• 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%.

• 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.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.195-201
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• 2018

To enhance the performance of cathodes at low temperatures, a Cu-coated cathode is prepared, and its electrochemical performance is examined by testing its use in a single cell. At $620^{\circ}C$ and a current density of $150mAcm^{-2}$, a single cell containing the Cu-coated cathode has a significantly higher voltage (0.87 V) during the initial operation than does that with an uncoated cathode (0.79 V). According to EIS analysis, the high voltage of the cell with the Cu-coated cathode is due to the dramatic decrease in the high-frequency resistance related to electrochemical reactions. From XPS analysis, it is confirmed that the Cu is initially in the form of $Cu_2O$ and is converted into CuO after 150 h of operation, without any change in the state of the Ni or Li. Therefore, the high initial cell voltage is confirmed to be due to $Cu_2O$. Because $Cu_2O$ is catalytically active toward $O_2$ adsorption and dissociation, $Cu_2O$ on a NiO cathode enhances cell performance and reduces cathode polarization. However, the cell with the Cu-coated cathode does not maintain its high voltage because $Cu_2O$ is oxidized to CuO, which demonstrates similar catalytic activity toward $O_2$ as NiO.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.94-99
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• 2017

Dinickel-silicide $(Ni_2Si)/glass$ was employed as a counter electrode for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) device. $Ni_2Si$ was formed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at $700^{\circ}C$ for 15 seconds of a 50 nm-Ni/50 nm-Si/glass structure. For comparison, $Ni_2Si$ on quartz was also prepared through conventional electric furnace annealing (CEA) at $800^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes. XRD, XPS, and EDS line scanning of TEM were used to confirm the formation of $Ni_2Si$. TEM and CV were employed to confirm the microstructure and catalytic activity. Photovoltaic properties were examined using a solar simulator and potentiostat. XRD, XPS, and EDS line scanning results showed that both CEA and RTA successfully led to tne formation of nano $thick-Ni_2Si$ phase. The catalytic activity of $CEA-Ni_2Si$ and $RTA-Ni_2Si$ with respect to Pt were 68 % and 56 %. Energy conversion efficiencies (ECEs) of DSSCs with $CEA-Ni_2Si$ and $RTA-Ni_2Si$catalysts were 3.66 % and 3.16 %, respectively. Our results imply that nano-thick $Ni_2Si$ may be used to replace Pt as a reduction catalytic layer for a DSSCs. Moreover, we show that nano-thick $Ni_2Si$ can be made available on a low-cost glass substrate via the RTA process.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.490-490
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• 2011

Graphene, hexagonal network of carbon atoms forming a one-atom thick planar sheet, has been emerged as a fascinating material for future nanoelectronics. Huge attention has been captured by its extraordinary electronic properties, such as bipolar conductance, half integer quantum Hall effect at room temperature, ballistic transport over ${\sim}0.4{\mu}m$ length and extremely high carrier mobility at room temperature. Several approaches have been developed to produce graphene, such as micromechanical cleavage of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite using adhesive tape, chemical reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide, epitaxial growth of graphene on SiC and single crystalline metal substrate, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis. In particular, direct synthesis of graphene using metal catalytic substrate in CVD process provides a new way to large-scale production of graphene film for realization of graphene-based electronics. In this method, metal catalytic substrates including Ni and Cu have been used for CVD synthesis of graphene. There are two proposed mechanism of graphene synthesis: carbon diffusion and precipitation for graphene synthesized on Ni, and surface adsorption for graphene synthesized on Cu, namely, self-limiting growth mechanism, which can be divided by difference of carbon solubility of the metals. Here we present that large area, uniform, and layer controllable graphene synthesized on Cu catalytic substrate is achieved by acetylene-assisted CVD. The number of graphene layer can be simply controlled by adjusting acetylene injection time, verified by Raman spectroscopy. Structural features and full details of mechanism for the growth of layer controllable graphene on Cu were systematically explored by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.264-264
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• 2012

As an environment-friendly alternative energy resource, ethanol may be used to obtain hydrogen, a clean energy source. Thus, studies on catalytic reactions involving ethanol have been studied to understand the underlying principles in the reaction mechanism using various oxide-supported catalysts. Among them, Au-based catalysts have shown a superior activity in producing hydrogen gas. In the present study, Au/$TiO_2$ catalysts were prepared by deposition-precipitation method to understand their catalytic activities toward ethanol and acetaldehyde with increasing gold loading, especially at the very low Au loading regime. A commercially available $TiO_2$ (Degussa P-25) was employed and the Au loading was varied to 0, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 wt% respectively. The catalysts showed characteristic x-ray diffraction (XRD) features at $2{\theta}=78.5^{\circ}$ that could be assigned to the presence of gold nanoparticles. Its reactivity measurements were performed under a constant flow of ethanol and acetaldehyde at a flow rate of ${\sim}0.6{\mu}mol/sec$ and the substrate temperature was slowly raised at a rate of 0.2 K/sec. We observed that the overall reactivity of the catalysts increased with increasing Au loading along with selectivity favoring dehydrogenation to product hydrogen gas. In addition, we disclosed various reaction channels involving competitive reaction paths such as dehydrogenation, dehydration, and condensation. In addition, subsequent reactions of acetaldehyde obtained from dehydrogenation of ethanol, were found to occur and produce butene, crotonaldehyde, furan, and benzene. Based on the results, we proposed overall reaction pathways of such reaction channels.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.387-392
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• 2005

For the production of further functional bio-degradable plastic(polybutylene succinate:PBS) with $TiO_{2}$ as photocatalyst, which shows the decomposition of detrimental organic compound and pollutant under ultraviolet irradiation, we attempted to prepare $TiO_{2}$ coatings on PBS substrate by HVOF and plasma spraying techniques under various conditions. The microstructures of coatings were characterized with SEM and XRD analysis, and the photocatalytic efficiency of coatings was evaluated through the photo degradation of gaseous acetaldehyde. The effects of primary particle size and spraying parameters on the formation behavior, photo catalytic performance and mechanical characteristics of the coatings have been investigated. The results indicated that with respect to both the HVOF sprayed $P_{200}$ and $P_{30}$ coatings, the high anatase ratio off 100% can be achieved regardless of fuel gas pressure. On the other hand, the HVOF sprayed $P_{7}$ coating exhibited largely decreased anatase ratio (from 100% to 49.1%) with increasing the fuel gas pressure, which may be attributed to the much higher susceptibility to heat of 7nm agglomerated powder. In terms of photocatalytic efficiency, HVOF sprayed $P_{200}$ and $P_{30}$ coatings seem to predominate as compared to that of plasma sprayed $P_{200}$ coatings owing to the higher anatase ratio. However, the HVOF sprayed $P_{7}$ coatings didn't show the photo catalytic activity, which may result from the extremely small reaction surface area to the photo-catalytic activity and low anatase ratio. Such functional PBS with new roles is expected to cosiderably contribute to the reduction of aggravated environmel problem.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.9 no.2 s.27
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• pp.50-55
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• 2005

The compositional and structural properties of alkali metal ion exchanged Y-zeolites have been investigated by la number of analytical techniques and their catalytic activities were tested for NOx reduction in combination with a non-thermal plasma. The NOx conversion data for LiY, NaY, KY and CsY were measured by chemiluminiscent NOx meter in the temperature range of 100 to $350^{\circ}C$. The initial activities of the catalyst at $150^{\circ}C$ increased in the order LiY < KY < NaY < CsY in alkali series. The activity of CsY and NaY were increased and showed maximum at $200^{\circ}C$ and then decreased in the plasma reactor, as the temperature increased. The activity of KY maintained same by $200^{\circ}C$ and then decreased, whereas the activity of LiY decreased with the increasing temperature. The CsY catalyst, which showed the highest activity in alkali metal series, exhibits a NOx conversion efficiency of $80\%$ between $170{\~}220^{\circ}C$.

• Clean Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.211-224
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• 2016

Three way catalyst has been used extensively for the exhaust gas treatment for the internal combustion gasoline engine. While, numerous research efforts have been directed to develop various technologies for the abatement of exhaust gas from diesel engine. Diesel engine operating under lean condition produces large amount of NOx and the corresponding catalytic technology employing vanadium supported titania using ammonia has been commercialized for heavy duty vehicle. Recently, the Cu catalyst supported on zeolite has been investigated for NOx abatement using ammonia because of its critical importance for ultra low emission vehicle. The current review shows the recent trend in research and development for zeolite based copper catalysts, which are mainly used as catalysts for selective catalytic reduction using ammonia, are one of the aftertreatment technologies for effectively removing nitrogen oxides from diesel exhaust.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.910-914
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• 2018

Since catalyst technology is one of the promising technologies to improve the working performance of next generation energy and electronic devices, many efforts have been made to develop various catalysts with high efficiency at a low cost. However, there are remaining challenges to be resolved in order to use the suggested catalytic materials, such as platinum (Pt), gold (Au), and palladium (Pd), due to their poor cost-effectiveness for device applications. In this study, to overcome these challenges, we suggest a useful method to increase the surface area of a noble metal catalyst material, resulting in a reduction of the total amount of catalyst usage. By employing block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly and nano-transfer printing (n-TP) processes, we successfully fabricated sub-20 nm Pt line and cross-bar patterns. Furthermore, we obtained a highly ordered Pt cross-bar pattern on a Ni thin film and a Pt-embedded Ni thin film, which can be used as hetero hybrid alloy catalyst structure. For a detailed analysis of the hybrid catalytic material, we used scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), which revealed a well-defined nanoporous Pt nanostructure on the Ni thin film. Based on these results, we expect that the successful hybridization of various catalytic nanostructures can be extended to other material systems and devices in the near future.