• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 2018

In order to improve the photo conversion efficiency (${\eta}$) of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), the electrospun $TiO_2$, $SiO_2$, $ZrO_2$ and $SnO_2$ nanofibers were added into the hydrothermally prepared $TiO_2$ nanoparticles for application to a photoelectrode for DSSCs. The $TiO_2$ nanofiber added photoelectrode exhibited a higher photo current density ($J_{sc}$) compared to the bare $TiO_2$ nanoparticles, which is caused from acceleration of the transfer of excited electron from dye molecule due to the nanofiber structure. The DSSCs with $SiO_2$ nanofibers shows a higher open circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$) of 0.67 V and the highest photo conversion efficiency was found to be 6.24%.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2020

Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with the mixed structure of cubic and nanorod were synthesized by precipitation, hydrothermal, sol-gel method, etching process and heat treatment. Fe₂O₃/TiO₂ core-shell (CS) of type Fe₂O₃@TiO₂ composite was fabricated on a 20 nm nanolayer of TiO₂ coated on the surface of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. Fe₂O₃/TiO₂ yolk-shell (YS) composite was prepared by chemical etching and heat treatment of Fe₂O₃/TiO₂ CS nanoparticles. Physical properties of Fe₂O₃, Fe₂O₃@TiO₂ CS and Fe₂O₃@TiO₂ YS nanoparticles were characterized by FE-SEM, HR-TEM and X-ray diffraction. The solar reflectance, commission internationale de l'Elcairage (CIE) color coordinate and heat shield temperatures of Fe₂O₃, CS and YS type Fe₂O₃@TiO₂ pigments filled with poly acrylate (PA) paints were investigated by UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer and homemade heat shield temperature measuring device. The Fe₂O₃@TiO₂ YS red pigment filled PA composite exhibited excellent near infrared light reflecting performance and also reduced the heat shield temperature of 13 ℃ than that of Fe₂O₃ filled counterparts.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.105-116
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• 2014

The microwave dielectric properties of $CeO_2$ nanoparticles (0.5, 1.0 & 1.5wt%) doped $Mg_2TiO_4$ (MTO) ceramics have been investigated at cryogenic temperatures. The XRD patterns of the samples were refined using the full proof program reveal the inverse spinel structure without any secondary phases. The addition of $CeO_2$ nanoparticles lowered the sintering temperature with enhancement in density and grain size as compared to pure MTO ceramics. This is attributed to the higher sintering velocity of the fine particles. Further, the microwave dielectric properties of the MTO ceramics were measured at cryogenic temperatures in the temperature range of 6.5-295 K. It is observed that the loss tangent ($tan{\delta}$) of all the samples increased with temperature. However, the $CeO_2$ nanoparticles doped MTO ceramics manifested lower loss tangents as compared to the pure MTO ceramics. The loss tangents of the pure and MTO ceramics doped with 1.5 wt% of $CeO_2$ nanoparticles measured at 6.5K are found to be $6.6{\times}10^{-5}$ and $5.4{\times}10^{-5}$, respectively. The addition of $CeO_2$ nanoparticles did not cause any changes on the temperature stability of the MTO ceramics at cryogenic temperatures. On the other hand, the temperature coefficient of the permittivity increased with rise in temperature and with the wt% of $CeO_2$ nanoparticles. The obtained lower loss tangent values at cryogenic temperatures can be attributed to the decrease in both intrinsic and extrinsic losses in the MTO ceramics.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.24-30
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• 2009

Rare earth based calcium aluminate phosphor ($CaAl_2O_4:Eu^{2+}$, $Nd^{3+}$) supported $TiO_2$ nanoparticles are synthesized by using sol-gel method, which are further characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), diffuse reflectance UV-Visible spectroscopy (DRS UV-Vis) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD pattern of as-prepared and sintered phosphor supported $TiO_2$ does not show the tendency to change the crystal structure from anatase to rutile phase up to $600^{\circ}C$. This indicates that the phosphor support might inhibit the densification and crystallite growth by providing dissimilar boundaries. The diffuse reflectance spectral (DRS) measurements showed shift towards longer wavelength indicating reduction in the band-gap energy as compared to free $TiO_2$. The FT-IR spectra of phosphor supported $TiO_2$ nanoparticles show shift in the peak positions to lower wavelengths. This indicates that the $TiO_2$ nanoparticles are not free, but covalently bonded to the phosphor support. TEM micrographs show presence of crystalline and spherical $TiO_2$ nanoparticles (8 - 15 nm diameter) dispersed uniformly on the surface of phosphor.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2008

Peptides with specific sequences against $LaPO_4$ and $TiO_2$ nanoparticles were discovered through peptide phage display technique as an application to biomolecular recognition of inorganic materials. Sequencing results showed that a motif consisting of serine and proline was commonly expressed in specific sequences. It was postulated that serine directly bound to nanoparticles using its terminal hydroxyl (OH) group. In this sense, oxygen atom seemed to work as a ligand to metal ions and hydrogen atom as a H-bond donor, was thought to bind to the oxygen atoms or the hydroxyl groups on particle surface. Also, it was expected that proline assists serine to make an ideal van der Waals contact between serine and nanoparticles, which optimizes the binding of peptide onto surface.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.317-317
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• 2010

This paper reports syntheses of $TiO_2$ nanocubes and theirs application to DSSC. We synthesized $TiO_2$ nanocubes via solvothermal method using titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) and tetramethylammoiumhydroxide (TMAH). By adding longer alkyl chain ammonium hydroxide that slowed down the growth rate of the crystal, $TiO_2$ nanocubes were obtained with average particle size in the range of 40 nm to 70 nm. By TEM investigation, each particle was found to be single crystal of anatase having six-faces of (001) and {100} crystallographic planes truncated by {101} series of planes, which are clearly distinguishable from spherical nanoparticles. Among various application, utilizing nanocubes as photo-electrode in dye-sensitized solar cell, we investigated photo-electron conversion performances in comparison with spherical shaped $TiO_2$ nanoparticles by I-V characteristics and IPCE measurements, etc.. Photocurrent-transient analysis revealed that $TiO_2$ nanocubes have a higher transient electron transfer rate by more than 10 times compared with spherical particles of similar size. Fast electron transport along the cube edges having small curvature was suggested as a plausible origin of high diffusion coefficient of electron in nanocube $TiO_2$.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.426-431
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• 2017

Some phototoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles ($TiO_2$ NPs) has been reported in recent years in studies with fish embryos or larvae. However, it is necessary to focus on the potential effects of embryonic exposure due to irreversible abnormalities and mortalities observed in sac-fry, and to expand various fish embryos to generate multiple test species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of $TiO_2$ NPs under different irradiation conditions in exposed Oryzias latipes (O. latipes) at the embryonic and sac-fry stages. The effects of different irradiation conditions were observed using ultra-violet (UV) and visible light, and the corresponding effects were monitored by determining cumulative mortality and abnormality. O. latipes were exposed for 8 d to 0, 1, 5, 10, or 50 mg/L $TiO_2$ NPs under UV ($4,818.86mW/m^2$ at the bottom of clear vials) or visible light, after which the embryos were transferred to NP-free embryo-rearing solution until 16 days post fertilization (dpf). Abnormalities of embryos and sac-fry increased at high $TiO_2$ NP concentrations under UV irradiation, compared to control samples treated with visible light or UV irradiation alone. This work provides information regarding the phototoxicity of $TiO_2$ NPs using O. latipes at the embryonic and sac-fry stages.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.319-321
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• 2005

We have previously reported the isolation and characterization of peptides binding to $TiO_{2}$ nanoparticles from phage display peptide libraries. One of the peptides (PEP9) was selected and mutant peptide-displaying phages were produced by alanine scanning mutagenesis. The mutant phages were subjected to binding analysis to $TiO_{2}$ nanoparticles. When the proline at residue 4 was substituted by alanine, the binding activity was reduced to $10\%$ of that of wild type PEP9. Substitution of valine at residue 2, serine at residue 3, and isoleucine at residue 5 also decreased the binding to $40\%$. Based on these observations, we concluded that the three dimensional structure generated by residues 2-5 was the critical factor for the binding between PEP9 and the nanoparticle.

• Journal of Ceramic Processing Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.222-230
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• 2019

Microwave hydrothermal-assisted sol-gel method was employed to synthesize the Fe doped TiO2 photocatalyst. The morphological analysis suggests anatase phase nanoparticles of ~20 nm with an SBET area of 283.99 ㎡/g. The doping of Fe ions in TiO2 created oxygen vacancies and Ti3+ species as revealed through the XPS analysis. The reduction of the band gap (3.1 to 2.8 eV) is occurred by doping effect. The as-prepared photocatalyst was applied for removal of NOx under solar light irradiation. The doping of Fe in TiO2 facilitates 75 % of NOx oxidation efficiency which is more than two-fold enhancement than the TiO2 photocatalyst. The possible reason of enhancement is associated with high surface area, oxygen vacancy, and reduction of the band gap. Also, the low production of toxic intermediates, NO2 gas, is further confirmed by Combustion Ion Chromatography. The mechanism related NOx oxidation by the doped photocatalyst is explained in this study.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.149-153
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• 2016

Nanosized zeolites were prepared in an autoclave using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH), and $H_2O$, at various hydrothermal synthesis temperatures. Using transmission electron microscopy and particle size analysis, the nanopowder particulate sizes were revealed to be 10-300 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the synthesized nanopowder was silicalite-1 zeolite. Using atomic layer deposition, the fabricated zeolite nanopowder particles were coated with nanoscale $TiO_2$ films. The $TiO_2$ films were prepared at $300^{\circ}C$ by using $Ti[N(CH_3)_2]_4$ and $H_2O$ as precursor and reactant gas, respectively. In the TEM analysis, the growth rate was ${\sim}0.7{\AA}/cycle$. Zeta potential and sedimentation test results indicated that, owing to the electrostatic repulsion between $TiO_2$-coated layers on the surface of the zeolite nanoparticles, the dispersibility of the coated nanoparticles was higher than that of the uncoated nanoparticles. In addition, the effect of the coated nanoparticles on the photodecomposition was studied for the irradiation time of 240 min; the concentration of methylene blue was found to decrease to 48%.