• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.508-514
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• 2022

Piezoelectric composite films which are enabled by inorganic piezoelectric nanomaterials-embedded polymer, have attracted enormous attention as a sustainable power source for low powered electronics, because of their ease of fabrication and flexible nature. However, the absorption of applied stress by the soft polymeric matrices is a major issue that must be solved to expand the fields of piezoelectric composite applications. Herein, a flexible and porous piezoelectric composite (piezoelectric sponge) comprised of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane was developed using template method to enhance the energy conversion efficiency by minimizing the stress that vanishes into the polymer matrix. In the porous structure, effective stress transfer can occur between the piezoelectric active materials in compression mode due to direct contact between the ceramic particles embedded in the pore-polymer interface. The piezoelectric sponge with 30 wt% of BaTiO₃ particles generated an open-circuit voltage of ~12 V and a short-circuit current of ~150 nA. A finite element method-based simulation was conducted to theoretically back up that the piezoelectric output performance was effectively improved by introducing the sponge structure. Furthermore, to demonstrate the feasibility of pressure detecting applications using the BaTiO₃ particles-embedded piezoelectric sponge, the composite was arranged in a 3 × 3 array and integrated into a single pressure sensor. The fabricated sensor array successfully detected the shape of the applied pressure. This work can provide a cost-effective, biocompatible, and structural strategy for realizing piezoelectric composite-based energy harvesters and self-powered sensors with improved energy conversion efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.954-964
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• 1999

The effect of fabrication variables and microstructures on the compressive strength of open cell alumina zirconia and silicon nitride ceramics fabricated by polymeric sponge method was investigated. Bulk density and compressive strength of open cell ceramics were mainly affected by coating characteristics of ceramic slurry on polymeric sponge that controlled a shape thickness and defect of the struts. Sintering temperature was optimized for enhancement of strut strength and compressive strength of open cell ceramics. Relative density and compressive strength behaviors were relatively well matched with the predicted values. Open cell ceramics of lower relative density below 0.1 prepared by first relatively well matched with the predicted values. Open cell ceramics of lower relative density below 0.1 prepared by first coating of ceramic slurry had thin triangular prismatic struts that were often broken or longitudinally cracked. With an application of second coating of slurry shape of struts was transformed into thickner cylindrical one and defects in struts were healed but the relative density increased over 0.2 Open cell zirconia had both the highest bulk density and compressive strength and alumina had the lowest compressive strength while silicon nitrides showed relatively high compressive strength and the lowest density. Based upon the analysis open cell silicon nitride was expected to be one of potential structural ceramics with light weight.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2015

Ceramic foams are prepared as positive images corresponding to a plastic foam structure which exhibits high porosities (85-90%). This structure makes the ceramic foams attractive as a catalyst in a dry reforming process, because it could reduce a high pressure drop problem. This problem causes low mass and heat transfers in the process. Furthermore, the reactants would shortly contact to catalyst surface, thus low conversion could occur. Therefore, this research addressed the preparation of dry reforming catalysts using a sol-gel catalyst preparation via a polymeric sponge method. The specific objectives of this work are to investigate the effects of polymer foam structure (such as porosity, pore sizes, and cell characteristics) on a catalyst performance and to observe the influences of catalyst preparation parameters to yield a replica of the original structure of polymeric foam. To accomplish these objectives industrial waste foams, polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) foams, were used as a polymeric template. Results indicated that the porosity of the polyurethane and polyvinyl alcohol foams were about 99% and 97%. Their average cell sizes were approximate 200 and 50 micrometres, respectively. The cell characteristics of polymer foams exhibited the character of a high permeability material that can be able to dip with ceramic slurry, which was synthesized with various viscosities, during a catalyst preparation step. Next, morphology of ceramic foams was explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and catalyst properties, such as; temperature profile of catalyst reduction, metal dispersion, and surface area, were also characterized by $H_2-TPR$ and $H_2-TPD$ techniques, and BET, respectively. From the results, it was found that metal-particle dispersion was relatively high about 5.89%, whereas the surface area of ceramic foam catalysts was $64.52m^2/g$. Finally, the catalytic behaviour toward hydrogen production through the dry reforming of methane using a fixed-bed reactor was evaluated under certain operating conditions. The approaches from this research provide a direction for further improvement of marketable environmental friendly catalyst production.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.579-583
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• 2008

A porous $Al_2O_3$, scaffold coated with tricalcium phosphate(TCP) was fabricated by replica method using polyurethane(PU) foam as a fugitive material. Successive coatings of $Al_2O_3$ and hydroxyapatite(HAp) were applied via dip coating onto polyurethane foam, which has a slender and well interconnected network. A porous structure was obtained after sequentially burning out the foam and then sintering at $1500^{\circ}C$. The HAp phase was changed to TCP phase at high temperature. The scaffold showed excellent interconnected porosity with pore sizes ranging from $300{\sim}700{\mu}m$ in diameter. The inherent well interconnected structural feature of PU foam remained intact in the fabricated porous scaffold, where the PU foam material was entirely replaced by $Al_2O_3$ and TCP through a consecutive layering process. Thickness of the $Al_2O_3$ base and the TCP coating was about $7{\sim}10{\mu}m$ each. The TCP coating was homogeneously dispersed on the surface of the $Al_2O_3$ scaffold.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.865-871
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• 2016

In recent years, traditional scaffold fabrication techniques such as gas foaming, salt leaching, sponge replica, and freeze casting in tissue engineering have significantly limited sufficient mechanical property and cell interaction effect due to only random pores. Fused deposition modeling is the most apposite technology for fabricating the 3D scaffolds using the polymeric materials in tissue engineering application. In this study, 3D slurry mould was fabricated with a blended biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP)/Silica/Alginic acid sodium salt slurry in PCL mould and heated for two hours at $100^{\circ}C$ to harden the blended slurry. 3D dual-pore BCP/Silica scaffold, composed of macro pores interconnected with micro pores, was successfully fabricated by sintering at furnace of $1100^{\circ}C$. Surface morphology and 3D shape of dual-pore BCP/Silica scaffold from scanning electron microscopy were observed. Also, the mechanical properties of 3D BCP/Silica scaffold, according to blending ratio of alginic acid sodium salt, were evaluated through compression test.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.250-255
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• 2011

In this study, by using the polymeric membrane separation process, the $CO_{2}/CH_{4}$ separation and $H_{2}S$ removal from biogas were performed in order to $CH_{4}$ purification and enrichment for the fuel cell energy source application. Fibers were spun by dry/wet phase inversion method. The module was manufactured by fabricating fibers after surface coating with silicone elastomer. The scanning electron microscopy(SEM) studies showed that the produced fibers typically had an asymmetric structure; a dense top layer supported by a porous, sponge substructure. The permeance of $CO_{2}$ and $CO_{2}/CH_{4}$ selectivity increased with pressure and temperature. Mixture gas with increasing pressure and temperature, removal efficiency of the $CO_{2}$ and $H_{2}S$ were decreased while concentration of $CH_{4}$ was increased up to 100%. When retentate flow rate was increased with the decreasing of pressure and temperature the $CH_{4}$ recovery ratio in retentate side was increased while the $CH_{4}$ purity in retentate side was decreased.