• Clean Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.224-228
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• 2015

Phospholipase D (PLD) was immobilized on a submicro-porous membrane through covalent immobilization. The immobilization was conducted on the porous membrane surface with the treatment of polyethyleneimine, glutaraldehyde, and the anhydrase, in sequence. The immobilization was confirmed using X-ray photon spectrometer. The pH values of phosphatidylcholine (PC) dispersion solution with buffer were monitored with respect to time to calculate the catalytic activities of PC for free and immobilized PLD. The catalytic rate constant values for free PLD, immobilized PLD on polystyrene nanoparticles, and immobilized PLD on a porous cellulose acetate membrane were 0.75, 0.64, and 0.52 s^-1, respectively. Reusability was studied up to 10 cycles of PC hydrolysis. The activity for the PLD immobilized on the membrane was kept to 95% after 10 cycles, and comparable to the PLD on the nanoparticles. The stabilities for heat and storage were also investigated for the three cases. The results suggested that the PLD immobilized on the membrane had the least loss rate of the activity compared to the others. From these studies, the porous membrane was feasible as a carrier for the PLD immobilization in the production of phosphatidic acid.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.282-291
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• 2018

The pristine fluorine-doped $SnO_2$ (abbreviated as FTO) inverse opal (IO) was developed using a 410 nm polystyrene bead template. The nanolayered copper tungsten oxide ($CuWO_4$) was decorated on the FTO IO film using a facile electrochemical deposition, subsequently followed by annealing at $500^{\circ}C$ for 90 min. The morphologies, crystalline structure, optical properties and photoelectrochemical characteristics of the FTO and $CuWO_4$-decorated FTO (briefly denoted as $FTO/CuWO_4$) IO film were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, showing FTO IO in the hexagonally closed-pack arrangement with a pore diameter and wall thickness of about 300 nm and 20 nm, respectively. Above this film, the $CuWO_4$ was electrodeposited by controlling the cycling number in cyclic voltammetry, suggesting that the $CuWO_4$ formed during 4 cycles (abbreviated as $CuWO_4$(4 cycles)) on FTO IO film exhibited partial distribution of $CuWO_4$ nanoparticles. Additional distribution of $CuWO_4$ nanoparticles was observed in the case of $FTO/CuWO_4$(8 cycles) IO film. The $CuWO_4$ layer exhibits triclinic structure with an indirect band gap of approximately 2.5 eV and shows the enhanced visible light absorption. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) behavior was evaluated in the 0.5 M $Na_2SO_4$ solution under solar illumination, suggesting that the $FTO/CuWO_4$(4 cycles) IO films exhibit a photocurrent density ($J_{sc}$) of $0.42mA/cm^2$ at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE, denoted as $V_{RHE}$), while the FTO IO and $FTO/CuWO_4$(8 cycles) IO films exhibited a $J_{sc}$ of 0.14 and $0.24mA/cm^2$ at $1.23V_{RHE}$, respectively. This difference can be explained by the increased visible light absorption by the $CuWO_4$ layer and the favorable charge separation/transfer event in the cascading band alignment between FTO and $CuWO_4$ layer, enhancing the overall PEC performance.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.470-477
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• 2013

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) based nano-composite pastes having a high filler content are prepared for the facile fabrication of a counter electrode (CE) of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). A polystyrene-based functional block copolymer is prepared through a controlled "living" radical polymerization technique, affording a surface modifier for the dispersion control of MWCNT in the paste. Physical dispersion through a ball-milling method additionally confirms the importance of the dispersion control, providing DSSC with enhanced processibility and improved solar-to-electricity energy conversion efficiency (${\eta}$) values. The performances of the DSSCs are further improved through the incorporation of minor amount of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles into the MWCNT pastes. The DSSC with the Pt/MWCNT hybrid CE exhibits very high ${\eta}$ values, which is superior to that of DSSC with the standard Pt CE.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.205-209
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• 2016

The influence of titania nanorods with an average diameter of 10 nm and an average length of 30 nm on the electrohydrodynamic instability of block copolymer (polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine)) thin film was investigated in this article. The presence of titania nanorods increased the dielectric constant of the film, which resulted in a systematic reduction in the wavelength of the surface instability. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated that the migration/aggregation of titania nanorods did not occur as a result of the applied electric field. This work can provide a simple route to the pattern formation using electrohydrodynamic instability with an aid of nanoparticles.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.116-123
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• 2008

Proton conductive hybrid nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membranes comprising polystyrene-5-poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PHEMA), sulfosuccinic acid (SA) and phosphotungstic acid (PWA) were prepared by varying PWA concentrations. The PHEMA block was thermally crosslinked by SA via the esterification reaction between -OH of PHEMA and -COOH of SA. Upon the incorporation of PWA into the diblock copolymer, the symmetric stretching bands of the $SO_3^-$ group at $1187cm^{-1}$ shifted to a lower wavenumber at $1158cm^{-1}$, demonstrating that the PWA particles strongly interact with the sulfonic acid groups of SA. When the concentration of PWA was increased to 30wt%, the proton conductivity of the composite membrane at room temperature increased from 0.045 to 0.062 S/cm, presumably due to the intrinsic conductivity of the PWA particles and the enhanced acidity of the sulfonic acid in the membranes. The membrane containing 30wt% of PWA exhibited a proton conductivity of 0.126 S/cm at $100^{\circ}C$. Thermal stability of the composite membranes was also enhanced by introducing PWA nanoparticles.