• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.831-836
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• 2013

Platinized counter electrode is common in most of the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) researches because of its high catalytic activity and corrosion stability against iodine in the electrolyte. Platinum (Pt) film coating on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass surface by using alcoholic solution of hexachloroplatinic acid ($H_2PtCl_6$), paste containing Pt precursors or sputtering are widely used techniques. This paper presents a novel application of Pt ink containing nanoparticles for making platinized counter electrode for DSSC. The characteristics of Pt films coated on FTO glass surface by different chemical methods were compared along with the performance parameters of the DSSCs made by using the films as counter electrodes. The samples coated with Pt inks were sintered at $300^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes whereas Pt-film and Pt-paste were sintered at $400^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. The Pt ink diluted in n-hexane was found to a promising candidate for the preparation of platinized counter electrode. The ink may also be applicable for DSSC on flexible substrates after optimization its sintering temperature.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2003

In this paper, we have re-examined the relative sunspot numbers from June 1987 to December 2002 observed at Korea Astronomy Observatory. For this we determined conversion factors (K) for each year data to derive the relative sunspot numbers. The estimated conversion factor ranges from 0.57 to 1.09 and has a trend to decrease with time, which seem to depend on the several effects such as observational system, observation methods, and experience of an observer. Our analysis shows that the newly-determined relative sunspot numbers are in much better agreements with the international sunspot numbers than the previously-determined ones in which the conversion factors were determined only four times. This result implies that we should determine the conversion factor for each year data. From these investigations, we also identified one and half solar cycles form our relative sunspot number.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.93.2-93.2
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• 2011

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has measured space environment and its effects on spacecraft and astronaut since 1987. At present, we have operated space environment monitors onboard one GEO spacecraft, one QZO spacecraft, and two LEO spacecrafts. The obtained space environment data has been gathered into the Space Environment and Effects System database (SEES, http://sees.tksc.jaxa.jp/). In this presentation, measurement result of space environment in low earth orbit obtained by the Daichi satellite from 2006 through 2011 is reported as well as recent activities in space environment engineerings in JAXA. The Technical Data Acquisition Equipment (TEDA) on board the Daichi satellite (Advanced Land Observing Satellite: ALOS) had been operated in low earth orbit at 700 km altitude with 98 degree inclination from February 2006 until April 2011. The TEDA consists of the Light Particle Telescope and the Heavy Ion Telescope. The operation period of the Daichi satellite was through the solar-activity minimum period. The space radiation environment around the Daichi satellite had been almost stable. However, large solar flares followed by CMEs sometimes disturbed the space radiation environment in the orbit of the Daichi satellite. In addition, high speed solar wind often flowed and modulated the electron flux in the horn region. On the other hand, a little variation was seen in the SAA region.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.75.2-75.2
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• 2014

We have developed a set of daily solar flare peak flux forecast models using the multiple linear regression (MLR), the auto regression (AR), and artificial neural network (ANN) methods. We consider input parameters as solar activity data from January 1996 to December 2013 such as sunspot area, X-ray flare peak flux, weighted total flux $T_F=1{\times}F_C+10{\times}F_M+100{\times}F_X$ of previous day, mean flare rates of a given McIntosh sunspot group (Zpc), and a Mount Wilson magnetic classification. We compute the hitting rate that is defined as the fraction of the events whose absolute differences between the observed and predicted flare fluxes in a logarithm scale are ${\leq}$ 0.5. The best three parameters related to the observed flare peak flux are as follows: weighted total flare flux of previous day (r=0.5), Mount Wilson magnetic classification (r=0.33), and McIntosh sunspot group (r=0.3). The hitting rates of flares stronger than the M5 class, which is regarded to be significant for space weather forecast, are as follows: 30% for the auto regression method and 69% for the neural network method.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.61-77
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• 2016

$NanoTiO_2$ was synthesized by ultrasonication assisted sol-gel process and subjected to iron doping and carbon-iron codoping. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, HR-SEM, EDX, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and BET specific surface area analysis. The average crystallite size of pure $TiO_2$ was in the range of 30 - 33 nm, and that of Fe-$TiO_2$ and C-Fe $TiO_2$ was in the range of 7 - 13 nm respectively. The specific surface area of the iron doped and carbon-iron codoped nanoparticles was around $105m^2/g$ and $91m^2/g$ respectively. The coupled semiconductor photo-Fenton's activity of the synthesized catalysts was evaluated by the degradation of a cationic dye (C.I. Basic blue 9) and an anionic dye (C.I. Acid orange 52) with concurrent investigation on the operating variables such as pH, catalyst dosage, oxidant concentration and initial pollutant concentration. The most efficient C-Fe codoped catalyst was found to effectively destruct synthetic dyes and potentially treat real textile effluent achieving 93.4% of COD removal under minimal solar intensity (35-40 kiloLUX). This reveals the practical applicability of the process for the treatment of real wastewater in both high and low insolation regimes.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.785-791
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• 2023

Copper sulfide (Cu_xS) has been extensively utilized as a counter electrode (CE) material for quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs) due to its exceptional catalytic activity for polysulfide electrolytes. The typical fabrication method of Cu₂S CEs based on brass substrate is dangerous, involving the use of a highly concentrated hydrochloric acid solution in a relatively high temperature. In contrast, electroplating presents a safer alternative by employing a less acidic solution at a room temperature. In addition, the electroplating method increases the probability of obtaining CEs of consistent quality compared to the brass method. In this study, the optimized electroplating cycle for CuS CEs in QDSCs has been studied for the highly efficient photovoltaic performances. The QDSCs, featuring electroplated CuS CEs, achieved an impressive efficiency of 7.18%, surpassing the conventional method employing brass CEs, which yielded an efficiency of 6.62%.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2007

In this paper, we analyze the orbital variation of the Korea Multi-Purpose SATellite-1(KOMPSAT-1) in a strong space environment due to satellite drag by solar and geomagnetic activities. The satellite drag usually occurs slowly, but becomes serious satellite drag when the space environment suddenly changes via strong solar activity like a big flare eruption or coronal mass ejections(CMEs). Especially, KOMPSAT-1 as a low earth orbit satellite has a distinct increase of the drag acceleration by the variations of atmospheric friction. We consider factors of solar activity to have serious effects on the satellite drag from two points of view. One is an effect of high energy radiation when the flare occurs in the Sun. This radiation heats and expands the upper atmosphere of the Earth as the number of neutral particles is suddenly increased. The other is an effect of Joule and precipitating particle heating caused by current of plasma and precipitation of particles during geomagnetic storms by CMEs. It also affects the density of neutral particles by heating the upper atmo-sphere. We investigate the satellite drag acceleration associated with the two factors for five events selected based on solar and geomagnetic data from 2001 to 2002. The major results can be summarized as follows. First, the drag acceleration started to increase with solar EUV radiation with the best cross-correlation (r = 0.92) for 1 day delayed F10.7. Second, the drag acceleration and Dst index have similar patterns when the geomagnetic storm is dominant and the drag acceleration abruptly increases during the strong geomagnetic storm. Third, the background variation of the drag accelerations is governed by the solar radiation, while their short term (less than a day) variations is governed by geomagnetic storms.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.94.1-94.1
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• 2013

Whistler mode chorus waves, which are observed outside the plasmasphere of the Earth's magnetosphere, play a major role in accelerating and scattering energetic electrons in the radiation belts. In this study we developed a predicting scheme of the global distribution of chorus by using the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) satellite data. First, we determined global spatial distributions of chorus activity, and identified fit functions that best represent chorus intensities in specific L-MLT zones. Second, we determined the specific dependence of average chorus intensity on preceding solar wind conditions (e.g., solar wind speed, IMF Bz, energy coupling degree) as well as preceding geomagnetic states (as represented by AE, for example). Finally, we combined these two results to develop the predicting functions for the global distribution and intensity of chorus. Implementing these results in the radiation belt models should improve the local acceleration effect by chorus waves.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.707-712
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• 2010

Nitrogen-doped $TiO_2$ particles have been successfully prepared using titanium tetraisopropoxide as the Ti source and urea as the nitrogen source. As-prepared nitrogen-doped $TiO_2$ was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET) and ultraviolet-visible light (UV-vis) absorption spectra techniques. Photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) has been carried out in both solar light (UV-vis) and the visible region (${\lambda}=420nm$). Nitrogen-doped $TiO_2$ exhibits higher activity than the commercial $TiO_2$ photocalyst, particularly under visible-light irradiation because bandgap of nitrogen-doped $TiO_2$ becomes remarkably decreased.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.165-170
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• 2020

Muons and neutrons are representative secondary particles that are generated by interactions between primary cosmic ray particles (mostly protons) and the nuclei of atmospheric gas compounds. Previous studies reported that muons experience seasonal variations because of the meteorological effects of temperature. The intensity of neutrons has a typical modulation with various periods and reasons, such as diurnal and solar variation or transient events. This paper reports that cosmic ray particles, which were observed by neutron monitors, have seasonal variations using the daily data at the Oulu neutron monitor. To eliminate the effects of solar activity across time, the daily data were normalized by two different transformations: transformations with respect to the grand mean and yearly mean. The data after transformation with respect to the yearly mean showed more statistical stability and clear seasonal variations. On the other hand, it is difficult to determine if the seasonal variation results from terrestrial effects, such as meteorological factors, or extraterrestrial effects, such as the position of the Earth in its orbit of revolution.