• KSBB Journal
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.414-420
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• 2007

Nanomaterials have been applied to various fields due to their advantageous characteristics such as high surface area, rapid diffusion, high specific surface areas, reactivity in liquid or gas phase, and a size close to biomacromolecules. Up to date, increased manufacturing and frequently use of the materials, however, revoke people's concerns on their hazard impact including toxicity the materials. Many research groups have carried out different protocols to evaluate toxic effects of nanomaterilas on different organisms, and consequently, nanomaterials are known to cytotoxicity. In this paper, we reviewed some of the most reports on toxic effects of several nanoparticles specifically on bacteria. There are numbers of reports focused on antibacterial effect of nanoparticles based on bacterial cell viability. Therefore, the application of each nanomaterial should be concerned with its toxicity and its toxic effect should be evaluated in terms of concentrations and sizes of the nanomaterials used, prior to use of a nanomaterial.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.71-82
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• 2013

A simple chemical precipitation technique is reported for the synthesis of a hybrid nanostructure of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and titania ($TiO_2$) nanocrystals of average size 5 nm, which may be useful as a prominent photocatalytic material with improved functionality. The synthesized hybrid structure has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. It is clearly revealed that nearly monodispersed titania nanocrystals (anatase phase) of average size 5 nm decorate the surfaces of SWCNT bundles. The UV-vis absorption study shows a blue shift of 16 nm in the absorbance peak position of the composite material compared to the unmodified SWCNTs. The photoluminescence study shows a violet-blue emission in the range of 325-500 nm with a peak emission at 400 nm. The low temperature electrical transport property of the synthesized nanomaterial has been studied between 77-300 K. The DC conductivity shows semiconductor-like characteristics with conductivity increasing sharply with temperature in the range of 175-300 K. Such nanocomposites may find wide applications as improved photocatalyst due to transfer of photo-ejected electrons from $TiO_2$ to SWCNT, thus reducing recombination, with the SWCNT scaffold providing a firm and better positioning of the catalytic material.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.2813-2817
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• 2014

A new magnetic semiconductor material was synthesized to enable separation after a liquid-type photocatalysis process. Core@shell-structured $CuFeS_2@TiO_2$ magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by a combination of solvothermal and wet-impregnation methods for photocatalysis applications. The materials obtained were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible, photoluminescence spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurements, and cyclic voltammetry. This study confirmed that the light absorption of $CuFeS_2$ was shifted significantly to the visible wavelength compared to pure $TiO_2$. Moreover, the resulting hydrogen production from the photo-splitting methanol/water solution after 10 hours was more than 4 times on the core@shell structured $CuFeS_2@TiO_2$ nanocatalyst than on either pure $TiO_2$ or $CuFeS_2$.

• 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.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.1857-1863
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• 2013

Most of biomaterials come in direct contact with the body, making standardized methods of evaluation and validation of biocompatibility an important aspect to biomaterial development. However, biomaterial validation guidelines have not been fully established, until now. This study was to compare the in vitro behavior of osteoblasts cultured on nanomaterial $TiO_2$ surfaces to osteoblast behavior on culture plates. Comparisons were also made to cells grown in conditioned media (CM) that creates an environment similar to the in vivo environment. Comparisons were made between the different growth conditions for osteoblast adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and functionality. We found that the in vivo-like system of growing cells in concentrated CM provided a good validation method for biomaterial development and in vivo implant therapy. The $TiO_2$ materials were biocompatible, showing similar behavior to that observed in vivo. This study provided valuable information that would aid in the creation of guidelines into standardization and evaluation of biocompatibility in $TiO_2$ biomaterials.

• Carbon letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.18-28
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• 2016

Global warming is considered one of the great challenges of the twenty-first century. In order to reduce the ever-increasing amount of methane (CH₄) released into the atmosphere, and thus its impact on global climate change, CH₄ storage technologies are attracting significant research interest. CH₄ storage processes are attracting technological interest, and methane is being applied as an alternative fuel for vehicles. CH₄ storage involves many technologies, among which, adsorption processes such as processes using porous adsorbents are regarded as an important green and economic technology. It is very important to develop highly efficient adsorbents to realize techno-economic systems for CH₄ adsorption and storage. In this review, we summarize the nanomaterials being used for CH₄ adsorption, which are divided into non-carbonaceous (e.g., zeolites, metal-organic frameworks, and porous polymers) and carbonaceous materials (e.g., activated carbons, ordered porous carbons, and activated carbon fibers), with a focus on recent research.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.95-103
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• 2015

Objectives: This study was conducted in order to better understand the conceptual model and Stoffenmanager nano module and apply it to the synthesis and packing processes of nanomaterials. Methods: Site visits were conducted to five nanomaterial production processes. Product and exposure variables were investigated in these workplaces. Hazard banding and exposure classification of the synthesis and packing processes of nanomaterials were conducted using documents and the website of Stoffenmanager Nano. Results: The five sites featured different products, packing tasks, ventilation and local exhaust, and others. The hazards for nano-nickel and copper were classified as E. The hazards for both fumed silica and indium tin oxide were classified as D. The hazard for spherical silica was classified as C. The exposure classes in the synthesis process of nanomaterials ranged from 2 through 4. The exposure classes in the packing process of nanomaterials ranged from 1 through 4. Conclusions: Application of Stoffenmanager nano to the synthesis and packing processes of nanomaterials helped to better understand the control level of the work environment and to suggest appropriate actions. The comparison of each process showed the effect of the production process and handling of solids and ventilation on exposure class.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.33.1-33.1
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• 2009

To date, nanostructured tungsten oxides with a variety of stoichiometries, such as WO3, WO2.9, W18O49, and WO2, have been prepared, because they are promising candidates for applications such as gas sensors, photocatalysts, electrochromic devices, and field emission devices. Among them, W18O49 and WO2 have been widely studied due to their outstanding chemical sensing, catalytic, and electron emissive properties. Here we report, for the first time, a one-pot solution-phase route to synthesizing a novel composite hierarchical hollow structure without adding catalysts, surfactants, or templates. The products, consisting of a WO2 hollow core sphere surrounded by a W18O49 nanorod shell (yielding a sea urchin-like structure), were generated as discrete structures via Ostwald ripening. To our knowledge, this type of composite hierarchical core/shell structure has not been reported previously. The morphological evolution and the detailed growth mechanism were carefully studied. We also demonstrate that the size of the hollow urchins is readily tunable by controlling the reactant concentrations.Interestingly, although bulk tungsten oxides are weakly paramagnetic or diamagnetic, the as-prepared products show unusual ferromagnetic behavior atroom temperature. The urchin structures also show a very high Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) surface area, suggesting that they may potentially be applied to chemical sensor or effective catalyst technologies.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.3.2-3.2
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• 2011

Nanofibers, one of various one-dimensional nanomaterials such as nanorods, nanowires and nanotubes have been successfully synthesized by many groups in recent years and their applications to chemical sensors, catalytic filters and biomedicine, etc. are extensively tested. In particular, there is a possibility that chemical sensors based on oxide nanofibers can overcome the shortcomings of chemical sensors based on single nanowires. In order to prepare oxide nanofibers, the electrospinning method is most widely used. In this work, we synthesized various oxide nanofibers including ZnO, SnO2 and CuO by employing an electrospinning method and various shapes of nanofibers including core-shell nanofibers and hollow nanofibers as well. The response properties of the various nanofibers to oxidizing and reducing gaseous species have been investigated systematically. The normal oxide nanofibers showed high sensitivity and quite fast response time to many gaseous species. Furthermore, derivatives of normal nanofibers including hollow nanofibers, core-shell nanofibers and heterostructured nanofibers display much superior sensing properties. These results hold promise for the practical application of oxide nanofibers to chemical sensors. In addition, the sensing mechanisms operated in the nanofibers will be discussed in detail.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.343-348
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• 2018

Recently, the properties of nanostructured materials as advanced engineering materials have received great attention. These properties include fracture toughness and a high degree of hardness. To hinder grain growth during sintering, it is necessary to fabricate nanostructured materials. In this respect, a high-frequency induction-heated sintering method has been presented as an effective technique for making nanostructured materials at a lower temperature in a very short heating period. Nanopowders of W and $Al_2O_3$ are synthesized from $WO_3$ and Al powders during high-energy ball milling. Highly dense nanostructured $W-Al_2O_3$ composites are made within three minutes by high-frequency induction-heated sintering method and materials are evaluated in terms of hardness, fracture toughness, and microstructure. The hardness and fracture toughness of the composite are $1364kg/mm^2$ and $7.1MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$, respectively. Fracture toughness of nanostructured $W-Al_2O_3$ is higher than that of monolithic $Al_2O_3$. The hardness of this composite is higher than that of monolithic W.