• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.99.1-99.1
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• 2012

The thin-film photovoltaic absorbers (CdTe and $Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$) can achieve solar conversion efficiencies of up to 20% and are now commercially available, but the presence of toxic (Cd,Se) and expensive elemental components (In, Te) is a real issue as the demand for photovoltaics rapidly increases. To overcome these limitations, there has been substantial interest in developing viable alternative materials, such as $Cu_2ZnSnS_4$ (CZTS) is an emerging solar absorber that is structurally similar to CIGS, but contains only earth abundant, non-toxic elements and has a near optimal direct band gap energy of 1.4 - 1.6 eV and a large absorption coefficient of ~104 $cm^{-1}$. The CZTS absorber layers are grown and investigated by various fabrication methods, such as thermal evaporation, e-beam evaporation with a post sulfurization, sputtering, non-vacuum sol-gel, pulsed laser, spray-pyrolysis method and electrodeposition technique. In the present work, we report an alternative aqueous chemical approach based on chemical bath deposition (CBD) method for large area deposition of CZTS thin films. Samples produced by our method were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, absorbance and photoluminescence. The results show that this inexpensive and relatively benign process produces thin films of CZTS exhibiting uniform composition, kesterite crystal structure, and some factors like triethanolamine, ammonia, temperature which strongly affect on the morphology of CZTS film.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.41-45
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• 2007

Tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) and silica nanopowder were synthesized from the waste silicon sludge containing 15% weight of silicon powder. TMOS, a precursor of silica nanopowder, was firstly prepared from the waste silicon sludge by catalytic chemical reaction. The maximum recovery of the TMOS was 100% after 5 hrs regardless of reaction temperature above $130^{\circ}C$. But the initial reaction rate became faster while the reaction temperature was higher than $150^{\circ}C$. As the methanol feedrate Increased from 0.8 ml/min to 1.4 ml/min, the yield of reaction was not varied after 3 hrs. Then, silica nanopowder was synthesized from the synthesized TMOS by flame spray pyrolysis. The morphology of as-prepared silica nanopowder was spherical and non-aggregated. The average particle diameters ranged from 9 nm to 30 nm and were in proportional to the precursor feed rate, and precursor concentration.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.330-337
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• 2005

Water selective silica membranes were prepared fur use as membrane reactor for synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) by methanol dehydration. Silica membranes formed on a Porous SUS tube by ultrasonic spray Pyrolysis (USP) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as precursor. The CVD-derived membranes formed higher level of trade-off line between water permeance and water/methanol selectivity than that of the USP-derived membranes. The membrane reactor possessing water permeance of $1.2\times10^{-7}\;mol\;{\cdot}\;m^{-2}\;{\cdot}\;S^{-1}\;{\cdot}\;Pa^{-1}$ and water/methanol selectivity of 10 exhibited increase in methanol conversion of about $20\%$ comparing to conventional reactor system. These findings led us to conclude that the dehydration membrane reactor simultaneously separating the water vapour produced in the reaction zone was effective in increasing the reaction conversion.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.54-54
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• 2010

Zinc oxide is metal oxide semiconductor with the 3.37 eV bandgap energy. Zinc oxide is very attractive materials for many application fields. Zinc Oxide has many advantages such as high conductivity and good transmittance in visible region. Also it is cheaper than other semiconductor materials such as indium tin oxide (ITO). Therefore, ZnO is alternative material for ITO. ZnO is attracting attention for its application to transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films, surface acoustic wave (SAW), films bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR), piezoelectric materials, gas-sensing, solar cells and photocatalyst. In this study, we synthesized ZnO nanoparticles and defined their physical and chemical properties. Also we studied about the application of ZnO nanoparticles as a photocatalyst and try to find a enhancement photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanorticles.. We synthesized ZnO nanoparticles using spray-pyrolysis method and defined the physical and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles in experiment I. When the ZnO are exposed to UV light, reduction and oxidation(REDOX) reaction will occur on the ZnO surface and generate ${O_2}^-$ and OH radicals. These powerful oxidizing agents are proven to be effective in decomposition of the harmful organic materials and convert them into $CO_2$ and $H_2O$. Therefore, we investigated that the photocatalytic activity was increased through the surface modification of synthesized ZnO nanoparticles. In experiment II, we studied on the stability of ZnO nanoparticles in water. It is well known that ZnO is unstable in water in comparison with $TiO_2$. $Zn(OH)_2$ was formed at the ZnO surface and ZnO become inactive as a photocatalyst when ZnO is present in the solution. Therefore, we prepared synthesized ZnO nanoparticles that were immersed in the water and dried in the oven. After that, we measured photocatalytic activities of prepared samples and find the cause of their photocatalytic activity changes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.205-205
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• 2010

투명 전극(transparent conducting oxide, TCO)은 높은 전기전도도 및 낮은 비저항 ($10^{-4}{\sim}10^{-3}\;{\Omega}cm$)과 가시광영역에서의 우수한 광투과도(> 80%) 특성을 가지며, 주로 디스플레이, 태양전지, 가스 센서 소자 등에 쓰인다. 투명전극으로 쓰이는 대표적인 물질로서는 ITO, ZnO, $SnO_2$ 등이 있으며, ITO는 전기적 특성이 우수하여 널리 사용되고 있으나 가격이 비싸고 화학적으로 불안정하고, ZnO는 ITO에 비해 가격이 저렴하지만 고온에서 불안정한 특성을 가지고 있다. 반면, $SnO_2$는 ITO와 ZnO에 비해 전기적 특성은 떨어지지만, 우수한 열적, 화학적 안정성 및 높은 내마모성을 가지고 제조단가가 저렴하여 TCO 재료로 많은 연구가 진행되고 있다. TCO 박막을 증착시키는 방법으로 CVD, ion plating, sputtering, spray pyrolysis 등이 있으며, 이 중 sputtering 방법은 균일한 입자로 균질의 박막을 입힐 수 있고 우수한 재현성과 낮은 온도에서도 증착이 가능하여 박막 제조 방법으로 널리 이용되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 $SnO_2$ 박막을 실리콘 (100) 및 글라스 (Eagle 2000) 기판 위에 RF magnetron sputtering 방법을 사용하여 제작하였다. 박막 증착을 위해 99.99%의 2 인치 un-doped $SnO_2$ 타겟을 사용하였고, 기판은 20 rpm 으로 회전시켜 균일한 박막이 형성될 수 있도록 하였으며, 초기 진공도는 $1{\times}10^{-6}\;Torr$가 되도록 하였다. 증착 변수로 기판-타겟간 거리, RF 파워, $O_2/(Ar+O_2)$ 비, 공정압력, 기판 온도 등을 각각 변화 시키며 $SnO_2$ 박막을 증착하였다. 증착된 박막의 구조적 및 광학적 특성을 분석하기위해 FE-SEM, AFM, XRD, UV/VIS spectrophotometer, Photoluminescence 등을 사용하였다.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.387-393
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• 2023

Transition metal chalcogenides are promising cathode materials for next-generation battery systems, particularly sodium-ion batteries. Ni₃Co₆S₈-pitch-derived carbon composite microspheres with a yolk-shell structure (Ni₃Co₆S₈@C-YS) were synthesized through a three-step process: spray pyrolysis, pitch coating, and post-heat treatment process. Ni₃Co₆S₈@C-YS exhibited an impressive reversible capacity of 525.2 mA h g^-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g^-1 over 50 cycles when employed as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries. However, Ni₃Co₆S₈ yolk shell nanopowder (Ni₃Co₆S₈-YS) without pitch-derived carbon demonstrated a continuous decrease in capacity during charging and discharging. The superior sodium-ion storage properties of Ni₃Co₆S₈@C-YS were attributed to the pitch-derived carbon, which effectively adjusted the size and distribution of nanocrystals. The carbon-coated yolk-shell microspheres proposed here hold potential for various metal chalcogenide compounds and can be applied to various fields, including the energy storage field.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.371-379
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• 2018

The objective of this study is to develop a platinum/hexaaluminate pellet catalyst for the decomposition of eco-friendly liquid propellant. Pellet catalysts using hexaaluminate prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis as a support and platinum as an active metal were prepared by two methods. In the case of the pellet catalyst formed by loading the platinum precursor onto the hexaaluminate powder and then adding the binder (M1 method catalyst), the mesopores were well developed in the catalyst after calcination at $550^{\circ}C$. However, when this catalyst was calcined at $1,200^{\circ}C$, the mesopores almost collapsed and only a few macropores existed. On the other hand, in the case of a catalyst in which platinum was supported on pellets after the pellet was produced by extrusion of hexaaluminate (M2 method catalyst), the surface area and the mesopores were well maintained even after calcination at $1,200^{\circ}C$. Also, the catalyst prepared by the M2 method showed better heat resistance in terms of platinum dispersion. The effects of preparation method and calcination temperature of Pt/hexaaluminate pellet catalysts on the decomposition of liquid propellant composed mainly of ammonium dinitramide (ADN) or hydroxyl ammonium nitrate (HAN) were investigated. It was confirmed that the decomposition onset temperature during the decomposition of ADN- or HAN- based liquid propellant could be reduced significantly by using Pt/hexaaluminate pellet catalysts. Especially, in the case of the catalyst prepared by the M2 method, the decomposition onset temperature did not show a large change even when the calcination temperature was raised at $1,200^{\circ}C$. Therefore, it was confirmed that Pt/ hexaaluminate pellet catalyst prepared by M2 method has heat resistance and potential as a catalyst for the decomposition of the eco-friendly liquid propellants.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 1997

A new type SO$_2$ gas sensor with a particular inorganic thin film on SAW devices was developed. The sensor consisted of twin SAW oscillators of the center frequency of 54 MHz fabricated on the LiTaO$_3$ piezoelectric single crystal. One delay line of the sensor was coated with a CdS thin film that selectively adsorbed and desorbed SO$_2$, while the other was uncoated for use as a stable reference. Deposition of the CdS thin film was carried out by the spray pyrolysis method using an ultrasonic nozzle. The sensor could measure the concentration in air less than 0.25 parts per million of SO$_2$. Stability of the sensor turned out to be as good as less than 20ppm, recovery time after each measurement was as short as 5 minutes. Repeatability of the measurement was confirmed through so many reiterated experiments. Hence, the SAW sensor developed through this work showed promising performance as a microsensing tool of SO$_2$. Further work required to improve the performance of the sensor includes enhancement of the reactivity of the CdS thin film with SO$_2$ through appropriate dopant addition, an increase of the center frequency of the SAW device.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.375-375
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• 2010

CdTe as an absorber material is widely used in thin film solar cells with the heterostructure due to its almost ideal band gap energy of 1.45 eV, high photovoltaic conversion efficiency, low cost and stable performance. The deposition methods and preparation conditions for the fabrication of CdTe are very important for the achievement of high solar cell conversion efficiency. There are some rearranged reports about the deposition methods available for the preparation of CdTe thin films such as close spaced sublimation (CSS), physical vapor deposition (PVD), vacuum evaporation, vapor transport deposition (VTD), closed space vapor transport, electrodeposition, screen printing, spray pyrolysis, metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and RF sputtering. The RF sputtering method for the preparation of CdTe thin films has important advantages in that the thin films can be prepared at low growth temperatures with large-area deposition suitable for mass-production. The authors reported that the optical and electrical properties of CdTe thin film were closely connected by the thickness-uniformity of the film in the previous study [1], which means that the better optical absorbance and the higher carrier concentration could be obtained in the better condition of thickness-uniformity for CdTe thin film. The thickness-uniformity could be controlled and improved by the some process parameters such as vacuum level and RF power in the sputtering process of CdTe thin films. However, there is a limitation to improve the thickness-uniformity only in the preparation process [1]. So it is necessary to introduce the external or additional method for improving the thickness-uniformity of CdTe thin film because the cell size of thin film solar cell will be enlarged. Therefore, the authors firstly applied the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to improving the thickness-uniformity of CdTe thin films with a G&P POLI-450 CMP polisher [2]. CMP process is the most important process in semiconductor manufacturing processes in order to planarize the surface of the wafer even over 300 mm and to form the copper interconnects with damascene process. Some important CMP characteristics for CdTe were obtained including removal rate (RR), WIWNU%, RMS roughness, and peak-to-valley roughness [2]. With these important results, the CMP process for CdTe thin films was performed to improve the thickness-uniformity of the sputtering-deposited CdTe thin film which had the worst two thickness-uniformities of them. Some optical properties including optical transmittance and absorbance of the CdTe thin films were measured by using a UV-Visible spectrophotometer (Varian Techtron, Cary500scan) in the range of 400 - 800 nm. After CMP process, the thickness-uniformities became better than that of the best condition in the previous sputtering process of CdTe thin films. Consequently, the optical properties were directly affected by the thickness-uniformity of CdTe thin film. The absorbance of CdTe thin films was improved although the thickness of CdTe thin film was not changed.