• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.129-129
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• 2013

Nanometal alloy catalysts have been found to significantly increase catalytic efficiency, compared to the monometallic counterparts. This enhancement can be attributed to various alloying effects: i) the existence of uniquemixed-metal surface sites [the so called ensemble (geometric) effect]; ii) electronic state changes due to metal-metal interactions [the so called ligand (electronic) effect]; and iii) strain caused by lattice mismatch between the alloy components [the socalled strain effect]. In addition, the presence of low-coordination surface atoms and preferential exposure of specific facets [(111), (100), (110)] in association with the size and shape of nanoparticle catalysts [the so called shape-size-facet effect] can be another important factor for modifying the catalytic activity. However, mechanisms underlying the alloying effect still remain unclear owing to the difficulty of direct characterization. Computational approaches, particularly the prediction using first-principles density functional theory (DFT), can be a powerful and flexible alternative for unraveling the role of alloying effects in catalysis since those can give us quantitative insights into the catalytic systems. In this talk, I will present the underlying principles (such as atomic arrangement, facet, local strain, ligand interaction, and effective atomic coordination number at the surface) that govern catalytic reactions occurring on Pd-based alloys using the first-principles calculations. This work highlights the importance of knowing how to properly tailor the surface reactivity of alloy catalysts for achieving high catalytic performance.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1159-1164
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• 2014

A simple, highly sensitive and selective method based on the rhodamine B-covered gold nanoparticle with dual-readout (colorimetric and fluorometric) detection for $\small{L}$-cysteine is proposed. A mechanism is that citrate-stabilized AuNPs were modified with RB by electrostatic interaction, which enables the nanometal surface energy transfer (NSET) from the RB to the AuNPs, quenching the fluorescence. In the presence of $\small{L}$-cysteine, it was used as a competitor in the NSET by the strongly Au-S bonding to release RB from the Au surface and recover the fluorescence, and the red-to-purple color change quickly, which was monitored simply by the naked eye. Under the optimum conditions, the detection limit is as low as 10 nM. The method possessed the advantages of simplicity, rapidity and sensitivity at the same time. The method was also successfully applied to the determination of $\small{L}$-cysteine in human urine samples, and the results were satisfying.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.108-123
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• 2004

Imaging of surfaces and structures by near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) has matured and is routinely used for studies ranging from biology to materials science. Of interest in this review paper is a versatility of modified or multi-functional NSOM (mf-NSOM) to enable high resolution imaging in several modes: (1) Concurrent fluorescence and Topographical Imaging (gases) (2) Microspectroscopy (gases) (3) Concurrent Scanning Electrochemical and Topographical Imaging (SECM) (liquids) (4) Concurrent Photoelectrochemical and Topographical Imaging (PEM) (liquids) The present study will summarize some of the recent advances in mf-NSOM work confirmed and supported by the results from several other imaging techniques of optical, fluorescence, electron and electrochemical microscopy. The studies are directed at providing local information on pitting precursor sites and vulnerable areas on metal and semiconductor surfaces, and at reactive sites on heterogeneous, catalytic substrates, especially on Al 2024 alloy and polycrystalline Ti. In addition, we will introduce some results related to the laser-induced nanometal (Ag) synthesis using mf-NSOM.

• Korean Journal of Crystallography
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.89-101
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• 2005

Among many material processing related issues for successful scaling down of devices for the next 10 years or so, the advanced gate stack and interconnect technology are two most critical research areas, which need technical innovation. The introduction of new metallic films and appropriate processing technologies are required more than ever. Especially, as the device downscaling continues well into sub 50 nm regime, the paradigm for metal nano film deposition technique research has been shifted to high conformality, low growth temperature, high quality with uniformity at large area wafers. Regarding these, ALD has sparked a lot of interests for a number of reasons. The process is intrinsically atomic in nature, resulting in the controlled deposition of films in sub-monolayer units with excellent conformality. In this paper, the overview on the current issues and the future trends in device processing technologies related to metal nano films as well as the R&D trends in these applications will be discussed. The focus will be on the applications for metal gate, capacitor electrode for DRAM, and diffusion barriers/seed layers for Cu interconnect technology.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.293-296
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• 2012

Nanocomposites were fabricated as titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) doped with nanometals (Au, Ag) by sonochemical reduction method and sol-gel method in order to investigate their antimicrobial activities. Then, the antimicrobial activity of the resulting samples was compared by the measurement of colony numbers survived on the agar plate incubated for 24 h after the loading E. coli on the solid-state media with the nanocomposites. The initial antimicrobial activity of the metal (Au, Ag)-doped $TiO_2$ was higher than that of the pristine $TiO_2$. Afterwards the nanocomposite samples were kept at $4^{\circ}C$ for a long time and the aged samples exhibited the different antimicrobial activity. With the elapse of aging times, Ag-doped $TiO_2$ with $TiO_2$ coating ($Ag-TiO_2$@$TiO_x$) exhibited the higher antimicrobial activity than those of $Ag-TiO_2$and $Au-TiO_2$. The $TiO_2$ coating on the $Ag-TiO_2$ may prevent the oxidation of Ag nanometals and stabilize colloidal nanocomposites.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.84-89
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• 2014

In this work, Ag-$TiO_2$ nanocomposites were prepared via the sonochemical deposition of Ag nanometals on $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. The size of deposited Ag nanometals was ranged in 1~3 nm and the number of Ag nanometals deposited on $TiO_2$ increased in proportion to the dosage amounts of Ag precursors. As-prepared Ag-$TiO_2$ was loaded on the sterilized agar plate together with an aliquot volume of diluted E-coli, followed by 30 min irradiation of the solar simulated light ($600{\sim}1800{\mu}w/cm^2$). Finally, the agar plate was incubated for 24 h at $37^{\circ}C$ and the number of survived colonies were counted. It was experimentally confirmed that Ag-$TiO_2$ exhibited the higher antimicrobial activity than that of pure $TiO_2$, based on measuring the colony number of control sample. The survived colony numbers on the agar plate decreased with the increase of dosage amounts of Ag-$TiO_2$ and the irradiated intensity of solar simulated light for 30 min before incubating. The increase of Ag nanometal doposition induced the progressive enhancement of antimicrobial activity, but rather reduced the photocatalytic activity of Ag-$TiO_2$ probably due to the excessive presence of Ag nanometals on $TiO_2$ matrix.