• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.70-75
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• 2011

We introduced nanoscale interfacial layers between the PV layer and the cathode in poly (3-hexylthiophene):methanofullerene bulk-heterojunction polymer photovoltaic (PV) cells. The nanoscale double interfacial layers were made of ultrathin poly (oxyethylenetridecylether) surfactant and low-work-function alloy-metal of Al:Li layers. It was found that the nanoscale interfacial layers increase the photovoltaic performance, i.e., increasing short-circuit current density and fill factor with improved device stability. For PV cells with the nanoscale double interfacial layers, an increase in power conversion efficiency of $4.18{\pm}0.24%$ was achieved, compared to that of the control devices ($3.89{\pm}0.08%$) without the double interfacial layers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.30-31
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• 2006

The LSCF cathode for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell was investigated to develop high performance unit cell at intermediate temperature by modified oxalate method with different electrolyte. The LSCF precursors using oxalic acid, ethanol and $NH_4OH$ solution were prepared at $80^{\circ}C$, and pH was controlled as 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The synthesis precursor powders were calcined at $800^{\circ}C$, $1000^{\circ}C$ and $1200^{\circ}C$ for 4hrs. Unit cells were prepared with the calcined LSCF cathode, buffer layer between cathode and each electrolyte that is the LSGM, YSZ, ScSZ and CeSZ. The synthesis LSCF powders by modified oxalate method were measured by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The interfacial polarization resistance of cell was characterized by Solatron 1260 analyzer. The crystal of LSCF powders show single phase at pH 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9, and the average particle size was about $3{\mu}m$. The electric conductivity of synthesis LSCF cathode which was calcined at $1200^{\circ}C$ shows the highest value at pH 7. The cell consist of GDC had the lowest interfacial resistance (about 950 S/cm@650) of the cathode electrode. The polarization resistance of synthesis LSCF cathode by modified oxalate method has the value from 4.02 to 7.46ohm at $650^{\circ}C$. GDC among the electrolytes, shows the lowest polarization resistance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.72-72
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• 2010

Recent development of organic solar cell approaches the level of 8% power conversion efficiency by the introduction of new materials, improved material engineering, and more sophisticated device structures. As for interface engineering, various interlayer materials such as LiF, CaO, NaF, and KF have been utilized between Al electrode and active layer. Those materials lower the work function of cathode and interface barrier, protect the active layer, enhance charge collection efficiency, and induce active layer doping. However, the addition of another step of thin layer deposition could be a little complicated. Thus, on a typical solar cell structure of Al/P3HT:PCBM/PEDOT:PSS/ITO glass, we used Li:Al alloy electrode instead of Al to render a simple process. J-V measurement under dark and light illumination on the polymer solar cell using Li:Al cathode shows the improvement in electric properties such as decrease in leakage current and series resistance, and increase in circuit current density. This effective charge collection and electron transport correspond to lowered energy barrier for electron transport at the interface, which is measured by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Indeed, through the measurement of secondary ion mass spectroscopy, the Li atoms turn out to be located mainly at the interface between polymer and Al metal. In addition, the chemical reaction between polymer and metal electrodes are measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.147-147
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• 2015

The multilayer structure of the organic light emitting diode has merits of improving interfacial characteristics and helping carriers inject into emission layer and transport easier. There are many reports to control hole injection from anode electrode by using transition metal oxide as an anode buffer layer, such as V2O5, MoO3, NiO, and Fe3O4. In this study, we apply thin films of LiF which is usually inserted as a thin buffer layer between electron transport layer(ETL) and cathode, as an anode buffer layer to reduce the hole injection barrier height from ITO. The thickness of LiF as an anode buffer layer is tested from 0 nm to 1.0 nm. As shown in the figure 1 and 2, the luminous efficiency versus current density is improved by LiF anode buffer layer, and the threshold voltage is reduced when LiF buffer layer is increased up to 0.6 nm then the device does not work when LiF thickness is close to 1.0 nm As a result, we can confirm that the thin layer of LiF, about 0.6 nm, as an anode buffer reduces the hole injection barrier height from ITO, and this results the improved luminous efficiency. This study shows that LiF can be used as an anode buffer layer for improved hole injection as well as cathode buffer layer.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.384-388
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• 2013

Fluorine-doping on the $Li_{1+x}Mn_{1.9-x}Al_{0.1}O_4$ spinel cathode materials is found to alter crystal shape, and enhance initial interfacial reactivity and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, leading to improved initial coulombic efficiency in the voltage region of 3.3-4.3 V vs. Li/$Li^+$ in the room temperature electrolyte of 1 M $LiPF_6$/EC:EMC. SEM imaging reveals that the facetting on higher surface energy plane of (101) is additionally developed at the edges of an octahedron that is predominantly grown with the most thermodynamically stable (111) plane, which enhances interfacial reactivity. Fluorine-doping also increases the amount of interfacially reactive $Mn^{3+}$ on both bulk and surface for charge neutrality. Enhanced interfacial reactivity by fluorine-doping attributes instant formation of a stable SEI layer and improved initial cyclic efficiency. The data contribute to a basic understanding of the impacts of composition on material properties and cycling behavior of spinel-based cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2010

$La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}Co_{0.2}Fe_{0.8}O_{3-\delta}$ (LSCF) powders with different particle sizes, synthesized through a citrate complexation method and a gel-casting technique, are used to fabricate porous LSCF cathodes with graded microstructures via tape casting. To create porous electrodes with desired porosity and pore structures, graphite and starch are used as pore former for different layers of the graded cathode. Examination of the microstructures of the as-prepared LSCF cathode using an SEM revealed that both grain size and porosity changed gradually from the catalytically active layer (near the electrodeelectrolyte interface) to the current collection layer (near the electrode-interconnect interface). Impedance analysis showed that a 3-layer LSCF cathode with graded microstructures exhibited much-improved performance compared to that of a single-layer LSCF cathode, corresponding to interfacial resistance of 0.053, 0.11, and 0.27 $\Omega{\cdot}cm^2$ at 800, 750, and $700^{\circ}C$ respectively.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.407-415
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• 2022

Surface coating of cathodes is an essential process for all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) based on sulfide electrolytes as it efficiently suppresses interfacial reactions between oxide cathodes and sulfide electrolytes. Based on computational calculations, Li₃PO₄ has been suggested as a promising coating material because of its higher stability with sulfides and its optimal ionic conductivity. However, it has hardly been applied to the coating of ASSBs due to the absence of a suitable coating process, including the selection of source material that is compatible with ASSBs. In this study, polyphosphoric acid (PPA) and (NH₄)₂HPO₄ were used as source materials for preparing a Li₃PO₄ coating for ASSBs, and the properties of the coating layer and coated cathodes were compared. The Li₃PO₄ layer fabricated using the (NH₄)₂HPO₄ source was rough and inhomogeneous, which is not suitable for the protection of the cathodes. Moreover, the water-based coating solution with the (NH₄)₂HPO₄ source can deteriorate the electrochemical performance of high-Ni cathodes that are vulnerable to water. In contrast, when an alcohol-based solvent was used, the PPA source enabled the formation of a thin and homogeneous coating layer on the cathode surface. As a consequence, the ASSBs containing the Li₃PO₄-coated cathode prepared by the PPA source exhibited significantly enhanced discharge and rate capabilities compared to ASSBs containing a pristine cathode or Li₃PO₄-coated cathode prepared by the (NH₄)₂HPO₄ source.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.186-192
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• 2013

In order to reduce the costs and to improve the durability of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), the operating temperature should be decreased while the power density is maintained as much as possible. However, lowering the operating temperature increases the cathode interfacial polarization resistances dramatically, limiting the performance of low-temperature SOFC at especially purely electronic conducting cathode. To improve cathode performance at low temperature, the number of reaction sites for the oxygen reduction should be increased by using a mixed ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) material. In this study, anode-supported fuel cells with two different thicknesses of the MIEC cathode were fabricated and tested at various operating temperatures. The anode supported cell with $32.5{\mu}m$-thick BSCFZn-LSCF cathode layer showed much lower polarization resistance than that with $3.2{\mu}m$ thick cahtode and higher power density especially at low temperature. The effects of cathode layer thickness on the electrochemical performance are discussed with analysis of impedance spectra.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.154.2-154.2
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• 2016

In this work, we introduce a solution-processed CdS interlayer for use in inverted bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, and compare this material to a series of standard organic and inorganic cathode interlayers. Different combinations of solution-processed CdS, ZnO and conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) layers were compared as cathode interlayers on ITO substrates to construct inverted solar cells based on $PTB7:PC_{71}BM$ and a $P3HT:PC_{61}BM$ as photoactive layers. Introduction of a CdS interlayer significantly improved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of inverted $PTB7:PC_{71}BM$ devices from 2.0% to 4.9%, however, this efficiency was still fairly low compared to benchmark ZnO or CPE interlayers due to a low open circuit voltage ($V_{OC}$), stemming from the deep conduction band energy of CdS. The $V_{OC}$ was greatly improved by introducing an interfacial dipole (CPE) layer on top of the CdS layer, yielding outstanding diode characteristics and a PCE of 6.8%. The best performing interlayer, however, was a single CPE layer alone, which yielded a $V_{OC}$ of 0.727 V, a FF of 63.2%, and a PCE of 7.89%. Using $P3HT:PC_{61}BM$ as an active layer, similar trends were observed. Solar cells without the cathode interlayer yielded a PCE of 0.46% with a poor $V_{OC}$ of 0.197 V and FF of 34.3%. In contrast, the use of hybrid ZnO/CPE layer as the cathode interlayer considerably improved the $V_{OC}$ of 0.599 V and FF of 53.3%, resulting the PCE of 2.99%. Our results indicate that the CdS layer yields excellent diode characteristics, however, performs slightly worse than benchmark ZnO and CPE layers in solar cell devices due to parasitic absorption below 550 nm. These results suggest that the hybrid inorganic/organic interlayer materials are promising candidates as cathode interlayers for high efficiency inverted solar cells through the modification of interface contacts.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.129.2-129.2
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• 2013

Electron injection enhancement at OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) cathode side has mostly been achieved by insertion of a low work function layer between metal electrode and emissive layer. We investigated the interfacial chemical reactions and electronic structures of alkaline-earth metal (Ca, Ba)/Alq3 [tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminium] and Ca/BaF2/Alq3 using in-situ X-ray & ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The alkaline-earth metal deposited on Alq3 generates two energetically separated gap states in sequential manner. This phenomenon is explained by step-by-step charge transfer from alkali-earth metal to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) states of Alq3, forming new occupied states below Fermi level. The BaF2 interlayer initially prevents from direct contact between Alq3 and reactive Ca metal, but it is dissociated into Ba and CaF2. However, as the Ca thickness increases, the Ca penetrates the interlayer to directly participate in the reaction with underlying Alq3. The influence of the multiple gap state formation by the interfacial chemical reaction on the OLED performance will be discussed.