• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.128-131
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• 2003

It is well known that the membrane separation process combined with surfactant micelle (micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration) or polyelectrolyte (polyelectrolyte-enhanced ultrafiltration) can remove heavy metals effectively. However, the environmental hazard of surfactant or polyelectrolyte remained in effluent is a serious disadvantage of these methods. In this study, humic substances (HS) were used as complexing agents for metal removal instead of synthetic chemicals. The HS are a sort of natural organic matters which are biodegradable and abundant in natural environment. And the functional groups such as carboxyl groups and phenols in HS can bind with the cationic radionuclides and form complexes. Therefore separation process using them will be more environmental-friendly. The effects of concentration of HS and pH on the removal of cobalt were investigated. The ultrafiltration process was applied to the separation of the cobalt - HS complexes from the aqueous stream. At the concentration of > 3 g/L of HS and pH of 6, over 95 % of cobalt was removed by regenerated cellulose membrane of molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) 3,000. As the concentration of HS increased, the removal of cobalt also was improved because of increase in biding sites (functional groups). The cobalt removal increased from 72.5 % to 97.5 % when pH increased from 4 to 8 at the concentration of 3 g/L HS because of increase in HS solubility and cobalt hydroxide precipitation. In the presence of NaCl, the removal efficiency of cobalt decreased.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.33.1-33.1
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• 2018

pH is expressed mathematically as $pH=-{\log}[H^+]$, is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration, [$H^+$] to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. The pH scale usually ranges from 0 to 14. Every aqueous solution can be measured to determine its pH value. The pH values below 7.0 express the acidity, above 7.0 are alkalinity and pH 7.0 is a neutral solution. The solution pH can be determined by indicator or by measurement using pH sensor, which measuring the voltage generated between a glass electrode and a reference electrode according to the Nernst Equation. The pH value of solutions depends on the temperature and the activity of contained ions. In nickel electroless plating process, the controlled pH value in some limited ranges are extremely important to achieve optimal deposition rate, phosphorus content as well as solution stability. Basically, nickel electroless plating solution contains of $Ni^{2+}ions$, reducing agent, buffer and complexing agents. The plating processes are normally carried out at $82-92^{\circ}C$. However, the change of its pH values with temperatures does not follow any rule. Thus, the purpose of study is to understand the relationship between pH and temperature of some based solutions and electroless nickel plating solutions. The change of pH with changing temperatures is explained by view of the thermal dynamic and the practical measurements.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.393-398
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• 2020

We propose a novel stripping solution containing acids (HCl and HNO₃), an oxidant [(NH₄)₂S₂O₈], and complexing agents (NaCl and citric acid) to remove surface passivation layers from 14K gold alloys fabricated using an investment casting process. The optimized solution employing only HCl acid is determined by varying molar fractions of HCl and HNO₃ on 14K yellow gold samples. Stripping properties are also identified for red and white gold alloy samples under the optimized stripping conditions. The removal of passivation layers, weight loss, and microstructure evolution are characterized using Raman spectroscopy, a precision scale, and optical microscopy. The proposed stripping solution effectively removes passivation layers more rapidly than conventional cyanide stripping. Weight loss increases linearly for up to 5 min for all 14K gold alloys. Red gold exhibits the greatest weight loss, followed by yellow gold and white gold. The results of microstructural analysis reveal that the conformal stripping occurs according to time. These results imply that the proposed oxidative chloride stripping might replace conventional cyanide stripping.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.117-121
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• 2008

Pseudo-first-order rate constants (kobsd) have been measured spectrophotometrically for nucleophilic substitution reactions of 5-nitro-8-quinolyl benzoate (5) with alkali metal ethoxides, EtO?M+ (M+ = Li+, Na+ and K+) in anhydrous ethanol (EtOH) at 25.0 0.1 C. The plots of kobsd vs. [EtO?M+] exhibit upward curvatures, while the corresponding plots for the reactions of 5 with EtO?Na+ and EtO?K+ in the presence of complexing agents, 15-crown-5-ether and 18-crown-6-ether are linear with rate retardation. The reactions of 5 with EtO?Na+ and EtO?Li+ result in significant rate enhancements on additions of Na+ClO4, indicating that the M+ ions behave as a catalyst. The dissociated EtO and ion-paired EtOM+ have been proposed to react with 5. The second-order rate constants for the reactions with EtO (kEtO) and EtOM+ (kEtOM+) have been calculated from ion-pairing treatments. The kEtO and kEtOM+ values decrease in the order kEtONa+ > kEtOK+ > kEtOLi+ > kEtO, indicating that ion-paired EtOM+ species are more reactive than the dissociated EtO ion, and Na+ ion exhibits the largest catalytic effect. The M+ ions in this study form stronger complex with the transition state than with the ground state. Coordination of the M+ ions with the O and N atoms in the leaving group of 5 has been suggested to be responsible for the catalytic effect shown by the alkali metal ions in this study.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.735-742
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• 2013

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) that bind to complementary nucleic acid sequences with extraordinarily high affinity and sequence specificity can be used as antisense oligonucleotides against microRNAs, namely antagomir PNAs. However, methods for efficient cellular delivery must be developed for effective use of PNAs as therapeutic agents. Here, we demonstrate that antagomir PNAs can be delivered to hepatic cells by complementary DNA oligonucleotide and cationic liposomes containing galactosylated ceramide and a novel cationic lipid, DMKE (O,O'-dimyristyl-N-lysyl glutamate), through glycoprotein-mediated endocytosis. An antagomir PNA was designed to target miR-122, which is required for translation of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome in hepatocytes, and was hybridized to a DNA oligonucleotide for complexation with cationic liposome. The PNA-DNA hybrid molecules were efficiently internalized into hepatic cells by complexing with the galactosylated cationic liposome in vitro. Galactosylation of liposome significantly enhanced both lipoplex cell binding and PNA delivery to the hepatic cells. After 4-h incubation with galactosylated lipoplexes, PNAs were efficiently delivered into hepatic cells and HCV genome translation was suppressed more than 70% through sequestration of miR-122 in cytoplasm. PNAs were readily released from the PNA-DNA hybrid in the low pH environment of the endosome. The present study indicates that transfection of PNA-DNA hybrid molecules using galactosylated cationic liposomes can be used as an efficient non-viral carrier for antagomir PNAs targeted to hepatocytes.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.10
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• pp.2929-2933
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• 2010

Pseudo-first-order rate constants ($k_{obsd}$) have been measured for nucleophilic substitution reactions of 2-pyridyl benzoate 5 with alkali metal ethoxides (EtOM, M = Li, Na, K) in anhydrous ethanol. The plots of $k_{obsd}$ vs. $[EtOM]_o$ are curved upwardly but linear in the excess presence of 18-crown-6-ether (18C6) with significant decreased $k_{obsd}$ values in the reaction with EtOK. The $k_{obsd}$ value for the reaction of 5 with a given EtONa concentration decreases steeply upon addition of 15-crown-5-ether (15C5) to the reaction medium up to ca. [15C5]/$[EtONa]_o$ = 1, and remains nearly constant thereafter, indicating that $M^+$ ions catalyze the reaction in the absence of the complexing agents. Dissection $k_{obsd}$ into $k_{EtO^-}$- and $k_{EtOM}$, i.e., the second-order rate constants for the reaction with the dissociated $EtO^-$ and the ion-paired EtOM, respectively has revealed that ion-paired EtOM is 3.2 - 4.6 times more reactive than dissociated $EtO^-$. It has been concluded that $M^+$ ions increase the electrophilicity of the reaction center through a 6-membered cyclic transition state. This idea has been examined from the corresponding reactions of 4-pyridyl benzoate 6, which cannot form such a 6-membered cyclic transition state.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.232-239
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• 2013

Thin light-active layers of the $CuInSe_2$ solar cell were prepared on Mo-coated sodalime glass substrates by one-step electrodeposition and post-annealing. The structure, morphology, and composition of $CuInSe_2$ film could be controlled by deposition parameters, such as the composition of metallic precursors, the concentration of complexing agents, and the temperature of post-annealing with elemental selenium. A dense and uniform Cu-poor $CuInSe_2$ film was successfully obtained in a range of parametric variation of electrodeposition with a constant voltage of -0.5 V vs. a Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The post-annealing of the film at high temperature above $500^{\circ}C$ induced crystallization of $CuInSe_2$ with well-developed grains. The KCN-treatment of the annealed $CuInSe_2$ films further induced Cu-poor $CuInSe_2$ films without secondary phases, such as $Cu_2Se$. The structure, morphology, and composition of $CuInSe_2$ films were compared with respect to the conditions of electrodeposition and post-annealing using SEM, XRD, Raman, AES and EDS analysis. And the conditions for preparing device-quality $CuInSe_2$ films by electrodeposition were proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.627-636
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• 2022

In nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities the removal of cobalt from radioactive liquid waste is needed to reduce the radioactivity concentration in effluents. In liquid wastes containing strong organic complexing agents such as EDTA cobalt removal can be problematic due to the high stability of the Co-EDTA complex. In this study, the removal of cobalt from NaNO₃ solutions using antimony oxide (Sb₂O₃) synthesized from potassium hexahydroxoantimonate was investigated in the absence and presence of EDTA. The uptake studies on the ion exchange material were conducted both in the dark (absence of UV-light) and under UV-C irradiation. Ca²⁺ or Ni²⁺ were included in the experiments as competing cations to test the selectivity of the ion exchanger. Results show that UV-C irradiation noticeably enhances the cobalt sorption efficiency on the antimony oxide. It was shown that nickel decreased the sorption of cobalt to a higher extent than calcium. Finally, the sorption data collected for Co²⁺ on antimony oxide was modeled using six different isotherm models. The Sips model was found to be the most suitable model to describe the sorption process. The Dubinin-Radushkevich model was further used to calculate the adsorption energy, which was found to be 6.2 kJ mol^-1.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2023

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have been considered one of promising power sources for large scale energy storage systems (ESS) because of their excellent cycle performance and good safety. However, VRFBs still have a few challenging issues, such as poor Coulombic efficiency due to vanadium crossover between catholyte and anolyte, although recent efforts have shown promise in electrochemical performance. Herein, the vanadium complexes with various glyme ligands have been examined as active materials to suppress vanadium crossover between catholyte and anolyte, thus improving the Coulombic efficiency of VRFBs. The conventional Nafion membrane has a channel size of ca. 10 Å, whereas vanadium cation species are small compared to the Nafion membrane channel. For this reason, vanadium cations can permeate through the Nafion membrane, resulting in significant vanadium crossover during cycling, although the Nafion membrane is a kind of ion-selective membrane. In this regard, various glyme additives, such as 1,2-dimethoxyethane (monoglyme), diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (diglyme), and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (tetraglyme) have been examined as complexing agents for vanadium cations to increase the size of vanadium-ligand complexes in electrolytes. Since the size of vanadium-glyme complexes is proportional to the chain length of glymes, the vanadium permeability of the Nafion membrane decreases with increasing the chain length of glymes. As a result, the vanadium complexes with tetraglyme shows the excellent electrochemical performance of VRFBs, such as stable capacity retention (90.4% after 100 cycles) and high Coulombic efficiency (98.2% over 100 cycles).

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.501-508
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• 2023

There are various factors that have a negative impact on safety over a long period of time after the closure of a radioactive waste disposal facility. In particular, it is important to limit substances that accelerate radionuclide migration while inhibiting adsorption between radionuclides and the subsurface medium. Through this study, a method for deriving a quantitative criteria evaluation method is proposed for cellulose among materials that accelerate the movement of these radionuclides after closure of the disposal facility. Since Sweden's SKB is representative worldwide for preparing criteria for cellulose in disposal facilities, it analyzed Sweden's acceptance criteria method and presented a method that can be applied domestically. The decomposition characteristics of cellulose and the adsorption and dissolution characteristics of ISA among degradation products were reviewed, and quantitative analysis of cement materials that create a high pH environment favorable for cellulose decomposition was also included. In addition, the total amount of the finally disposable cellulose material can be derived by using the volume information of the waste containing the cellulose material. Through this methodology for calculating the total amount of cellulose, it is expected that subsequent studies will be conducted to secure data reflecting the environmental conditions of radioactive waste disposal facilities in Korea. In addition, it is expected to be utilized as a good method to evaluate the impact of other complexing agents other than cellulose and to suggest the amount of disposal.