• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2022

The recycling of coated cemented carbide scraps is becoming increasingly significant for the recovery of rare metals. However, coatings consisting of Group IV and V transition metal nitrides are one of the challenging factors in obtaining high-purity materials. We investigated the structural, elastic, and mechanical properties of Group IV and V transition-metal nitrides (TiN, VN, ZrN, NbN, HfN, and TaN) using first-principle calculations. Convergence tests were performed to obtain reliable calculated results. The equilibrium structures of the nitrides were in good agreement with those of a previous study, indicating the reliability of the data. Group IV transition metal nitrides show a higher covalent bonding nature. Thus, they exhibit a higher degree of brittleness than that of Group V transition metal nitrides. In contrast, Group V transition metal nitrides show weaker resistance to shear loading and more ductile behavior than Group IV transition metal nitrides because of the metallic bonds characterized by valence electron concentration. The results of the crystal orbital Hamilton population analysis showed good agreement with the shear resistance tendencies of all transition metal nitrides.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.263-269
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• 2015

It is necessary to investigate the electrodeposition behavior of uranium and other elements on the cathode in the electrorefining process to recover the uranium selectively from the reduced metals of the electrolytic reduction process since transuranic elements and rare earth elements is dissolved in the LiCl-KCl eutectic salt. Study on separation factors of U, Ce, Y and Nd based on U and Ce was performed to investigate the deposition behavior of the cathode with respect to the concentration of rare earth elements in LiCl-KCl eutectic salt. After electrorefining with constant current mode by using Ce metal as a sacrifice anode, the contents of U, Ce, Y and Nd in the salt phase and the deposit phase of the cathode were analyzed, and separation factors of the elements were obtained from the analyses. Securing conditions of pure uranium recovery in the elctrorefining process was investigated by considering the separation factors with respect to $UCl_3$ and $CeCl_3/UCl_3$ ratio.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.55-63
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• 2020

In order to investigate the separation of Co(II) and Ni(II) by ionic liquids from weak hydrochloric acid solutions, extraction experiments were performed by changing the type and concentration of ionic liquids and the initial pH of the aqueous phase. Two kinds of ionic liquids based on Aliquat 336 were employed in this work; one was synthesized by reacting organophosphorus acids(D2EHPA, PC88A, Cyanex 272, Cyanex 301) with Aliquat 336 and the other was prepared by exchanging the chloride ion of Aliquat 336 with SCN^-. The three types of ionic liquids (ALi-D2, ALi-PC, and ALi-CY272) showed better extraction of Co(II) than Ni(II), and the equilibrium pH was higher than the initial pH. In the case of ALi-CY301, the selectivity of Co(II) and Ni(II) depended on the extraction conditions. In addition, the effect of the addition of TBP to the ionic liquid on the extraction of two metals was also investigated. Employment of ALi-SCN as an extractant resulted in selective extraction of Co(II) and complete separation of the two metal ions was possible.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.207-207
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• 2011

Amorphous transparent oxide semiconductors (a-TOS) have been widely studied for many optoelectronic devices such as AM-OLED (active-matrix organic light emitting diodes). Recently, Nomura et al. demonstrated high performance amorphous IGZO (In-Ga-Zn-O) TFTs.1 Despite the amorphous structure, due to the conduction band minimum (CBM) that made of spherically extended s-orbitals of the constituent metals, an a-IGZO TFT shows high mobility.2,3 But IGZO films contain high cost rare metals. Therefore, we need to investigate the alternatives. Because Aluminum has a high bond enthalpy with oxygen atom and Alumina has a high lattice energy, we try to replace Gallium with Aluminum that is high reserve low cost material. In this study, we focused on the electrical properties of IZO:Al thin films as a channel layer of TFTs. IZO:Al were deposited on unheated non-alkali glass substrates (5 cm ${\times}$ 5 cm) by magnetron co-sputtering system with two cathodes equipped with IZO target and Al target, respectively. The sintered ceramic IZO disc (3 inch ${\phi}$, 5 mm t) and metal Al target (3 inch ${\phi}$, 5 mm t) are used for deposition. The O2 gas was used as the reactive gas to control carrier concentration and mobility. Deposition was carried out under various sputtering conditions to investigate the effect of sputtering process on the characteristics of IZO:Al thin films. Correlation between sputtering factors and electronic properties of the film will be discussed in detail.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 2013

$Cu_2ZnSn(S,Se)_4$ material is receiving an increased amount of attention for solar cell applications as an absorber layer because it consists of inexpensive and abundant materials (Zn and Sn) instead of the expensive and rare materials (In and Ga) in $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ solar cells. We were able to achieve a cell conversion efficiency to 4.7% by the selenization of a stacked metal precursor with the Cu/(Zn + Sn)/Mo/glass structure. However, the selenization of the metal precursor results in large voids at the absorber/Mo interface because metals diffuse out through the top CZTSe layer. To avoid the voids at the absorber/Mo interface, binary selenide compounds of ZnSe and $SnSe_2$ were employed as a precursor instead of Zn and Sn metals. It was found that the precursor with Cu/$SnSe_2$/ZnSe stack provided a uniform film with larger grains compared to that with $Cu_2Se/SnSe_2$/ZnSe stack. Also, voids were not observed at the $Cu_2ZnSnSe_4$/Mo interface. A severe loss of Sn was observed after a high-temperature annealing process, suggesting that selenization in this case should be performed in a closed system with a uniform temperature in a $SnSe_2$ environment. However, in the experiments, Cu top-layer stack had more of an effect on reducing Sn loss compared to $Cu_2Se$ top-layer stack.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.11-26
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• 2010

In order to review the recycling status of urban mine resources in Japan, metal consumption, metal recycling rate and metal recycling industry such as iron scrap, end of life vehiclcs(ELV), waste home appliances and spent IT equipments were surveyed. Japan took rank of top class in the world on the metal consumption and urban mine stock reserve. Metal recycling industries in Japan have been developed through excellent technologies for mineral processing and non-ferrous smelting. On the other hand, the technologies for recycling of rare metals are being developed now. Recycling rate of EL V, waste home appliances and personal computer are higher than the guidelines of the legislative standard.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.76-82
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• 2021

The separation of palladium from crude metal, which is obtained from electronic waste using pyrometallurgy was achieved through electrolysis. This was done to recover high-purity copper. The oxidation potentials of these metals are a fundamental part of the analysis of electrolytic separation of palladium and impurity metals. To achieve this, copper, iron, and nickel were dissolved in the electrolyte, and palladium and aluminum were found to be recoverable from anode slime. During the electrolysis for palladium separation, palladium was present in the anode slime and was obtained with a recovery of 97.46 % indicating almost no loss. 4N-grade copper was recovered from the electrodeposition layer at the cathode.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.59-66
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• 2022

To investigate the rate-determining step of nickel, cobalt and copper electrowinning, experiments were conducted by varying the electrolyte temperature and agitation speed using a rotating disc electrode. Analyzing the rate-determining step by calculating the activation energy in the electrowinning process, it was found that nickel electrowinning is controlled by a mixed mechanism (partly by chemical reaction and partly by mass transport), cobalt is controlled by chemical reaction, and copper is controlled by mass transfer. Electrowinning of nickel, cobalt and copper was performed by varying the electrolyte temperature and agitation speed, and the comparison of the current efficiencies was used the determine the rate-determining step.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.440-445
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• 2019

It has developed a method that can recover efficiently the reproducible resources from the vehicle waste lithium second battery module. Module cell consists of copper thin film, aluminum thin film and diaphragm made with polymer between these thin films. Cell was disassembled completely without any damage in glove box and through several steps. Preferentially, cathode active material was separated from aluminum thin film at heat treatment of 400 ℃. The retrieved cathode active material was then obtained as high purity after calcining at 800 ℃ to remove residual carbon. Based on this study, it was found that rare metals such as Co, Ni, Mn and Li made up of cathode active material could recover above 80% from aluminum thin film.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.444-449
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• 2011

Nano-sized $Y_2O_3$ powders were prepared via a sol-gel method starting with $Y(NO_3)_3{\cdot}6H_2O$ (Yttrium(III) nitrate hexahydrate) and water with ethanol as a cosolvent. $Y_2O_3$ is an important rare earth oxide and has been considered for use in nuclear applications, such as ceramic materials, due to its excellent optical and refractory characteristics. It has been used as a chemically stable substrate, a crucible material for melting reactive metals, and a nozzle material for jet casting molten rare earth-iron magnetic alloys. Oxalic acid ($C_2H_2O_4$) has been adopted as a chelating agent in order to control the rate of hydrolysis and polycondensation, and ammonia was added in order to adjust the base condition. The synthesized $Y_2O_3$ powder was characterized using TG/DTA, XRD, FE-SEM, BET and Impedance Analyzer analyses. The powder changed its properties in accordance with the pH conditions of the catalyst. As the pH increases according to the FE-SEM, the grain grew and it showed that the pore size decreased while confirming the effect of the grain size. The nano-material $Y_2O_3$ powders demonstrated that the surface area was improved with the addition of oxalic acid with ammonium hydroxide.