• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.169-176
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• 2011

The two-step water splitting thermochemical cycle is composed of the T-R (Thermal Reduction)and W-D (Water Decomposition)steps. The mechanism of this cycle is oxidation-reduction, which produces hydrogen. The reaction temperature necessary for this thermochemical cycle can be achieved by a dish-type solar thermal collector (Inha University, Korea). The purpose of this study is to validate a water splitting device in the field. The device is studied and fabricated by Kodama et al (2010, 2011). The validation results show that the foam device, when loaded with $NiFe_2O_4/m-ZrO_2$powder, was successfully achieved hydrogen production with 9 (10 with a Xe-light solar simulator, 2009, Kodama et al.) repeated cycles under field conditions. Two foam device used in this study were tested for validation before an experiment was performed. The lab scale ferrite-conversion rate was in the range of 24~76%. Two foam devices were designed to for structural stability in this study. In the results of the experiments, the hydrogen percentage of the weight of each foam device was 7.194 and $9.954{\mu}mol\;g^{-1}$ onaverage, and the conversion rates 4.49~29.97 and 2.55~58.83%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2018

This paper presents an integrated photochemical reaction system (i.e., an artificial leaf) that uses earth-abundant catalysts for artificial photosynthesis with a carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) fixation process. The performance of the system was investigated in terms of the energy capture and conversion capabilities. A wireless configuration was achieved by directly doping cobalt oxide as an oxygen-evolving catalyst for water splitting reaction on the illuminated surface of photovoltaic (PV) cell, as well as molybdenum disulfide ($MoS_2$) as an efficient catalyst for $CO_2$ reduction on the back substrate surfaces of the PV cell. The system produces hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO) as sustainable fuels (i.e., synthesis gas) at around 4.5% efficiency, which implies more than 75% catalytic efficiency at the cathode. The process of solar-driven $CO_2$ conversion and water-splitting reaction is contained in one system, which is one step closer to the successful realization of artificial photosynthesis.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.96-101
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• 2021

Developing effective and earth-abundant electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is critical for the commercialization of a water splitting system. In particular, the overpotential of the OER is relatively higher than the HER, and thus, it is considered that one of the important methods to enhance the performance of the electrocatalyst is to reduce the overpotential of the OER. We report effects of incorporation of metalloid into Ni(OH)2 microcrystal on electrocatalytic activities. In this study, Te incorporated Ni(OH)2 (��Te-Ni(OH)2) were grown on three-dimensional porous NF by a facile solvothermal method with �� = 1, 3 and 5. Homogeneous microplate structure on the NF was clearly observed for the Ni(OH)2/NF and ��Te-Ni(OH)2/NF samples. However, irregular and collapsed nanostructures were found on the surface of nickel foam when Te precursor ratio is (��) over 3. Electrocatalytic OER properties were analysed by Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The amount of Te incorporation used in the electrocatalytic reaction was found to play a crucial role in improving catalytic activity. The optimum Te amount (��) introduced into the Ni(OH)2/NF was discussed with respect to their OER performance.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.140-150
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• 2007

Thermochemical 2-step methane reforming, involving the reduction of metal oxide with methane to produce syngas and the oxidation of the reduced metal oxide with water to produce pure hydrogen, was investigated on ferrite-based metal oxide mediums. The mediums, CoFZ, CuFZ, or MnFZ, were composed of the mixture of M(M=Co, Cu or Mn)-substituted ferrite as an active component and $ZrO_2$ as a binder, respectively. The WZ medium, composed of the mixture of $WO_3$ and $ZrO_2$, was also prepared to compare. With an addition of $ZrO_2$, the surface area of the mediums was slightly increased and the sintering of active components was greatly suppressed during the reduction. The higher reactivity of the reduced mediums for water splitting was confirmed by the temperature programmed reaction. From the results of the thermochemical 2-step methane reforming, the reactivity of $CH_4$ reduction and water splitting with ferrite-based metal oxide mediums was relatively higher than that with WZ, and the order of reactivity of the mediums was MnFZ>CoFZ>CuFZ>WZ.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.505-513
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• 2008

The two-step thermochemical cycle was examined on the $CeO_2$, YSZ, and $ZrO_2$-supported $NiFe_2O_4$ to investigate the effects of support material addition. The supported $NiFe_2O_4$ was prepared by the aerial oxidation method. Thermal reduction was conducted at 1573K and 1523K while water-splitting was carried out at 1073K. Supporting $NiFe_2O_4$ on $CeO_2$, YSZ and $ZrO_2$ alleviated the high-temperature sintering of iron-oxide. As a result, the supported $NiFe_2O_4$ exhibited greater reactivity and repeatability in the water-splitting cycle as compared to the unsupported $NiFe_2O_4$. Especially, $ZrO_2$-supported $NiFe_2O_4$ showed better sintering inhibition effect than other supporting materials, but hydrogen production amount was decreased as cycle repeated. In case of $CeO_2$-supported $NiFe_2O_4$, improvement of hydrogen production was found when the thermal reduction was conducted at 1573K. It was deduced that redox reaction of $CeO_2$ activated above 1573K.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.91-91
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• 2013

Imagine a world where we could biomanufacture hybrid nanomaterials having atomic-scale resolution over functionality and architecture. Toward this vision, a fundamental challenge in materials science is how to design and synthesize protein-like material that can be fully self-assembled and exhibit information-specific process. In an ongoing effort to extend the fundamental understanding of protein structure to non-natural systems, we have designed a class of short peptides to fold like proteins and assemble into defined nanostructures. In this talk, I will talk about new strategies to drive the self-assembled structures designing sequence of peptide. I will also discuss about the specific interaction between proteins and inorganics that can be used for the development of new hybrid solar energy devices. Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is one of the promising pathways for solar to energy convertsion and storage system. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been regarded as a major bottleneck in the overall water splitting process due to the slow transfer rate of four electrons and the high activation energy barrier for O-O bond formation. In nature, there is a water oxidation complex (WOC) in photosystem II (PSII) comprised of the earthabundant elements Mn and Ca. The WOC in photosystem II, in the form of a cubical CaMn4O5 cluster, efficiently catalyzes water oxidation under neutral conditions with extremely low overpotential (~160 mV) and a high TOF number. The cluster is stabilized by a surrounding redox-active peptide ligand, and undergo successive changes in oxidation state by PCET (proton-coupled electron transfer) reaction with the peptide ligand. It is fundamental challenge to achieve a level of structural complexity and functionality that rivals that seen in the cubane Mn4CaO5 cluster and surrounding peptide in nature. In this presentation, I will present a new strategy to mimic the natural photosystem. The approach is based on the atomically defined assembly based on the short redox-active peptide sequences. Additionally, I will show a newly identified manganese based compound that is very close to manganese clusters in photosystem II.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2022

Recently, research on the development of low-cost/high-efficiency water electrolysis catalysts to replace noble metal catalysts is being actively conducted. Since overvoltage reduces the overall efficiency of the water splitting device, lowering the overvoltage of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the most important task in order to generate hydrogen more efficiently. Currently, noble metal catalysts show excellent characteristics in OER performance, but they are experiencing great difficulties in commercialization due to their high price and efficiency limitations due to low reactivity. In this study, a water electrolysis catalyst Ni-MWCNT was prepared by successfully doping Ni into the MWCNTs structure through the pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) process. High resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were performed for the structure and chemical composition of the synthesized Ni-MWCNT. Catalytic oxygen evolution reaction evaluation was performed by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) overvoltage characteristics, Tafel slope, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Chronoamperometry (CA) was used for measurement.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.280-280
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• 2013

In green plants, energy generation is accomplished through light-harvesting photosystem, which utilize abundant visible light and multi-stepwise redox reaction to oxidize water and reduce NADP+, transferring electrons efficiently with active cofactors1. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, artificial solar water-splitting devices are being designed variously. However, the several approaches involving immobilization2, conjugation3, and surface modification4 still have limitations. We have made artificial photosynthesis templates by self-assembling tyrosine-based peptide to mimick photosystem II. Porphyrin sensitizer absorbing blue light strongly was conjugated with the templates and they were hybridized with cobalt oxide through the reduction of cobalt ions in an aqueous solution. The formation of hybrid templates was characterized using TEM, and their water oxidation performance was measured by fluorescence oxygen probe. Our results suggest that the bio-templated assembly of functional compounds has a great potential for artificial photosynthesis.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.66-70
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• 2005

For the application in HI decomposition reaction of thermochemical water-splitting IS process, the carbonized membranes using the polymer material (polyimide) were prepared, and SiC membrane was also prepared by SiO treatment on those carbonized membranes. The weight change by the carbonation of polyimide was about 50%, and the weight decreased with an increase of carbonation temperature. The gas permeance ($H_2$ or $N_2$) of carbonized membrane decreased with an increase of carbonation temperature led to the pore closing. The gas permeance ($H_2$ or $N_2$) of SiC membrane increased with an increase of SiO treatment concentration, and the gas permeation mechanism was changed from the activiation energy flow to Knudsen flow.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.507-514
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• 2022

There is growing interest in sustainable energy sources that can reduce fossil fuel dependence and environmental pollution while meeting rapidly growing energy demands. Hydrogen have been investigated as one of the ideal alternative energies because it has relatively high efficiency without emitting pollutants. The light-sensitized enzymatic (LSE) system, which uses hydrogenase-enzymes, is one of the methods towards economically feasible system configurations that enhance the rate of hydrogen generation. Hydrogenase is an enzyme that catalyzes a reversible reaction that oxidizes molecular hydrogen or produces molecular hydrogen from protons and electrons. In this paper, utilization of [NiFe]-hydrogenase (from Pyrococcus furiosus) in photoelectrochemical hydrogen production system such as handling, immobilization, physicochemical and electrochemical analysis, process parameters, etc. was introduced.