• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.194-199
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• 2016

We prepared polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) beads with a particle size of 80 nm to improve the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) by increasing the effective surface area and the dye absorption ability of the working electrodes (WEs) in a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). We prepared the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA beads of 0.0~1.0 wt%; then, finally, a DSSC with $0.45cm^2$ active area was obtained. Optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA. UV-VIS-NIR was used to determine the optical absorbance of the WEs with PMMA. A solar simulator and a potentiostat were used to determine the photovoltaic properties of the PMMA-added DSSC. Analysis of the microstructure showed that pores of 200 nm were formed by the decomposition of PMMA. Also, root mean square values linearly increased as more PMMA was added. The absorbance in the visible light regime was found to increase as the degree of PMMA dispersion increased. The ECE increased from 4.91% to 5.35% when the amount of PMMA beads added was increased from 0.0 to 0.4 wt%. However, the ECE decreased when more than 0.6 wt% of PMMA was added. Thus, adding a proper amount of PMMA to the $TiO_2$ layer was determined to be an effective method for improving the ECE of a DSSC.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.761-769
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• 2007

The configuration of the flow channel on a bipolar plate of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) for efficient reactant supply has great influence on the performance of the fuel cell. Recent demand for higher energy density fuel cells requires an increase in current density at mid voltage range and a decrease in concentration overvoltage at high current density. Therefore, an interdigitated flow channel where mass transfer rate by convection through a gas diffusion layer is greater than the mass transfer by a diffusion mechanism through a gas diffusion layer was recently proposed. This study attempts to analyze the i-V performance, mass transfer and pressure drop in interdigitated flow channels by developing a fully three dimensional simulation model for PEMFC that can deal with anode and cathode flow together. The results indicate that the trade off between performance and pressure loss should be considered for efficient design of flow channels. Although the performance of the fuel cell with interdigitated flow is better than that with conventional flow channels due to a strong mass transfer rate by convection across a gas diffusion layer, there is also an increase in friction due to the strong convection through the porous diffusion layer accompanied by a larger pressure drop along the flow channel. It was evident that the proper selection of the ratio of channel and rib width under counter flow conditions in the fuel cell with interdigitated flow are necessary to optimize the interdigitated flow field design.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.469-475
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• 2013

Al-doped ZnO(AZO) thin films were synthesized using atomid layer deposition(ALD), which acurately controlled the uniform film thickness of the AZO thin films. To investigate the electrical and optical properites of the AZO thin films, AZO films using ALD was controlled to be three different thicknesses (50 nm, 100 nm, and 150 nm). The structural, chemical, electrical, and optical properties of the AZO thin films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emssion scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Hall measurement system, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. As the thickness of the AZO thin films increased, the crystallinity of the AZO thin films gradually increased, and the surface morphology of the AZO thin films were transformed from a porous structure to a dense structure. The average surface roughnesses of the samples using atomic force microscopy were ~3.01 nm, ~2.89 nm, and ~2.44 nm, respectively. As the thickness of the AZO filmsincreased, the surface roughness decreased gradually. These results affect the electrical and optical properties of AZO thin films. Therefore, the thickest AZO thin films with 150 nm exhibited excellent resistivity (${\sim}7.00{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$), high transmittance (~83.2 %), and the best FOM ($5.71{\times}10^{-3}{\Omega}^{-1}$). AZO thin films fabricated using ALD may be used as a promising cadidate of TCO materials for optoelectronic applications.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.257-264
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• 2017

Film of new Ti-15Zr-5Nb alloy formed during galvanic anodizing in orthophosphoric acid solution was characterized by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman micro-spectroscopy. Its anticorrosive properties were determined by electrochemical techniques. The film had a layer with nanotube-like porosity with diameters in 500-1000 nm range. The nano layer contained significant amounts of P and O as well as alloying element. Additionally, Raman micro-spectroscopy identified oxygen as oxygen ion in $TiO_2$ anatase and phosphorous as $P_2O_7{^{4-}}$ ion in phosphotitanate compound. All potentiodynamic polarization curves in artificial Carter-Brugirard saliva with pH values (pH= 3.96, 7.84, and 9.11) depending on the addition of 0.05M NaF revealed nobler behavior of anodized alloy and higher polarization resistance indicating the film is thicker and more compact nanolayer. Lower corrosion rates of the anodized alloy reduced toxicity due to less released ions into saliva. Bigger curvature radii in Nyquist plot and higher phase angle in Bode plot for the anodized alloy ascertain a thicker, more protective, insulating nanolayer existing on the anodized alloy. Additionally, ESI results indicate anodized film consists of an inner, compact, barrier, layer and an outer, less protective, porous layer.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.45-49
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• 2020

Molybdenum (Mo) thin films are widely used as back contact in copper indium diselenide (CISe) solar cells. However, despite this, there are only few published studies on the properties of Mo and characteristics of CISe solar cells formed on such Mo substrates. In this studies, we investigated the properties of sputter deposited Mo bilayer, and fabricated non-vacuum CISe solar cells using bilayer Mo substrates. The changes in surface morphology and electrical resistivity were traced by varying the gas pressure during deposition of the bottom Mo layer. In porous surface structure, it was confirmed that the electrical resistivity of Mo bilayer was increased as the amount of oxygen bonded to the Mo atoms increased. The resulting solar cell characteristics vary as the bottom Mo layer deposition pressure, and the maximum solar cell efficiency was achieved when the bottom layer was deposited at 7 mTorr with a thickness of 100 nm and the top layer deposited at 3 mTorr with a thickness of 400 nm.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.68
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• pp.229-237
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• 2018

Medical silicone tubes are generally used as implants for the treatment of nasolacrimal duct stenosis. However, side effects such as allergic reactions and bacterial infections have been reported following the silicone tube insertion, which cause surgical failure. These drawbacks can be overcome by modifying the silicone tube surface using a functional coating. Here, we report a biocompatible and superhydrophilic surface coating based on a polysaccharide multilayer nanofilm, which can load and release antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agents. The nanofilm is composed of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and chitosan (CHI), and fabricated by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. The LbL-assembled CMC/CHI multilayer films exhibited superhydrophilic properties, owing to the rough and porous structure obtained by a crosslinking process. The surface coated with the superhydrophilic CMC/CHI multilayer film initially exhibited antibacterial activity by preventing the adhesion of bacteria, followed by further enhanced antibacterial effects upon releasing the loaded antibacterial agent. In addition, inflammatory cytokine assays demonstrated the ability of the coating to deliver anti-inflammatory agents. The versatile nanocoating endows the surface with anti-adhesion and drug-delivery capabilities, with potential applications in the biomedical field. Therefore, we attempted to coat the nanofilm on the surface of an ophthalmic silicone tube to produce a multifunctional tube suitable for patient-specific treatment.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.38-46
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• 2022

Two different gas diffusion layers having noticeable differences in micro-porous layer's (MPL's) crack were studied as a substrate for the gas diffusion electrode (GDE) with different binder/carbon (B/C) ratios in high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell (Ht-PEMFC). As a result, the performance defined as the voltage at 0.2 A/cm² and maximum power density from the single cells using GDEs from H23 C2 and SGL38 BC with different B/C ratios were compared. GDEs from H23 C2 showed a proportional increase of the voltage with the binder content on the other hand GDEs from SGL38 BC displayed a proportional decline of the voltage to the binder content. It was revealed that MPL crack influences the structure of catalyst layer in GDEs as well as affects the RC_athode which is in close connection with the Ht-PEMFC performance.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.383-389
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• 2023

A high-performance forward osmosis (FO) membrane was prepared using polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel as a support layer. Through the UV-induced polymerization and subsequent phase separation of PEGDA, the crosslinked, hydrophilic, and porous PEGDA suppor layer was obtained. To achieve high FO flux and salt selectivity using the fabricated PEGDA support, a selective layer was synthesized via the toluene-assisted interfacial polymerization (TIP), in which toluene is used as an organic solvent. The prepared PEGDA-based FO membrane showed higher FO water flux and lower salt selectivity compared with commercial HTI membranes using 1.0 M NaCl draw solution and DI water feed solution. We propose the strategy to fabricate high-performance FO membranes utilizing supports formed with new hydrophilic materials and fabrication processes.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.276-285
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• 2012

The objective of this research is to develop the coating technique by a porous self-fluxing alloy for improving the mechanical properties of run-out table roller surface with the hot rolling. To enhance the durability of run-out table roller with the hot rolling, the high hardness of roller surface should be maintained at high temperatures, and the improvement of wear resistance, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, burn resistance and adhesion resistance should be maintained. In order to be able to transport reliably a hot rolled steel sheet, also, the appropriate friction coefficient on the roller surface should be maintained and the slip between roller and steel should not occur. In this study, the wear resistance of roller increases after the self-fluxing alloy is changed to a cermet by adding the tungsten carbide(WC), and the coefficient of friction increases and the ability of grip is improved because the porosities are made by coating with fine iron powder on the roller surface. As a result, it is found that the ability of grip between the steel and the roller coated by a porous self-fluxing alloy contained to 5 ~ 10 wt% of Fe in the coating layer is improved compared to the roller coated by Ni-Cr. This is because the porosities are made after Fe contained in the roller is partially alloyed by heating with a furnace in the fusing process and the rest is eliminated by oxidation and dissolution.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 1999.07d
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• pp.1547-1549
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• 1999

As a preliminary experiment for the development of anode-supported tubular cell with proper porosity, we have investigated the anode substrate and the electrolyte-coated anode tube. The anode substrate was manufactured as a function of carbon content in the range of 20 to 50 vol.%. As the caron content increased, the porosity of the anode substrate increased slightly and the carbon content with proper porosity was obtained at 30 vol.%. The anode tube was fabricated by extrusion process and the electrolyte layer was coated on the anode tube by slurry dipping process. The anode-supported tube was cofired successfully. Their sintered property and microstructure were examined and the porosity of the anode tube was 35%. From the gas permeation test, the anode tube was found to be porous enough for gas supply. On the other hand, the anode-supported tube with electrolyte layer indicated a very low gas permeation rate. This means that the coated electrolyte was dense. Based upon these experimental results. we will fabricate and test the anode-supported tubular cell.