• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.137-146
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• 2011

Vertically well-aligned ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays were synthesized directly on GaN/sapphire and Si substrate from Zn vapor deposition without catalysts. Experimental results showed that the number density, diameter, crystallinity and degree of the alignment of ZnO NWs depended strongly on both the substrate position and kind of the substrates used for the growth. The photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of the grown ZnO NW arrays exhibit a strong and sharp ultraviolet (UV) emission at 379 nm and a broad weak emission in the visible range, indicating that the obtained ZnO NWs have a high crystal quality with excellent optical properties. The as-grown ZnO NWs were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HR-TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.23-27
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• 2017

A series of $CeO_2-TiO_2$ composite samples with different Ce/Ti molar ratios were prepared by the paper template. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to confirm a face-centered cubic lattice of $CeO_2$ with Ce/Ti =8:2 or 9:1 and a two phase mixture of anatase titania and face-centered cubic ceria with Ce/Ti = 7 : 3. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) results suggest that the products are micron braid structures consisting of fibers with diameters in a range of $1-6{\mu}m$ and lengths of several hundred micrometers. $N_2$ absorption-desorption testing shows that the composite at Ce/Ti molar fraction of 8 : 2 has the largest BET surface area (about $81m^2{\cdot}g^{-1}$). Compared to the pure $CeO_2$ sample, the composites show superior catalytic activity for $H_2$ reduction and CO oxidation. For the micron braid structure $CeO_2-TiO_2$ composite (Ce/Ti = 8 : 2), due to the high surface area and the solid solution with appropriate $Ti^{4+}$ incorporation, the CO conversion at about $280^{\circ}C$ was above 50% and at $400^{\circ}C$ was 100%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.231-231
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• 2010

Thermoelectric properties of a multi-layered thin film, which was composed with indium selenide and bismuth telluride, were investigated. The structure of the layered thin film is Bi-Te /In-Se/Bi-Te and it was prepared on sapphire substrate by RF magnetron sputter using stoichiometric $Bi_2Te_3$ (99.9%) and $In_2Se_3$(99.99%) target at room temperature. Then, it was annealed at temperature range of 150 - $500^{\circ}C$ in Ar ambient. Structural characterizations were done using X-ray diffraction(XRD, BRUKER, D8, 60kW) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM, FEI, Tecnai, F30 S-Twin), respectively. Cross-section of multi-layer structure was observed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The resistivity and Seebeck coefficient of these samples were also measured by conventional equipment at room temperature. The maximum value of power factor was $1.16\;{\mu}W/k^2m$ at annealing temperature of $400^{\circ}C$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.2004-2008
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• 2014

This paper reports the facile synthesis methods of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, Z1-Z10, using diethylene glycol (DEG) and polyethylene glycol (PEG400). The particle size and morphology were correlated with the PEG concentration and reaction time. With 0.75 mL of PEG400 in 150 mL of DEG and a 20 h reaction time, the ZnO nanoparticles began to disperse from a collective spherical grain shape. The ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and a $N_2$ adsorption-desorption studies. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas of Z4, Z5 and Z10 were 157.083, 141.559 and 233.249 $m^2/g$, respectively. The observed pore diameters of Z4, Z5 and Z10 were 63.4, 42.0 and 134.0 ${\AA}$, respectively. The pore volumes of Z4, Z5 and Z10 were 0.249, 0.148 and 0.781 $cm^3/g$, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles was evaluated by methylene blue (MB) degradation, and the activity showed a good correlation with the $N_2$ adsorption-desorption data.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3576-3582
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• 2014

Zeolite-templated carbons (ZTCs), which have high specific surface area, were prepared by a conventional templating method using microporous zeolite-Y for catalyst supports in direct methanol fuel cells. The ZTCs were synthesized at different temperatures to investigate the characteristics of the surface produced and their electrochemical properties. Thereafter, Pt-Ru was deposited at different carbonization temperatures by a chemical reduction method. The crystalline and structural features were investigated using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The textural properties of the ZTCs were investigated by analyzing $N_2$/77 K adsorption isotherms using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equation, while the micro- and meso-pore size distributions were analyzed using the Barrett-Joyner-Halenda and Harvarth-Kawazoe methods, respectively. The surface morphology was characterized using transmission electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The electrochemical properties of the Pt-Ru/ZTCs catalysts were also analyzed by cyclic voltammetry measurements. From the results, the ZTCs carbonized at $900^{\circ}C$ show the highest specific surface areas. In addition, ZTC900-PR led to uniform dispersion of Pt-Ru on the ZTCs, which enhanced the electro-catalytic activity of the Pt-Ru catalysts. The particle size of ZTC900-PR catalyst is about 3.4 nm, also peak current density from the CV plot is $12.5mA/cm^2$. Therefore, electro-catalytic activity of the ZTC900-PR catalyst is higher than those of ZTC1000-PR catalyst.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.3553-3558
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• 2014

The reduced graphene oxide(rGO)/aluminum phosphate($AlPO_4$)-coated $LiMn_{1.5}Ni_{0.5}O_4$ (LMNO) cathode material has been developed by hydroxide precursor method for LMNO and by a facile solution based process for the coating with GO/$AlPO_4$ on the surface of LMNO, followed by annealing process. The amount of $AlPO_4$ has been varied from 0.5 wt % to 1.0 wt %, while the amount of rGO is maintained at 1.0 wt %. The samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The rGO/$AlPO_4$-coated LMNO electrodes exhibit better cyclic performance compared to that of pristine LMNO electrode. Specifically, rGO(1%)/$AlPO_4$(0.5%)- and rGO(1%)/$AlPO_4$(1%)-coated electrodes deliver a discharge capacity of, respectively, $123mAhg^{-1}$ and $122mAhg^{-1}$ at C/6 rate, with a capacity retention of, respectively, 96% and 98% at 100 cycles. Furthermore, the surface-modified LMNO electrodes demonstrate higher-rate capability. The rGO(1%)/$AlPO_4$(0.5%)-coated LMNO electrode shows the highest rate performance demonstrating a capacity retention of 91% at 10 C rate. The enhanced electrochemical performance can be attributed to (1) the suppression of the direct contact of electrode surface with the electrolyte, resulting in side reactions with the electrolyte due to the high cut-off voltage, and (2) smaller surface resistance and charge transfer resistance, which is confirmed by total polarization resistance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.65-69
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• 2009

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were coated with undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) or 5 wt% gallium-incorporated ZnO (GZO) using various deposition conditions. The CNTs were directly grown on conical-type tungsten substrates at $700^{\circ}C$ using inductively coupled plasma-chemical vapor deposition. The pulsed laser deposition technique was used to deposit the ZnO and GZO thin films with very low stress. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to monitor the variations in the morphology and microstructure of CNTs prior to and after ZnO or GZO coating. The formation of ZnO and GZO films on CNTs was confirmed using energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. In comparison to the as-grown (uncoated) CNT emitter, the CNT emitter that was coated with a thin (10 nm) GZO film showed remarkably improved field emission characteristics, such as the emission current of $325\;{\mu}A$ at 1 kV and the threshold field of $1.96\;V/{\mu}m$ at $0.1\;{\mu}A$, and it also exhibited the highly stable operation of emission current up to 40 h.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 2013

Carbon materials are mainly used as catalyst supports for polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Catalyst supports are required specific characteristics of the carbon materials, such as large surface area and high electrical conductivity. Attempted were to improve electrical conductivity and to maintain high surface area of carbon materials using a microwave treatment. Microwave treatment, as a relatively new technique, takes short reaction time and reduce the consumption of the gases used for carbon treatment compared to a traditional heat treatment. Hybrid carbon (ACF/Graphene) as catalyst supports by microwave-irradiation method for PEMFC increase the cell performance because of increased electrical conductivity resulting in triple-phase contact and reduced the interfacial resistance. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were employed to analyze carbon materials. The performance of microwave-treated carbon materials was evaluated by measuring current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and electrode impedance.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.141-153
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• 2013

Nanocrystalline Barium niobate ($BaNbO_3$) has been synthesized by a novel auto-igniting combustion technique. The X-Ray diffraction studies reveals that $BaNbO_3$ posses a cubic structure with lattice constant $a=4.071{\AA}$. Phase purity and structure of the nano powder are further examined using Fourier-Transform Infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The average particle size of the as prepared nano particles from the Transmission Electron Microscopy is 20 nm. The UV-Vis absorption spectra of the samples are recorded and the calculated average optical band gap is 3.74eV. The sample is sintered at an optimized temperature of $1425^{\circ}C$ for 2h and attained nearly 98% of the theoretical density. The morphology of the sintered pellet is studied with Scanning Electron Microscopy. The dielectric constant and loss factor of a well-sintered $BaNbO_3$ at 5MHz sample is found to be 32.92 and $8.09{\times}10^{-4}$ respectively, at room temperature. The temperature coefficient of dielectric constant was $-179pp/^{\circ}C$. The high dielectric constant, low loss and negative temperature coefficient of dielectric constant makes it a potential candidate for temperature sensitive dielectric applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.304.2-304.2
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• 2014

Chalcogenides (Te,Se) and pnictogens(Bi,Sb) materials have been widely investigated as thermoelectric materials. Especially, Bi2Te3 (Bismuth telluride) compound thermoelectric materials in thin film and nanowires are known to have the highest thermoelectric figure of merit ZT at room temperature. Currently, the thermoelectric material research is mostly driven in two directions: (1) enhancing the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity using quantum confinement effects and (2) decreasing thermal conductivity using phonon scattering effect. Herein we demonstrated influence of annealing temperature on structural and thermoelectrical properties of Bismuth-telluride-selenide ternary compound thin film. Te-rich Bismuth-telluride-selenide ternary compound thin film prepared co-deposited by thermal evaporation techniques. After annealing treatment, co-deposited thin film was transformed amorphous phase to Bi2Te3-Bi2Te2Se1 polycrystalline thin film. In the experiment, to investigate the structural and thermoelectric characteristics of Bi2Te3-i2Te2Se1 films, we measured Rutherford Backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Scanning eletron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Seebeck coefficient measurement and Hall measurement. After annealing treatment, electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient was increased by defect states dominated by selenium vacant sites. These charged selenium vacancies behave as electron donors, resulting in carrier concentration was increased. Moreover, Thermal conductivity was significantly decreased because phonon scattering was enhanced through the grain boundary in Bi2Te3-Bi2Te2Se1 polycrystalline compound. As a result, The enhancement of thermoelectric figure-of-merit could be obtained by optimal annealing treatment.