• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.353-363
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• 2024

The incorporation of nanoplatelets in composite and polymeric materials represents a recent and innovative approach, holding substantial promise for diverse property enhancements. This study focuses on the application of nanocomposites in the production of sports equipment, particularly soccer balls, aiming to bridge the gap between theoretical advancements and practical implications. Addressing the longstanding challenge of suboptimal interaction between carbon nanofillers and epoxy resin in epoxy composites, this research pioneers inventive solutions. Furthermore, the investigation extends into unexplored territory, examining the integration of glass fiber/epoxy composites with nanoparticles. The incorporation of nanomaterials, specifically expanded graphite and graphene, at a concentration of 25.0% by weight in both the epoxy structure and the composite with glass fibers demonstrates a marked increase in impact resistance compared to their nanomaterial-free counterparts. The research transcends laboratory experiments to explore the practical applications of nanocomposites in the design and production of sports equipment, with a particular emphasis on soccer balls. Analytical techniques such as infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy are employed to scrutinize the surface chemical structure and morphology of the epoxy nanocomposites. Additionally, an in-depth examination of the thermal, mechanical, viscoelastic, and conductive properties of these materials is conducted. Noteworthy findings include the efficacy of surface modification of carbon nanotubes in preventing accumulation and enhancing their distribution within the epoxy matrix. This optimization results in improved interfacial interactions, heightened thermal stability, superior mechanical properties, and enhanced electrical conductivity in the nanocomposite.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.422-431
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• 2024

Hydrothermal and ultrasonic processes were used in this study to synthesize a single-atom Cu anchored on t-BaTiO₃. The resulting material effectively employs vibration energy for the piezoelectric (PE) catalytic degradation of pollutants. The phase and microstructure of the sample were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and it was found that the sample had a tetragonal perovskite structure with uniform grain size. The nanomaterial achieved a considerable increase in tetracycline degradation rate (approximately 95 % within 7 h) when subjected to mechanical vibration. In contrast, pure BaTiO₃ demonstrated a degradation rate of 56.7 %. A significant number of piezo-induced negative charge carriers, electrons, can leak out to the Cu-doped BaTiO₃ interface due to Cu's exceptional conductivity. As a result, a single-atom Cu catalyst can facilitate the separation of these electrons, resulting in synergistic catalysis. By demonstrating a viable approach for improving ultrasonic and PE materials this research highlights the benefits of combining ultrasonic technology and the PE effect.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2024

The paper discusses the potential of nanomaterials in revolutionizing basketball equipment by applying them to advance padding and shock absorption technologies in order to bring more control and comfort to the players. Nanotechnology devised new solutions for the challenges that the players are exposed to by dealing with issues such as better control reducing shock to the hands and wrists during those most decisive periods of every game: dribbling, passing, and catching. This work embeds nanomaterials in basketballs to understand their efficacy in reducing the amount of force transmitted to players, thereby reducing the risk of injuries and fatigue. The research gives an in-depth look into the structural properties and performance benefits of nanomaterial-enhanced padding in balls for optimized comfort and control to players and improvement in the dynamics of gameplay. The future of nanotechnology in the design of basketball equipment finds further bases in an in-depth analysis and is experimentally validated with respect to the prospects of a ball that is safer, long-lasting, and with improved performance.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.495-501
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• 2014

Despite having many attractive properties, $ZrO_2$ ceramic has a low fracture toughness which limits its wide application. One of the most obvious tactics to improve its mechanical properties has been to add a reinforcing agent to formulate a nanostructured composite material. Nanopowders of $ZrO_2$ and Cr were synthesized from $CrO_3$ and Zr powder by high energy ball milling for 10 h. Dense nanocrystalline $2/3Cr-ZrO_2$ composite was consolidated by a high-frequency induction heated sintering method within 5 min at $600^{\circ}C$ from mechanically synthesized powder. The method was found to enable not only rapid densification but also the inhibition of grain growth, preserving the nano-scale microstructure. Highly dense $2/3Cr-ZrO_2$ composite with relative density of up to 99.5% was produced under simultaneous application of a 1 GPa pressure and the induced current. The hardness and fracture toughness of the composite were 534 kg/mm2 and $7MPa{\cdot}m1/2$, respectively. The composite was determined to have good biocompatibility.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.131-147
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• 2017

In this work further optical and electrical investigations of pure and Zr doped $Mn_3O_4$ (from 0 up to 20 at.%) thin films as a function of frequency. First, the refractive index, the extinction coefficient and the dielectric constants in terms of Zr content are reached from transmittance and reflectance data. The dispersion of the refractive index is discussed by means of Cauchy model and Wemple and DiDomenico single oscillator models. By exploiting these results, it was possible to estimate the plasma pulse ${\omega}_p$, the relaxation time ${\tau}$ and the dielectric constant ${\varepsilon}_{\infty}$. Second, we have performed original ac and dc conductivity studies inspired from Jonscher model and Arrhenius law. These studies helped establishing significant correlation between temperature, activation energy and Zr content. From the spectroscopy impedance analysis, we investigated the frequency relaxation phenomenon and hopping mechanisms of such thin films. Moreover, a special emphasis has been putted on the effect of the oxidation in air of hausmannite thin films to form $Mn_2O_3$ ones at $350^{\circ}C$. This intrigue phenomenon which occurred at such temperature is discussed along with this electrical study. Finally, all results have been discussed in terms of the thermal activation energies which were determined with two methods for both undoped and Zr doped $Mn_3O_4$ thin films in two temperature ranges.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.29
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• pp.4.1-4.10
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• 2014

Objectives Effects of nanoparticles including zinc oxide nanoparticles, titanium oxide nanoparticles, and their mixtures on skin corrosion and irritation were investigated by using in vitro 3D human skin models ($KeraSkin^{TM}$) and the results were compared to those of an in vivo animal test. Methods Skin models were incubated with nanoparticles for a definite time period and cell viability was measured by the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2.5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method. Skin corrosion and irritation were identified by the decreased viability based on the pre-determined threshold. Results Cell viability after exposure to nanomaterial was not decreased to the pre-determined threshold level, which was 15% after 60 minutes exposure in corrosion test and 50% after 45 minutes exposure in the irritation test. IL-$1{\alpha}$ release and histopathological findings support the results of cell viability test. In vivo test using rabbits also showed non-corrosive and non-irritant results. Conclusions The findings provide the evidence that zinc oxide nanoparticles, titanium oxide nanoparticles and their mixture are 'non corrosive' and 'non-irritant' to the human skin by a globally harmonized classification system. In vivo test using animals can be replaced by an alternative in vitro test.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.30
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• pp.7.1-7.7
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• 2015

Objectives The widely promising applications of graphene nanomaterials raise considerable concerns regarding their environmental and human health risk assessment. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the toxicity profiling of graphene family nanano-materials (GFNs) in alternative in vitro and in vivo toxicity testing models. Methods The GFNs used in this study are graphene nanoplatelets ([GNPs]-pristine, carboxylate [COOH] and amide [$NH_2$]) and graphene oxides (single layer [SLGO] and few layers [FLGO]). The human bronchial epithelial cells (Beas2B cells) as in vitro system and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as in vivo system were used to profile the toxicity response of GFNs. Cytotoxicity assays, colony formation assay for cellular toxicity and reproduction potentiality in C. elegans were used as end points to evaluate the GFNs' toxicity. Results In general, GNPs exhibited higher toxicity than GOs in Beas2B cells, and among the GNPs the order of toxicity was pristine > $NH_2$ > COOH. Although the order of toxicity of the GNPs was maintained in C. elegans reproductive toxicity, but GOs were found to be more toxic in the worms than GNPs. In both systems, SLGO exhibited profoundly greater dose dependency than FLGO. The possible reason of their differential toxicity lay in their distinctive physicochemical characteristics and agglomeration behavior in the exposure media. Conclusions The present study revealed that the toxicity of GFNs is dependent on the graphene nanomaterial's physical forms, surface functionalizations, number of layers, dose, time of exposure and obviously, on the alternative model systems used for toxicity assessment.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.94-103
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• 2008

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether celastrol, the triterpenoid component of Celastrus orbiculatus, offers neuroprotection against Parkinson's disease (PD) in mice administered 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6- tetrahydropyridine(MPTP). Methods: We examined how celastrol affected MPTP-induced neuronal loss of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) in the midbrain of mice. C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups: (1) saline-saline, (2) saline-celastrol, (3) MPTP-saline, and (4) MPTP-celastrol. The mice were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with four administrations of MPTP (18mg/kg) at 2 h intervals and then i.p. administered celastrol (3mg/kg) two times at 12 h after last celastrol administration. Expression of TH on the SNpc of brain tissues were analyzed at 7 days after the treatments by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis using TH antibody showed that celastrol provided significantly protective effects against MPTP-induced loss of TH-positive dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc region of the midbrain of mice. Our Western blot study also showed that celastrol significantly inhibits the MPTP-induced neuronal damage via the up-regulation of TH protein levels in MPTP mice. Conclusions: The present results suggest that it may be possible to use celastrol for the prevention of nigral degenerative disorders including PD, caused by exposure to toxic substances.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.3.1-3.1
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• 2011

Over the past decade, the major efforts for lowering the cost of electronics has been devoted to increasing the packaging efficiency of the integrated circuits (ICs), which is defined by the ratio of all devices on system-level board compared to the area of the board, and to working on a larger but cheaper substrates. Especially, in flexible electronics, the latter has been the favorable way along with using novel nanomaterials that have excellent mechanical flexibility and electrical properties as active channel materials and conductive films. Here, the tool for achieving large area patterning is by printing methods. Although diverse printing methods have been investigated to produce highly-aligned structures of the nanomaterials with desired patterns, many require laborious processes that need to be further optimized for practical applications, showing a clear limit to the design of the nanomaterial patterns in a large scale assembly. Here, we demonstrate the alignment of highly ordered and dense silicon (Si) NW arrays to anisotropically etched micro-engraved structures using a simple evaporation process. During evaporation, entropic attraction combined with the internal flow of the NW solution induced the alignment of NWs at the corners of pre-defined structures. The assembly characteristics of the NWs were highly dependent on the polarity of the NW solutions. After complete evaporation, the aligned NW arrays were subsequently transferred onto a flexible substrate with 95% selectivity using a direct gravure printing technique. As proof-of-concept, flexible back-gated NW field effect transistors (FETs) were fabricated. The fabricated FETs had an effective hole mobility of 0.17 $cm2/V{\cdot}s$ and an on/off ratio of ${\sim}1.4{\times}104$. These results demonstrate that our NW gravure printing technique is a simple and effective method that can be used to fabricate high-performance flexible electronics based on inorganic materials.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2013

ZnO with different morphologies can be used various application depending on their shapes. Different morphologies of ZnO structures were synthesized by a catalysis-free thermal evaporation process. Their morphologies were dependent on the distance from the source to substrate on the same processing condition; in the result were products morphologies of the hollow, cage and star. Their shapes and crystalinity were evaluated by SEM and XRD, respectively. This work demonstrates what kind of growth factors would be involved in the final structure morphologies.