• Carbon letters
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• v.26
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• pp.31-42
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• 2018

Adsorption is one of the best methods for wastewater purification. The fact that water quality is continuously decreasing requires the development of novel, effective and cost available adsorbents. Herein, a simple procedure for the preparation of a magnetic adsorbent from agricultural waste biomass and ferrofluid has been introduced. Specifically, ferrofluid mixed with wheat straw was directly pyrolyzed either by microwave irradiation (900 W, 30 min) or by conventional heating ($550^{\circ}C$, 90 min). Magnetic biochars were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, $M{\ddot{o}}ssbauer$ spectroscopy, textural analysis and tested as adsorbents of As(V) oxyanion and cationic methylene blue, respectively. Results showed that microwave pyrolysis produced char with high adsorption capacity of As(V) ($Q_m=25.6mg\;g^{-1}$ at pH 4), whereas conventional pyrolysis was not so effective. In comparison to conventional pyrolysis, one-step microwave pyrolysis produced a material with expressive microporosity, having a nine times higher value of specific surface area as well as total pore volume. We assumed that sorption properties are also caused by several iron-bearing composites identified by $M{\ddot{o}}ssbauer$ spectroscopy ([super] paramagnetic $Fe_2O_3$, ${\alpha}-Fe$, non-stoichiometric $Fe_3C$, ${\gamma}-Fe_2O_3$, ${\gamma}-Fe$) transformed from nano-maghemite presented in the ferrofluid. Methylene blue was also more easily removed by magnetic biochar prepared by microwaves ($Q_m=144.9mg\;g^{-1}$ at pH 10.9) compared to using conventional techniques.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 2006

Thick film $H_2$ sensors were fabricated using $SnO_2$ loaded with $Ag_2O$ and $PtO_x$. The composition that gave the highest sensitivity for $H_2$ was in the weight% ratio of $SnO_2 : PtO_x : Ag_2O$ as 93 : 1 : 6. The nano-crystalline powders of $SnO_2$ synthesized by sol-gel method were screen printed with $Ag_2O$ and $PtO_x$ on alumina substrates. The fabricated sensors were tested against gases like $H_2$, $CH_4$, $C_3H_8$, $C_2H_5OH$ and $SO_2$. The composite material was found sensitive against $H_2$ at the working temperature $130^{\circ}C$, with minor interference of other gases. The $H_2$ gas as low as 100 ppm can be detected by the present fabricated sensors. It was found that the sensors based on $SnO_2-Ag_2O-PtO_x$ system exhibited the high performance, high selectivity and very short response time to $H_2$ at ppm level. These characteristics make the sensor to be a promising candidate for detecting low concentrations of $H_2$.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.611-616
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• 2010

A cobalt oxide - tin oxide nanocomposite based gas sensor on an $SiO_2$ substrate was fabricated. Granular thin film of tin oxide was formed by a rheotaxial growth and thermal oxidation method using dc magnetron sputtering of Sn. Nano particles of cobalt oxide were spin-coated on the tin oxide. The cobalt oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by polymer-assisted deposition method, which is a simple cost-effective versatile synthesis method for various metal oxides. The thickness of the film can be controlled over a wide range of thicknesses. The composite structures thus formed were characterized in terms of morphology and gas sensing properties for reduction gas of $H_2$. The composites showed a highest response of 240% at $250^{\circ}C$ upon exposure to 4% $H_2$. This response is higher than those observed in pure $SnO_2$ (90%) and $Co_3O_4$ (70%) thin films. The improved response with the composite structure may be related to the additional formation of electrically active defects at the interfaces. The composite sensor shows a very fast response and good reproducibility.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.410-417
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• 2003

Poly(methyl methacrylate-co-acrylonitrile) [P(MMA-co-AN)]/Na-MMT nanocomposites were synthesized through emulsion polymerization with pristine Na-MMT. The nanocomposites were exfoliated up to 20 wt% content of pristine Na-MMT relative to the amount of MMA and AN, and exhibited enhanced storage moduli, E', relative to the neat copolymer. The exfoliated morphology of the nanocomposite was confirmed by XRD and TEM. 2-Acryla-mido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) widened the galleries between the clay layers before polymerization and facilitated the comonomers, penetration into the clay to create the exfoliated nanocomposites. The onset of the thermal decomposition of the nanocomposites shifted to a higher temperature as the clay content increased. By calculating areas of tan$\delta$ of the nanocomposites, we observed that the nanocomposites show more solid-like behavior as the clay content increases. The dynamic storage modulus and complex viscosity increased with clay content. The complex viscosity showed shear-thinning behavior as the clay content increased. The Young's moduli of the nano-composites are higher than that of the neat copolymer and they increase steadily as the silicate content increases, as a result of the exfoliated structure at high clay content.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.5 s.72
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• pp.77-81
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• 2006

In this study, monolithic liquid phase sintered SiC (LPS-SiC) was made by the hot pressing method with nano-SiC powder, whose particle size is 30 nm and less on the average. Alumina ($Al_{2}O_{3}$), yttria ($Y_{2}O_{3}$), and silica ($S_{i}O_{2}$) were used for sintering additives. To investigate the effects of $S_{i}O_{2}$, the $Al_{2}O_{3}/Y_{2}O_{3}$ composition was fixed and the ratio of $S_{i}O_{2}$ was changed, with seven different ratios tested. And to investigate the effects of the sintering temperature, the sintering temperature was changed, with $1760^{\circ}C,\;1780_{\circ}C$, and $1800_{\circ}C$ being used with a $S_{i}O_{2}$ ratio of 3 wt%. The materials were sintered for 1 hour at $1760^{\circ}C,\;1780^{\circ}C$ and $1800^{\circ}C$ under a pressure of 20 MPa. The effects on sintering from the sintering system used, as well as from the composition of the sintering additives, were investigated by density measurements. Mechanical properties, such as flexural strength, were investigated to ensure the optimum conditions for a matrix of SiCf/SiC composites. Sintered densityand the flexural strength of fabricated LPS-SiC increased with an increase in sintering temperature. Particularly, the relative density of a sintered body at $1800^{\circ}C$ with a non-content of $S_{i}O_{2}$, a specimen of AYSO-1800, was 95%. Also, flexural strength was about 750MPa.

• Composites Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2005

In this work, the effect of ozone treatment of montmorillonite (MMT) on the surface characteristics of montmorillonite and the thermal stability of MMT/polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites was investigated. The surface properties of MMT were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Also, the thermal stability of nanocomposites was investigated in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). As a result, it was found that the silicate interlayers of the organically modified MMT (D-MMT) were increased by about 11${\AA}$, as compared with the MMT. Also, FT-IR showed that a new peaks at $2800\~2900\;cm^{-1}$ appeared due to the $CH_2$ mode in the D-MMT The ozone treatment of the MMT led to an increase of SiO or $SiO_2$ groups on MMT surfaces, resulting in increasing the oxygen-containing functional groups on MMT. The ozonized MMT had higher thermal stability than that of untreated nanocomposites. This was due to the improvement of interfacial bonding strengths, resulting from the acid-base interfacial interactions between PP and MMT.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.121-124
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• 2013

The incorporation of 90 nm alumina particles into an epoxy matrix to form a composite microstructure is described in present study. It is shown that the use of ultrafine particles results in a substantial change in the behavior of the composite, which can be traced to the mitigation of internal charges when a comparison is made with conventional $Al_2O_3$ fillers. A variety of diagnostic techniques have been used to augment pulsed electro-acoustic space charge measurement to provide a basis for understanding the underlying physics of the phenomenon. It would appear that, when the size of the inclusions becomes small enough, they act cooperatively with the host structure and cease to exhibit interfacial properties. It is postulated that the $Al_2O_3$ particles are surrounded by high charge concentrations. Since $Al_2O_3$ particles have very high specific areas, these regions allow limited charge percolation through $Al_2O_3$ filled dielectrics. The practical consequences of this have also been explored in terms of the electric strength exhibited. It would appear that there was a window in which real advantages accumulated from the nano-formulated material. An optimum filler loading of about 0.5 wt.% was indicated.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.887-894
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• 2013

Effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids has been predicted by using generalized self-consistent model and modified Eshelby model, which have been used for analysis of material properties of composites. A nanolayer between base fluid and nanoparticle, one of key factors for abrupt enhancement of thermal conductivity of nanofluids, is included in the analysis. The effective thermal conductivities of the nanofluid predicted by the present study show good agreement with those by models in the literature for the nanolayer with a constant or linear thermal conductivity. The predicted results by the present approach have been confirmed to be consistent with experiments for representative nanofluids such as base fluids of water or ethyleneglycol and nanoparticles of $Al_2O_3$ or CuO to be validated.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.455-462
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• 2019

ZrB₂ ceramic and ZrB₂ ceramic composites with the addition of SiC, WC, and SiC/WC are successfully synthesized by a spark plasma sintering method. During high-temperature oxidation, SiC additive form a SiO₂ amorphous outer scale layer and SiC-deplete ZrO₂ scale layer, which decrease the oxidation rate. WC addition forms WO₃ during the oxidation process to result in a ZrO₂/WO₃ liquid sintering layer, which is known to improve the anti-oxidation effect. The addition of SiC and WC to ZrB₂ reduces the oxygen effective diffusivity by one-fifth of that of ZrB₂. The addition of both SiC and WC shows the formation of a SiO₂ outer dense glass layer and ZrO₂/WO₃ layer so that the anti-oxidation effect is improved three times as much as that of ZrB₂. Therefore, SiC- and WC-added ZrB₂ has a lower two-order oxygen effective diffusivity than ZrB₂; it improves the anti-oxidation performance 3 times as much as that of ZrB₂.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2011

Recently, high growth potential of barrier materials industry including high performance packing materials was expected with increasing the national income and well-being culture. As high barrier materials, polymer nanocomposites have considerable attractions due to their excellent physical properties compared to conventional composite materials. In general, polymer nanocomposites were consisted of polymer matrix and inorganic fillers, such as layered silicate, carbon nanotubes, and metal- or inorganic nanoparticles. Among these materials, layered silicate which was called as the clay was usually used as nano-fillers because of naturally abundant and most economical and structural properties. Clay-reinforced polymer nanocomposites have various advantages, such as high strength, flammability, gas barrier property, abrasion resistance, and low shrinkage and used for automotive and packing materials. Therefore, in this paper, we focused on the need of gas barrier materials and materials-related technologies.