• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.680-686
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• 2013

Tungsten oxide films were prepared by an electrochemical deposition method for use as the anode in rechargeable lithium batteries. Continuous potentiostatic deposition of the film led to numerous cracks of the deposits while pulsed deposition significantly suppressed crack generation and film delamination. In particular, a crack-free dense tungsten oxide film with a thickness of ca. 210 nm was successfully created by pulsed deposition. The thickness of tungsten oxide was linearly proportional to deposition time. Compositional and structural analyses revealed that the as-prepared deposit was amorphous tungsten oxide and the heat treatment transformed it into crystalline triclinic tungsten oxide. Both the as-prepared and heat-treated samples reacted reversibly with lithium as the anode for rechargeable lithium batteries. Typical peaks for the conversion processes of tungsten oxides were observed in cyclic voltammograms, and the reversibility of the heat-treated sample exceeded that of the as-prepared one. Consistently, the cycling stability of the heat-treated sample proved to be much better than that of the as-prepared one in a galvanostatic charge/discharge experiment. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using electrolytic tungsten oxide films as the anode in rechargeable lithium batteries. However, further works are still needed to make a dense film with higher thickness and improved cycling stability for its practical use.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.299-309
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• 2016

In this study, the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of carbon nanomaterials and synthesized nano-carbon/Si composites were studied. The nano-carbon/Si composites were ball-milled to a nano size and coated with pyrolytic carbon using Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). They were then finely mixed with respective nano-carbon materials. The physicochemical properties of samples were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and surface area analyzer. The electrochemical characteristics were investigated using the galvanostatic charge-discharge and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. Three-electrode cells were fabricated using the carbon nanomaterials and nano-carbon/Si composites as anode materials and LiPF₆ and LiClO₄ as electrolytes of Li secondary batteries. Reversibility using LiClO₄ as an electrolyte was superior to that of LiPF₆ as the electrolyte. The initial discharge capacities of nano-carbon/Si composites were increased compared to the initial discharge capacities of nano-carbon materials.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.149-153
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• 2012

The $Cu_2O/TiO_2$ inverse opal heterojunction arrays were developed by electrochemical deposition of $Cu_2O$ nanoparticles on $TiO_2$ inverse opal arrays. The $Cu_2O$ nanoparticles completely filled the inner pores of $TiO_2$ inverse opal film (prepared by liquid phase deposition with an average thickness of 400 nm) and covered the entire area; exhibiting high crystalline properties of anatase and cubic phase from $TiO_2$ and $Cu_2O$, respectively. From asymmetric current-voltage profile, it was noticeable that a heterojunction was well formed for charge transport from $Cu_2O$ to $TiO_2$ film resulting from the enhanced charge separation yield. In addition, increased photocurrent of 0.19 $mA/cm^2$ (versus 0.08 $mA/cm^2$ under dark condition) was obtained at -0.35 V from the heterojunction structure in the 0.5M $Na_2SO_4$ solution.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.159-164
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• 2012

Magnesium (Mg) deposition and dissolution behaviors of 0.2 M $MgBu_2-(AlCl_2Et)_2$, 0.5 M $Mg(ClO_4)_2$, and 0.4M $(PhMgCl)_2-AlCl_3$-based electrolytes with and without tris(pentafluorophenyl) borane (TPFPB) are investigated by ex situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and galvanostatic cycling of Mg/copper (Cu) cells. To ascertain the factors responsible for the anodic stability of the electrolytes, linear sweep voltammogrametry (LSV) experiments for various electrolytes and solvents are conducted. The effects of TPFPB as an additive on the anodic stability of 0.4M ($(PhMgCl)_2-AlCl_3$/THF electrolyte are also discussed.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2016

Sr_0.92Y_0.08TiO_3-δ (SYT) was investigated as an alternative anode in humidified CH₄ fuel for SOFCs at low temperatures (650 ℃-750 ℃) and compared with the conventional Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni/YSZ) anode. The goal of the study was to directly use a hydrocarbon fuel in a SOFC without a reforming process. The cell performance of the SYT anode was relatively low compared with that of the Ni/YSZ anode because of the poor electrochemical catalytic activity of SYT. In the presence of CH₄ fuel, however, the cell performance with the SYT anode decreased by 20%, in contrast to the 58% decrease in the case of the Ni/YSZ anode. The severe degradation of cell performance observed with the Ni/YSZ anode was caused by carbon deposition that resulted from methane thermal cracking. Carbon was much less detected in the SYT anode due to the catalytic oxidation. Otherwise, a significant amount of bulk carbon was detected in the Ni/YSZ anode.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.483-489
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• 2017

The loss of the sulfur cathode material through dissolution of the polysulfide into electrolyte causes a significant capacity reduction of the lithium-sulfur cell during the charge-discharge reaction, thereby debilitating the electrochemical performance of the cell. We addressed this problem by using a chemical and physical approach called reduction of polysulfide dissolution through direct coating functional inorganic (graphene oxide) or organic layer (polyethylene oxide) on electrode, since the deposition of external functional layer can chemically interact with polysulfide and physically prevent the leakage of lithium polysulfide out of the electrode. Through this approach, we obtained a composite electrode for a lithium-sulfur battery (sulfur: 60%) coated with uniform and thin external functional layers where the thin external layer was coated on the electrode by solution coating and drying by a subsequent heat treatment at low temperature (${\sim}80^{\circ}C$). The external functional layer, such as inorganic or organic layer, not only alleviates the dissolution of the polysulfide electrolyte during the charging/discharging through physical layer formation, but also makes a chemical interaction between the polysulfide and the functional layer. As-formed lithium-sulfur battery exhibits stable cycling electrochemical performance during charging and discharging at a reversible capacity of 700~1187 mAh/g at 0.1 C (1 C = 1675 mA/g) for 30 cycles or more.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.187-191
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• 2014

Indium oxide ($In_2O_3$) nanorods (NRs) which can be expected to increase the device performance in various electronic and electrochemical applications were prepared on carbon fibers via an electrochemical deposition (ED) method. During the ED, the indium hydroxide ($In(OH)_3$) NRs were well grown and firmly attached onto the carbon fibers. After that, they were changed into $In_2O_3$ by dehydration through a thermal annealing. The morphological and structural properties were investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscope images. The crystallinity of as-prepared sample was evaluated by X-ray diffraction. The Fourier transform infrared results confirm that the functional groups are present in the $In_2O_3$ NRs. This facile process of metal oxide nanostructures on carbon fiber can be utilized for flexible electronic and energy related applications.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2011

The effect of organic additives, polyethylene glycol (PEG), on the trivalent chromium electroplating was analysed in the view point of current efficiency, solution stability and metallurgical structure. It was measured that PEG-containing trivalent chromium solution had about 10% higher current efficiency than pure solution and controlled the micro-crack density of electrodeposits. PEG exhibited profound effect on the solution stability by reducing the consumption rate of formic acid which acts as a complexant to lower the activation energy required for electrochemical reduction of trivalent chromium ions. It was also revealed that the formation of chromium carbide layer was facilitated in the presence of polyethylene glycol, which meant easier electrochemical codeposition of chromium and carbon, not single chromium deposition. Trivalent chromium layer formed from PEG-containing solution was amorphous with local nano-crystalline particles, which were prominently developed on the entire surface after non-oxidative heat treatment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.575-578
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• 2011

We fabricated a novel simple and rapid method of three dimensional nanoporous gold thin film (NPGF) onto a Au substrate using electrochemical deposition method. The NPGF-modified electrode analysis by scanning electron microscope and reveals the formation of nanopores, approximately 30~50 nm in diameter. differential pulse voltammetry was measured for the determination of ${\gamma}$-aminobutiric acid in the concentration range of ($10{\sim}100{\mu}M$ using a NPGF. The high sensitivity feature of NPGF is expected to be applied for real sample biosensor applications.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.132-138
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• 2016

In this study, we report the fabrication of functional complex fibers, which have been studied widely globally for numerous applications. Here, we fabricated conductive complex fibers with antibacterial properties by coating metal ions on the surface of plastic (polypropylene) fibers using the electroless and electrochemical deposition. First, we polished the polypropylene melt-blown fiber surface and obtained an absorbing Pd seed layer on its surface. Subsequently, we substituted the Pd with Cu. Bis-3-sulfopropyl-disulfide disodium salt (SPS), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and ethylene thiourea (ETU) were used as the brightener, carrier, and leveler, respectively for the electroplating. We focused on most achieving the stable plating condition to remove dendrites, which are normally during electroplating metals so that smooth layer is formed on the fiber surface. The higher the amount of SPS, the higher was the extent of irregular plate-like growth. Many irregularities in the form of round spheres were observed with increase in the amount of PEG and ETU. Hence, when the additives were used separately, a uniform coating could not be obtained. A stable coating was obtained when the three additives were combined and a uniform 5-9 μm thick copper layer with a stable morphology could be obtained around the fiber. We believe that our results can be applied widely to obtain conductive fibers with antibacterial properties and are useful in aiding research on conductive lightweight composite fibers for application in information technology and robotics.