• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1623-1634
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• 2022

A new irradiation loop design has been developed, which provides the ability to carry out radiolytic resistance studies of extraction systems simulating process relevant conditions in an easy and simple way. The step-by-step loop configuration permits an easy modification of settings and has a relative low volume requirement. This irradiation loop has been initially set up to test the main EURO-GANEX process steps: the lanthanide (Ln) and actinide (An) co-extraction followed by the transuranic (TRU) stripping. The performance and changes in the composition have been analyzed during the irradiation experiment by different techniques: gamma spectroscopy and ICP-MS for the extraction and corrosion behavior of the full system, and HPLC-MS and Raman spectroscopy to determine the degradation of the organic and aqueous solvents, respectively. The Ln and An co-extraction step and the corrosion that occurred during the first irradiation step revealed the favorable expected results according to literature. The effects of acidity changes occurred during the irradiation process, the presence of stainless corrosion products in solution as well as the new possible degradation compounds have been explored in the An stripping step. The results obtained demonstrate the importance of developing realistic irradiation experiments where different factors affecting the performance can be easily studied and isolated.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2024

In the oil and gas industry, composite materials should exhibit high flexibility and strength for offshore structures. Therefore, weak points in the composites should be improved, such as brittleness, moisture penetration, and diffusion of detrimental ions into nanometric pores. This study aimed to increase the strength, flexibility, and plugging of nanopores using single-layer graphene oxide (SGO) nanosheets. Therefore, SGO is added to unsaturated polyester resin at concentrations of 0.015 and 0.15 % with Normal Methyl Pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent for the formation of Nanographene Oxide Reinforced Polymer (NGORP). The mechanical properties of the prepared samples were tested using tensile testing (ASTM-D 638). It has been shown that incorporating SGO, approximately 0.015%, into the base resin resulted in enhanced properties such as rupture resistance forces increased by 745.61 N, applied stress tolerances increased by 4.1 MPa, longitude increased to 1.58 mm, elongation increased by about 2.38%, and rupture energy increased by about 204.51 J. Despite the decrease in tensile force strength properties in the manufactured nanocomposite with 0.15% SGO, it has exclusive flexibility properties such as a high required energy level for rupture of 5,576 times and a formability of 40% more than the base sample. It would be best to use NGORP manufactured from 0.015% nanosheets with exclusive properties rather than base samples for constructing parts and equipment, such as rebars, composite sheets, and transmission pipes, on offshore platforms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.27 no.2_2
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• pp.371-375
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• 2024

Epoxy resins are widely used in various fields due to their high adhesion, mechanical strength, and solvent resistance. However, as the volume decreases during the hardening process and the cooling process after hardening, stress is generated and when an external force is applied, the brittle material exhibits destruction behavior. To complement this, research has been conducted using inorganic nanofillers such as halloysite nanotube(HNT). HNT has a nanotube structure with the chemical formula of Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄·nH₂O and is a natural sediment of aluminosilicate. It has been used as additive to improve the mechanical properties of epoxy composites with exchange of amine group as a terminal functional group. In order to simplify complicated procedures of common wet method, a dry coating machine was designed and used for amine group exchange in previous research. In this study, they were applied as filler in epoxy composites, and mechanical properties such as tensile strength and flexural strength of composites were examined.

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.177-184
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• 2020

Flame retardant(FR) clothes prohibit additional fire diffusion and make the personnel do their tasks without a hitch in a flammable environment. The existing FR clothes, however, are heavy and give high thermal fatigue. Therefore, it is strongly demanded to develop a light, convenient, and eco-friendly clothes. Recently, many works have been reported to make FR fabrics with phosphorus compounds, but their performance could not satisfy the specified criteria in appraisal standards of domestic and American FR clothes or combat uniforms. In this paper, two kinds of phosphorus compounds were applied to cotton fabric. Graphene oxide functionalized with a phosphorus-rich deep eutectic solvent and ammonium polyphosphate were coated on cotton fabric by eco-friendly padding procedure. The coated fabrics were analyzed with thermogravimetric analysis, vertical flame resistance test(ASTM D6413), cone calorimeter test(ISO 5660-1), and method of test for limited flame spread(ISO 15025). It was revealed that the as-made cotton with those two materials simultaneously had better flame resistance than the cottons with each one. Furthermore, an additional coating for hydrophobicity on the FR cotton was tried for better washing fastness.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.555-560
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• 2023

Conventional aqueous amine-based CO₂ capture has a problem in that a large amount of renewable energy is required for CO₂ stripping and solvent regeneration in its industrial applications. This work proposes a water-lean absorbent that can reduce regeneration energy by lowering the water content in the absorbent with high absorption capacity for CO₂. To this purpose, this water-lean solvent introduced NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone), which has a higher physical solubility in CO₂ and a low specific heat capacity comparing to water, along with 3-methylaminopropylamine (MAPA), a diamine, into the absorbent. The circulating absorption capacity and absorption rate for CO₂ of this water-lean solvent were measured using a packed tower. When NMP was added to the absorbent, the absorption rate was improved. In the case of the absorbent containing 2.5M MAPA was used, the maximum circulating absorption capacity was obtained when 10 wt% of NMP was included in absorbent. The overall mass transfer coefficient increased as the concentration of NMP increased. However, at loading values higher than 0.5, the increment in mass transfer coefficient decreased as the concentration of NMP increased. When the lean loading value is low, the mass transfer resistance due to viscosity of the absorbent is low, so the overall mass transfer coefficient increases with the addition of NMP. However, as the lean loading value increases, the viscosity of the absorbent increases, and the diffusivity of CO₂ and MAPA decreases, resulting in sharply decreasing of the overall mass transfer coefficient.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.144-151
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• 2012

In the course of this study aimed at the development of functional food ingredients from seaweeds, the in vitro antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts prepared from 35 different seaweeds (17 phaeophyta, 11 rhodophyta and 7 chlorophyta) were determined against food-borne diseases and pathogenic microorganisms including multi-drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas sp. and Candida sp. Based on disc-diffusion assays at 500 g/disc concentration of the methanol extracts, Ishige okamurai, I. foliacea, Sargassum confusum, and S. yamade exhibited strong antibacterial activities in a broad-spectrum, except against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition to the latter four seaweeds, Ecklonia stolonifera, E. cava and Eisenia bicyclis also demonstrated antifungal activity against C. albicans. Among these 8 selected seaweeds, I. okamurai, I. foliacea, and S. yamade exhibited strong hemolytic activity (55-93%) at 500 g/ml against human RBC. Organic solvent sequential fractions using hexane, ethylacetate and butanol, and water residues were prepared from the 8 selected seaweeds and their anti-Candida sp. activities were further determined. The ethylacetate and butanol fraction of I. okamurai, and the hexane fraction of I. foliacea demonstrated antifungal activity against MDR-pathogenic Candida sp. Although the solvent fractions had no activity against MDR-Pseudomonas sp., our results suggest that seaweeds, especially Ishige okamurai, I. foliacea, S. confusum, and S. yamade could be developed as broad-spectrum antimicrobial ingredients.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.125-131
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• 2016

In case of CNT mixing with epoxy, epoxy matrix needs to be diluted. This work studied the effect of the dilution condition of epoxy on CNT dispersion. The optimum solvent condition using acetone and DMF was found via mechanical and solubility methods which affects, the epoxy performance. The dispersion using acetone was better than the DMF and thus higher mechanical properties. Four mixing types of CNT particle were performed. To verify the effects of each step between dilution and dispersion, the dispersion between epoxy and CNT was evaluated via the electrical resistance and optical methods. The optimum dispersion was obtained via mechanical test and thermal analysis by DSC. Among four types, the best was to disperse CNT after epoxy and hardeners were diluted respectively.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2006

The hard coatings on the polycarbonate plate were performed with the object of substitution the glass in the car to the polycarbonate plate. In this research, [3-(methacryloyloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane were used to prepare the coatings by sol-gel process. Butanol was used as a solvent, HCl was used as a catalyst, and AIBN was used as an initiator. Polycarbonate plate was pretreated with PMMA, and final heating of the coating was done at $130^{\circ}C$ for 6 h. Pencil hardness of the coating was 2 H, abrasion resistance and adhesion of the coating were excellent.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.430.1-430.1
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• 2016

We present the concept of reducible fugitive material that conformally surrounds core Cu nanowire (NW) to fabricate transparent conducting electrode (TCE). Reducing atmosphere can corrodes/erodes the underlying/surrounding layers and might cause undesirable reactions such impurity doing and contamination, so that hydrogen-/forming gas based annealing is impractical to make device. In this regards, we introduce novel reducible shell conformally surrounding indivial CuNW to provide a protection against the oxidation when exposed to both air and solvent. Uniform copper lactate shell formation is readily achievable by injecting lactic acid to the CuNW dispersion as the acid reacts with the surface oxide/hydroxide or pure copper. Cu lactate shell prevents the core CuNW from the oxidation during the storage and/or film formation, so that the core-shell CuNW maintains without signficant oxidation for long time. Upon simple thermal annealing under vacuum or in nitrogen atmosphere, the Cu lactate shell is easily decomposed to pure Cu, providing an effective way to produce pure CuNW network TCE with typically sheet resistance of $19.8{\Omega}/sq$ and optical transmittance of 85.5% at 550 nm. Our reducible copper lactate core-shell Cu nanowires have the great advantage in fabrication of device such as composite transparent electrodes or solar cells.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.673-680
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• 2009

Conversion of the normal soluble form of prion protein, PrP ($PrP^C$), to proteinase K-resistant form ($PrP^{Sc}$) is a common molecular etiology of prion diseases. Proteinase K-resistance is attributed to a drastic conformational change from ${\alpha}$-helix to ${\beta}$-sheet and subsequent fibril formation. Compelling evidence suggests that membranes play a role in the conformational conversion of PrP. However, biophysical mechanisms underlying the conformational changes of PrP and membrane binding are still elusive. Recently, we demonstrated that the putative transmembrane domain (TMD; residues 111-135) of Syrian hamster PrP penetrates into the membrane upon the reduction of the conserved disulfide bond of PrP. To understand the mechanism underlying the membrane insertion of the TMD, here we explored changes in conformation and membrane binding abilities of PrP using wild type and cysteine-free mutant. We show that the reduction of the disulfide bond of PrP removes motional restriction of the TMD, which might, in turn, expose the TMD into solvent. The released TMD then penetrates into the membrane. We suggest that the disulfide bond regulates the membrane binding mode of PrP by controlling the motional freedom of the TMD.