• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 2020

In this study, chitosan/zeolite composites were prepared by using basalt-based zeolite impregnated with aqueous chitosan solution for the adsorptive separation of CO₂. The prepared composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and nitrogen adsorption analysis. In addition, the adsorption equilibrium isotherms for CO₂ and N₂ were measured at 298 K using a volumetric adsorption system, and the results were analyzed by applying adsorption isotherm equations (Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips) and energy distribution function. It was found that CO₂ adsorption capacities were well correlated with the structural characteristics of chitosan and zeolite, and the ratio of elements [N/C, Al/(Si + Al)] formed on the surface of the composite. Moreover, the CO₂/N₂ adsorption selectivity was calculated under the mixture conditions of 15 V : 85 V, 50 V : 50 V, and 85 V : 15 V using the Langmuir equation and the ideal adsorption solution theory (IAST).

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2012

Functionalized graphene/epoxy composites were prepared to miprove thermal conductivities of epoxy composites and to maintain electrical insulating property. Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared using Hummers method, and then GO was reacted with aluminum isopropoxide to functionalize $Al(OH)_3$ layer onto GO surface by a simple sol-gel method (Al-GO). GO and Al-GO were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The analyses confirm that GO was coated with a large and dense coverage of $Al(OH)_3$. GO and Al-GO (1 and 3 wt%) were embedded in bisphenol A (DGEBA) to investigate the effects of electrical insulating property. Electrical resistivity showed that Al-GO had better insulating property than GO. Further, the thermal conductivity of GO and Al-GO/epoxy composites was higher than that of neat epoxy resins. In particular, the thermal conductivity of Al-GO/bisphenol F (DGEBF) improved by 23.3% and Al-GO/DGEBA enhanced by 21.8% compared with pure epoxy resins.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 2021

A thermally conductive 200 ㎛ thick polyimide-based film was made from a polyamic acid (PAA) precursor containing graphene prepared from graphite rod using an electrostatic discharge method in order to improve the thermal conductivity and expand the applicability of polyimide (PI) film. Properties of graphene produced by electrostatic discharge were measured by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As a result of Raman spectrum and XPS analyses of as-prepared graphene, the ID/IG ratio was 0.138 and C/O value was 24.91 which are excellent structural and surface chemical properties. Moreover, thermal conductivities of polyimide films increased exponentially according to graphene contents but when the graphene content exceeded 40%, the polyimide film could not maintain its shape. The thermal conductivity of carbonized PI film made from PAA containing 40 wt% of graphene was 51 W/mK which is greatly enhanced from the pristine carbonized PI film (1.9 W/mK). This result could be originated from superior properties of graphene prepared from the electrostatic discharge method.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.478-482
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• 2021

The catalytic yields of partial oxidation of methane (POM) to hydrogen over Ln(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 (Ln = Dy, Eu, Pr, and Tb) were investigated in a fixed bed flow reactor under atmosphere. As 1 wt% of Eu was added to Ni(5)/SBA-15 catalyst, the O1s and Si2p core electron levels of Eu(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 showed the chemical shift by XPS. XPS analysis also demonstrated that the atomic ratio of O1s, Ni2p_3/2, and Si2p increased to 1.284, 1.298, and 1.058, respectively, and exhibited O^-, and O^2- oxygen and metal ions such as Eu³⁺, Ni⁰, Ni²⁺, and Si⁴⁺ on the catalyst surface. The yield of hydrogen on the Eu(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 was 57.2%, which was better than that of Ln(1)-Ni(5)/SBA-15 (Ln = Dy, Pr, and Tb), the catalytic activity was kept steady even 25 h. As 1 wt% of Eu was added to Ni(5)/SBA-15, the oxygen vacancies caused by strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) effect due to the strong interaction between metals and carrier are made. They are resulted in increasing the dispersion of Ni⁰, and Ni²⁺ nano particles on the surface of catalyst, and are kept catalytic activity.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2021

Fluorination was carried out to improve the adsorption performance of pitch-based activated carbon fibers (ACFs) onto acetic acid. Both plasma and direct gas fluorination were used for fluorination, and the acetic acid gas adsorption performance of fluorinated ACFs was investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is analyzed to determine the surface characteristics of ACFs, and the pore characteristics were analyzed by 77 K nitrogen adsorption. An adsorption performance was measured through gas chromatography, and it was confirmed that the breakthrough time of plasma fluorinated sample was 790 min and that the breakthrough time was delayed compared to that of using untreated one of 650 min. However, the breakthrough time of direct gas fluorinated sample was 390 min, indicating that the adsorption performance was inhibited. The plasma fluorinated ACFs showed an increase in the adsorption performance due to an electrostatic attraction between the acetic acid gas (CH3COOH) with the fluorine group introduced to the surface without changing its specific surface area. On the other hand, the specific surface area of the direct gas fluorinated ACFs decreased significantly up to 55%, and the physical adsorption effect on the acetic acid gas also reduced.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2023

Recent studies have actively investigated ways to improve the economic feasibility and efficiency of the Fischer-Tropsch process by increasing the yields of the monocyclic aromatic compounds (BTEX). In this study, ethylene was selected as a model of F-T-derived hydrocarbons, and the ethylene-to-aromatics (ETA) reaction was investigated according to changes in acid characteristics, mesopores, and crystallinity of HZSM-5 (HZ5). Fluorinated HZ5 was prepared by calcination followed by impregnation of an aqueous NH₄F solution having different molar concentrations in HZ5, and the structural and chemical properties of F/HZ5 were investigated through Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), NH₃-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), and pyridine-IR spectroscopy. The ETA reactions were performed at 673 K under 0.1 MPa, and fluorinating HZ5 by an aqueous NH₄F solution of 0.17 M improved ethylene conversion, BTEX selectivity, and catalytic stability due to acidity, mesopore fraction, and crystallinity.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.210-217
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• 2022

Boron(B) is a rare resource used for various purposes such as glass, semiconductor materials, gunpowder, rocket fuel, etc. However, Korea depends entirely on imports for boron. Considering the global boron reserves and its current production rate, boron will be depleted on earth in 50 years. Thus, a process including proper adsorbent materials recovering boron from seawater is demanded. This research proposed carbonized nanofibers prepared from electrospun PAN(polyacrylonitrile) mats as promising materials to adsorb boron in aqueous solution. First, the mechanism of boron adsorption on carbonized nanofibers was investigated by DFT(density functional method)-based molecular modeling and the calculated energetics demonstrated that the boron chemisorption on the nitrogen-doped graphene surface by a two-step dehydration is possible with viable activation energies. Then, the electrospun PAN mats were stabilized in air and then carbonized in an argon atmosphere before being immersed in the boric acid aqueous solution. Analytically, SEM(scanning electron microscopy) and Raman measurements were employed to confirm whether the electrospinning and carbonization of PAN mats proceeded successfully. Then, XPS(X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) peak analysis showed whether the intended nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber surface was formed and boron was properly adsorbed on nanofibers. Those results demonstrated that the carbonized nanofibers prepared from electrospun PAN mats could be feasible adsorbents for boron recovery in seawater.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2023

'Tracers' are bullets that emit light at the backside so that the shooter can see the trajectory of their flight. These light-emitting bullets allow snipers to hit targets faster and more accurately. Conventional tracers are all combustion type which use the heat generated upon ignition. However, the conventional tracer has a fire risk at the impact site due to the residual flame and has a by-product that can contaminate the inside of the gun and lead to firearm failure. To resolve these problems, it is necessary to develop non-combustion-type tracers that can convert heat to luminance, so-called 'thermoluminescence (TL)'. Here, we highly improve the thermoluminescence properties of MgB₄O₇ through co-doping of Dy³⁺+Ce³⁺ and Dy³⁺+Na⁺. The presence of doping materials (Dy³⁺, Ce³⁺, Na⁺) was confirmed by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). The as-synthesized co-doped MgB₄O₇ was irradiated with a specific radiation dose and heated to 500 ℃under dark conditions. Different thermoluminescence characteristics were exhibited depending on the type or amounts of doping elements, and the highest luminance of 370 cd/m² was obtained when Dy 10 % and Na 5 % were co-doped.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.455-462
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• 2014

This work investigated the hydrophobic coating of silicate yellow phosphor powder in the form of divalent europium-activated strontium orthosilicate ($Sr_2SiO_4:Eu^{2+}$) by using an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma with argon as a carrier and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), toluene and n-hexane as precursors. After the plasma treatment of the phosphor powder, the lattice structure of orthosilicate was not altered, as confirmed by an X-ray diffractometer. The coated phosphor powder was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, fluorescence spectrophotometry and contact angle analysis (CAA). The CAA of the phosphor powder coated with the HMDSO precursor revealed that the water contact angle increased from $21.3^{\circ}$ to $139.5^{\circ}$ (max. $148.7^{\circ}$) and the glycerol contact angle from $55^{\circ}$ to $143.5^{\circ}$ (max. $145.3^{\circ}$) as a result of the hydrophobic coating, which indicated that hydrophobic layers were successfully formed on the phosphor powder surfaces. Further surface characterizations were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, which also evidenced the formation of hydrophobic coating layers. The phosphor coated with HMDSO exhibited a photoluminescence (PL) enhancement, but the use of toluene or n-hexane somewhat decreased the PL intensity. The results of this work suggest that the DBD plasma may be a viable method for the preparation of hydrophobic coating layer on phosphor powder.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.557-562
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• 1999

The reaction properties of Pd. Pd-Ce and Pd-La catalysts supported on ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ were investigated in the oxidation reaction of methane($CH_4$) exhausted from the compressed natural gas vehicle in a U-tube flow reactor with gas hourly space velocity of $72,000h^{-1}$. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), BET surface area and hydrogen chemisorption. Pd catalyst prepared by $Pd(NO_3)_2$ as a palladium precursor and calcined at $600^{\circ}C$ showed the highest activity for a methane oxidation. Catalytic activity of calcined $Pd/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ in which most of palladium was converted into palladium oxide species was higher than that of reduced $Pd/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ in which most of palladium existed in palladium metal by XRD. As increasing the number of reaction cycles in the wide range of redox, the catalytic activity of $Pd/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ was decreased and the highly active window became narrower. Lanthanum oxide promoted Pd catalyst, $Pd/La/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ showed enhanced thermal stability compared with $Pd/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ even after aging at $1000^{\circ}C$, which was ascribed to the role of La as a promoter to suppress the sintering of palladium metal and ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ support. Almost all of methane was removed by the reaction with NO at the redox ratio of 1.2 in case of oxygen excluded steam, but that activity was significantly decreased in the steam containing oxygen.