• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.57-60
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• 2020

Titanium aluminides have attracted special interest as light-weight/high-temperature materials for structural applications. The major problem limiting practical use of these compounds is their poor ductility and formability. The powder metallurgy processing route has been an attractive alternative for such materials. A mixture of Ti and Al elemental powders was fabricated to a mechanical alloying process. The processed powder was hot pressed in a vacuum, and a fully densified compact with ultra-fine grain structure consisting of Ti₃Al intermetallic compound was obtained. During the compressive deformation of the compact at 1173 K, typical dynamic recrystallization (DR), which introduces a certain extent of grain refinement, was observed. The compact had high density and consisted of an ultra-fine equiaxial grain structure. Average grain diameter was 1.5 ㎛. Typical TEM micrographs depicting the internal structure of the specimen deformed to 0.09 true strain are provided, in which it can be seen that many small recrystallized grains having no apparent dislocation structure are generated at grain boundaries where well-developed dislocations with high density are observed in the neighboring grains. The compact showed a large m-value such as 0.44 at 1173 K. Moreover, the grain structure remained equiaxed during deformation at this temperature. Therefore, the compressive deformation of the compact was presumed to progress by superplastic flow, primarily controlled by DR.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.459-465
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• 2018

Most commercially available detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) require further processing to qualify for use in biomedical applications, as they often contain many impurities and exhibit poor dispersibility in aqueous media. In this work, DNDs are modified to improve purity and impart a high colloidal stability to the particles. The dispersive and adsorption properties of modified DNDs are evaluated in terms of the suitability of DNDs as carriers for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in transdermal delivery. The study of adsorption on strongly positively and strongly negatively charged DNDs showed their high loading capacity for NSAIDs, and a pronounced relationship between the drugs and the particles' charges. Experiments on long-term desorption carried out with DND/NSAID complexes indicate that the nanoparticles exert a sustained effect on the drug release process.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.150-163
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• 2021

Interest in eco-friendly materials with high efficiencies is increasing significantly as science and technology undergo a paradigm shift toward environment-friendly and sustainable development. MXenes, a class of two-dimensional inorganic compounds, are generally defined as transition metal carbides or nitrides composed of few-atoms-thick layers with functional groups. Recently MXenes, because of their desirable electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties that emerge from conductive layered structures with tunable surface terminations, have garnered significant attention as promising candidates for energy storage applications (e.g., supercapacitors and electrode materials for Li-ion batteries), water purification, and gas sensors. In this review, we introduce MXenes and describe their properties and research trends by classifying them into two main categories: transition metal carbides and nitrides, including Ti-based MXenes, Mo-based MXenes, and Nb-based MXenes.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.458-463
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• 2020

Hispidin is a secondary metabolite found in numerous medicinal mushrooms that has attracted significant attention, owing to its distinct biological effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and cytoprotective properties. Experiments are being carried out to study the interaction of detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) with synthetic and natural hispidin sourced from extracts of Pholiota sp. fungus. The bioluminescence method is used to determine the adsorption/desorption properties of DNDs toward hispidin. It is found that hispidin forms strong conjugates with DNDs, and the use of various eluents does not result in a significant release of the adsorbed hispidin molecules. DND-bovine serum albumin (BSA) complex, where DNDs serve as a carrier for the protein and the latter acts as a hispidin sorbent, has been developed and applied in hispidin adsorption/desorption tests. The results support the use of the DNDs as a carrier for hispidin in medical applications. They also advocate the application of the DND-BSA complex for isolating the substance from fungal extracts.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.477-483
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• 2020

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are of significant interest because of their high porosity, which facilitates their utilization in gas storage and catalysis. To enhance their current properties in these applications, it is necessary to elucidate the interactions between molecules in a confined environment that differ from those in bulk conditions. Herein, we study the confined molecular interaction by investigating the solvent-dependent photophysical properties of two different-sized molecules inside MOF-5. Ruthenium tris-bipyridine (Rubpy) and coumarin 153 (C153) are encapsulated in MOF-5. Rubpy with MOF-5 (Rubpy@MOF) is prepared by building MOF-5 around it, resulting in limited space for solvent molecules in the pores. The smaller C153 is encapsulated in the preformed MOF-5 (C153@MOF) by simply soaking the MOF in a concentrated C153 solution. C153@MOF permits more space for solvent molecules in the pore. Their characteristic absorption and emission spectra are examined to elucidate the confined molecular interactions. Rubpy@MOF and C153@MOF exhibit different spectral shifts compared to the guest molecules under bulk conditions. This discrepancy is attributed to the different micro-environments inside the pores, derived from confined host-guest interactions in the interplay of solvent molecules.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.509-517
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• 2021

Smart materials capable of changing their characteristics in response to stimuli such as light, heat, pH, and electric and magnetic fields are promising for application to flexible electronics, soft robotics, and biomedicine. Compared with conventional rigid materials, these materials are typically composed of soft materials that improve the biocompatibility and allow for large and dynamic deformations in response to external environmental stimuli. Among them, smart magnetic materials are attracting immense attention owing to their fast response, remote actuation, and wide penetration range under various conditions. In this review, we report the material design and fabrication of smart magnetic materials. Furthermore, we focus on recent advances in their typical applications, namely, soft magnetic actuators, sensors for self-assembly, object manipulation, shape transformation, multimodal robot actuation, and tactile sensing.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1593-1601
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• 2021

Oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS) tungsten alloys are highly desirable in irradiation applications. However, how to improve the properties of ODS-tungsten alloys efficiently has been worth studying for a long time. Here we report a nanostructuring approach that achieves W-La₂O₃ alloy with a high level of flexural strength and Vickers hardness at room temperature, which have the maximum value of 581 MPa and 703 Hv, respectively. This method named solution combustion synthesis (SCS) can generate 30 nm coating structures W-La₂O₃ composite powders by using Keggin-type structural polyoxometalates as raw materials in a fast and low-cost process. The composite powder can be fabricated to W-La₂O₃ alloy with an optimal microstructure of submicrometric W grains coexisting with nanometric oxide particles in the grain interior, and a stability interface structure of grain boundaries (GBs) by forming transition zones. The method can be used to prepare new ODS alloys with excellent properties in the future.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.370-375
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• 2022

Cu-doped ZnSe quantum dots were successfully synthesized in an aqueous solution using an internal doping method. The effects of ligand type, CuSe synthesis temperature, and heating time on Cu-doped ZnSe synthesis were systematically investigated. Of MPA, GSH, TGA, and NAC used as ligands, MPA was the optimal ligand as determined by PL spectrum analysis. In addition, the emission wavelength was found to depend on the synthesis temperature of the internal doping core of CuSe. As the temperature increased, the doping of Cu²⁺ was enhanced, and the emission wavelength band was redshifted; accordingly, the emission peaks moved from blue to green (up to 550 nm). Thus, the synthesis of Cu:ZnSe using internal doping in aqueous solutions is a potential method for ecomanufacturing of color-tuned ZnSe quantum dots for display applications.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.376-381
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• 2022

Tungsten disulfide (WS₂) nanosheets have attracted considerable attention because of their unique optical and electrical properties. Several methods for fabrication of WS₂ nanosheets have been developed. However, methods for mass production of high-quality WS₂ nanosheets remain challenging. In this study, WS₂ nanosheets were fabricated using mechano-chemical ball milling based on the synergetic effects of chemical intercalation and mechanical exfoliation. The ball-milling time was set as a variable for the optimized fabricating process of WS₂ nanosheets. Under the optimized conditions, the WS₂ nanosheets had lateral sizes of 500-600 nm with either a monolayer or bilayer. They also exhibited high crystallinity in the 2H semiconducting phase. Thus, the proposed method can be applied to the exfoliation of other transition metal dichalcogenides using suitable chemical intercalants. It can also be used with high-performance WS₂-based photodiodes and transistors used in practical semiconductor applications.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.418-423
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• 2022

Carbon fibers (CFs) are considered promising composite materials for various applications. However, the high cost of CFs (as much as $26 per kg) limits their practical use in the automobile and energy industries. In this study, we developed a continuous stabilization process for manufacturing low-cost CFs. We employed a textile-grade polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber as a low-cost precursor and UV irradiation technique to shorten the thermal stabilization time. We confirmed that UV irradiation on the textile-grade PAN fibers could lower the initial thermal stabilization temperature and also lead to a higher reaction. These resulted in a shorter overall stabilization time and enhancement of the tensile properties of textile-grade PAN-based CFs. Our study found that only 70 min of stabilization time with UV irradiation was required to prepare textile-grade PAN-based low-cost CFs with a tensile strength of 2.37 ± 0.22 GPa and tensile modulus of 249 ± 5 GPa.