedes the use of $Cu_2O$ as a photoelectrode. Two candidates, $TiO_2$ and $SnO_2$, are selected for the passivation layer on $Cu_2O$ by by considering the Pourbaix-diagram. $TiO_2$ and $SnO_2$ passivation layers are deposited by atomic layer deposition(ALD) and a sputtering process, respectively. The investigation of the photoelectrochemical properties confirmed that $SnO_2$ is a good passivation layer for $Cu_2O$.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.35
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• pp.59-65
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• 2015

As the fossil fuels are depleted nowadays, development of alternative energies is absolutely required in the world. Efficient production of hydrogen by water-splitting using solar energy can be one of the methods to solve the global energy and environmental problems. But this method has a problem of low conversion efficiency. The application of graphene can be one method to help increase the conversion efficiency. For this reason, mass production of high quality graphene is required. In this study, we prepared graphene using the chemical exfoliation method. We applied the Hummer's method and Tour's method to oxidize the graphite and could get the different Graphene Oxide(GO) from different process conditions. We also tried to convert the GO to graphene by thermal reduction and could remove functional group of GO effectively. The control of oxidation conditions was quite important to obtain the high quality graphene.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.2185-2189
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• 2010

Closely arranged CdSe and Zn doped CdSe vertical nanorod bundles were grown directly on FTO coated glass by using electrodeposition method. Structural analysis by XRD showed the hexagonal phase without any precipitates related to Zn. FE-SEM image showed end capped vertically aligned nanorods arranged closely. From the UV-vis transmittance spectra, band gap energy was found to vary between 1.94 and 1.98 eV due to the incorporation of Zn. Solar cell parameters were obtained by assembling photoelectrochemical cells using CdSe and CdSe:Zn photoanodes, Pt cathode and polysulfide (1M $Na_2S$ + 1M S + 1M NaOH) electrolyte. The efficiency was found to increase from 0.16 to 0.22 upon Zn doping. Electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) indicate that the charge-transfer resistance on the FTO/CdSe/polysulfide interface was greater than on FTO/CdSe:Zn/polysulfide. Cyclic voltammetry results also indicate that the FTO/CdSe:Zn/polysulfide showed higher activity towards polysulfide redox reaction than that of FTO/CdSe/polysulfide.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.377-389
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• 2022

The current global energy supply depends heavily on fossil fuels. This makes technology such as direct water splitting from harvesting solar energy in photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems potentially attractive due to its a promising route for environmentally benign hydrogen production. In this study, undoped and nickel-doped molybdenum oxide photoanodes (called photoanodes S₁ and S₂ respectively) were synthesized through electrodeposition by applying -1.377 V vs Ag/AgCl (3 M KCl) for 3 hours on an FTO-coated glass substrate immersed in molibdatecitrate aqueous solutions at pH 9. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used for microstructural and compositional characterizations of the photoanodes. In addition, the optical and photoelectrochemical characterizations of these photoanodes were performed by UV-Visible spectroscopy, and linear scanning voltammetry (LSV) respectively. The results showed that all the photoanodes produced exhibit conductivity and catalytic properties that make them attractive for water splitting application in a photoelectrochemical cell. In this context, the photoanode S₂ exhibited better photocatalytic activity than the photoanode S₁. In addition, photoanode S₂ had the lowest optical band-gap energy value (2.58 eV), which would allow better utilization of the solar spectrum.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.217-222
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• 2021

Although monolayer black phosphorus (BP) and few-layer BP nanosheets (NSs) have been extensively studied as promising alternatives to graphene, research has focused primarily on atomically thin-layered BP in an isolated form. In order to realize the practical applications of BP-related devices, a BP film based on continuous networking of few-layer BP NSs should be developed. In this study, a transparent BP film with high quality was fabricated via a vacuum filtration method. An oxygen-free water solvent was used as an exfoliation medium to avoid significant oxidation of the few-layer BP NSs in liquid-phase exfoliation. The exfoliation efficiency from bulk BP to the few-layer BP NSs was estimated at 22%, which is highly efficient for the production of continuous BP film. The characteristics of the high-quality BP film were determined as 98% transparency, minimum oxidation of 18%, structural stability, and an appropriate bandgap of about 1.8 eV as a semiconductor layer. In order to demonstrate the potential of the BP film for photocatalytic activity, we performed photoelectrochemical water oxidation of the transparent BP film. Although its performance should be improved for practical applications, the BP film could function as a photoanode, which offers a new potential semiconductor in water oxidation. We believe that if the BP film is adequately engineered with other catalysts the photocatalytic activity of the BP film will be improved.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.417-417
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• 2016

Global environmental deterioration has become more serious year by year and thus scientific interests in the renewable energy as environmental technology and replacement of fossil fuels have grown exponentially. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell consisting of semiconductor photoelectrodes that can harvest light and use this energy directly to split water, also known as photoelectrolysis or solar water splitting, is a promising renewable energy technology to produce hydrogen for uses in the future hydrogen economy. A major advantage of PEC systems is that they involve relatively simple processes steps as compared to many other H2 production systems. Until now, a number of materials including TiO2, WO3, Fe2O3, and BiVO4 were exploited as the photoelectrode. However, the PEC performance of these single absorber materials is limited due to their large charge recombinations in bulk, interface and surface, leading low charge separation/transport efficiencies. Recently, coupling of two materials, e.g., BiVO4/WO3, Fe2O3/WO3 and CuWO4/WO3, to form a type II heterojunction has been demonstrated to be a viable means to improve the PEC performance by enhancing the charge separation and transport efficiencies. In this study, we have prepared a triple-layer heterojunction BiVO4/WO3/SnO2 photoelectrode that shows a comparable PEC performance with previously reported best-performing nanostructured BiVO4/WO3 heterojunction photoelectrode via a facile solution method. Interestingly, we found that the incorporation of SnO2 nanoparticles layer in between WO3 and FTO largely promotes electron transport and thus minimizes interfacial recombination. The impact of the SnO2 interfacial layer was investigated in detail by TEM, hall measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. In addition, our planar-structured triple-layer photoelectrode shows a relatively high transmittance due to its low thickness (~300 nm), which benefits to couple with a solar cell to form a tandem PEC device. The overall PEC performance, especially the photocurrent onset potential (Vonset), were further improved by a reactive-ion etching (RIE) surface etching and electrocatalyst (CoOx) deposition.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.203-214
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• 2017

In this study we present the reaction mechanism of $Cu_2ZnSnSe_4$ (CZTSe) nanoparticles synthesized by microwave-assisted chemical synthesis. We performed reactions every 10 minutes in order to identify different phases during quaternary CZTSe formation. The powder samples were analyzed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that in the first minutes copper phases are predominant, then copper and tin secondary phases react to form ternary phase. The quaternary phase is formed at 50 minutes while ternary and secondary phases are consumed. At 60 minutes pure quaternary CZTSe phase is present. After 60 minutes the quaternary phase decomposes in the previous ternary and secondary phases, which indicates that 60 minutes is ideal reaction time. The EDS analysis of pure quaternary nanocrystals (CZTSe) showed stoichiometric relations similar to the reported research in the literature, which falls in the range of Cu/(Zn+Sn): 0.8-1.0, Zn/Sn: 1.0-1.20. In conclusion, the evolution pathway of CZTSe synthesized by this novel method is similar to other synthesis methods reported before. Nanoparticles synthesized in this study present desirable properties in order to use them in solar cell and photoelectrochemical cell applications.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.677-679
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• 2005

최근 나노입자를 이용하는 광전 화학전지(PEC, Photoelectrochemical)인 염료감응형 태양전지(DSC)의 효율이 증가함에 따라 DSC 태양광 발전 시스템의 성능 개선 또한 요구되어진다. 본 연구에서는 Fly-Back DC-DC 컨버터(변화비율1:10)를 이용하여 DSC셀의 전압을 DC 300V로 승압시켰다. 또한 풀브릿지 인버터를 사용하여 AC 220V, 60Hz의 출력전압을 얻었다. 연구에서 제안한 회로는 높은 효율의 동작특성과 간단한 제작, 낮은 제조비용, 그리고 안정성을 추구한다. 또 다른 주요점은 부하단에서 Feed back을 받아 동작을 컨트롤하는 것이다. 부하단의 출력 전압과 전류를 Feed back 받아서 DSP320LF2406을 A/D기능을 사용하여 실시간으로 부하의 변화에 대처하여 컨버터와 인버터의 동작을 제어한다.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.20-28
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• 1998

Fluorimetric and absorption spectroscopic studies were performed to elucidate the photocurrent decay with time in the conversion process of solar energy into electrical energy using a photoelectrochemical cell containing rose bengal as a sensitizer, and allylthiourea as a supersensitizer. Spectra of dye solution before and after irradiation revealed a new photocatalytic dimerization reaction between sensitizer and supersensitizer. It was also found that the geometrical arrangement of the transition dipoles is oblique in the dimer of dye molecules.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.101-101
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• 2015

Photoelectrochemical water splitting is considered as a promising method of transforming solar energy into chemical energy stored in the type of hydrogen. An n-type $WO_3$ semiconductor is one of the most promising photoanodes for hydrogen production from water splitting. Films annealed at lower temperatures consisted of amorphous, whereas films annealed above $500^{\circ}C$ comprised solely of monoclinic $WO_3$. In this study, we observed photoactivity of $WO_3$ as increasing thickness of $WO_3$. And it shows good photoacivity as thickness increases. Also we tried to improve photoactivity through surface modification and bulk modification by using hydrogen treatment and conducting polymer. The photocurrent was measured in potentiostatic method with the three electrode system. A Pt wire and Ag / AgCl electrode were used as the counter electrode and the reference electrode, respectively. photocurrent-time (I-T) curve was measured at a bias potential of 0.79 V.