• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.211-214
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• 2013

The effects of a Ni coating on the sensing properties of nano ZnO:Ni based gas sensors were studied for $CH_4$ and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gases. Nano ZnO sensing materials were prepared by the hydrothermal reaction method. The Ni coatings on the nano ZnO surface were deposited by the hydrolysis of zinc chloride with $NH_4OH$. The weight % of Ni coating on the ZnO surface ranged from 0 to 10 %. The nano ZnO:Ni gas sensors were fabricated by a screen printing method on alumina substrates. The structural and morphological properties of the nano ZnO : Ni sensing materials were investigated by XRD, EDS, and SEM. The XRD patterns showed that nano ZnO : Ni powders with a wurtzite structure were grown with (1 0 0), (0 0 2), and (1 0 1) dominant peaks. The particle size of nano ZnO powders was about 250 nm. The sensitivity of nano ZnO:Ni based sensors for 5 ppm $CH_4$ gas and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gas was measured at room temperature by comparing the resistance in air with that in target gases. The highest sensitivity of the ZnO:Ni sensor to $CH_4$ gas and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gas was observed at Ni 4 wt%. The response and recovery times of 4 wt% Ni coated ZnO:Ni gas sensors were 14 s and 15 s, respectively.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.2
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• pp.125-129
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• 2020

Environmental pollution caused by various heavy metals is a serious global problem. To solve this problem, microbial bioremediation of contaminated metals has developed rapidly as an effective strategy when physical and chemical techniques are not suitable. In this study, cadmium (Cd)-tolerant soil bacteria were isolated via artificial induction in laboratory conditions instead of screening bacteria naturally adapted to metal-contaminated soils. Wild-type (WT) bacteria grown in uncontaminated soils were artificially and sequentially adapted to gradually increasing Cd concentrations of up to 15 mM. The resultant cells, named Soil-CdR15, survived at a Cd concentration of 10 mM, whereas WT cells failed to survive with 4 mM Cd on solid media for 2 d. In liquid media containing Cd, the SoilCdR15 cells grew with 15 mM Cd for 7 d, whereas the WT cells could not grow with 5 mM Cd. Both Soil-CdR15 and WT cells removed approximately 35% of Cd at the same capacity from liquid media containing either 0.5 or 1.0 mM Cd over 2 d. In addition to Cd, the Soil-CdR15 cells showed increased resistance to nickel, zinc, and arsenic compared to WT cells. The Soil-CdR cells were identified as Burkholderia sp. by partial sequencing of 16S rRNA. The data presented in this study demonstrate that isolation of heavy metal-tolerant microorganisms via artificial induction in laboratory conditions is possible and may be useful for the application of the microorganisms for the bioremediation of heavy metals.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.125-125
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• 2011

In this study, we investigated the electrical, optical, structural, and surface properties of indium zinc oxide (IZO)/Ag/IZO multilayer electrode grown by specially designed roll-to-roll sputtering system using the flexible substrate. By the continuous roll-to-roll sputtering of the bottom IZO, Ag, and top IZO layers at room temperature, they were able to fabricate a high quality IZO/Ag/IZO multilayer electrode. At optimized conditions, the bottom IZO layer (40 nm) was deposited on a flexible substrate. After deposition of the Bottom IZO layer, Ag layer was deposited onto the bottom IZO film as a function of DC power (200~500 W). Subsequently, the top IZO layer was deposited onto the Ag layer at identical deposition conditions to the bottom IZO layer (40 nm). We investigated the characteristics of IZO/Ag/IZO multilayer electrode as a function of Ag thickness. It was found that the electrical and optical properties of IZO/Ag/IZO multilayer electrode was mainly affected thickness of the Ag layer at optimized condition. In case of IZO/Ag/IZO multilayer electrode with the Ag power (350W), it exhibited a low sheet resistance of 7.1 ohm/square and a high transparency of 86.4%. Furthermore, we fabricated the touch screen panel using the IZO/Ag/IZO multilayer electrode, which demonstrate the possibility of the IZO/Ag/IZO multilayer electrode grown by roll-to-roll sputtering system as a transparent conducting layer in the touch screen panel.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.167-172
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• 2012

A new type of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) based on EPDM ionomer as an elastomer and polyamide-6 as a reinforcing crystalline polymer was prepared and the thermal properties of TPEs were investigated. Especially effects of neutralization of maleated EPDM (MA-EPDM) to prepare EPDM ionomer with zinc oxide and the content of polyamide-6 on the thermal properties of the blends were investigated. Both the neutralization and blending were carried out employing a twin screw extruder. It was found that the neutralization of MA-EPDM results in the increase of cooling crystallization temperatures. Polyamide-6 plays the role of reinforcing filler in the blends due to the high crystallinity. Fine dispesion of polyamide-6 in the blends was confirmed and attributed to the imide formation between the maleic anhydride of MA-EPDM and amine group of polyamide-6. TPEs based on EPDM ionomer/Polyamide-6 blends showed balanced mechanical properties with improvement in heat resistance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.458-458
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• 2013

We investigated a study on the thermal degradation of boron doped zinc-oxide (BZO) layer which used as a transparent conducting layer on the Cu (In1-xGax) Se2 (CIGS) based thin film solar cells. Devices were annealed under the temperature of $100^{\circ}C$ or 100 hours and then Hall measurement was carried out to characterize the parameters of mobility (${\mu}Hall$), resistivity (${\rho}$), conductivity (${\sigma}$) and sheet resistance (Rsh). The initial values of ${\mu}Hall$, ${\rho}$, ${\sigma}$ and Rsh were $29.3cm^2$/$V{\cdot}s$, $2.1{\times}10^{-3}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$, $476.4{\Omega}^{-1}{\cdot}cm^{-1}$ and $19.1{\Omega}$/${\Box}$ respectively. After the annealing process, the values were $4.5cm^2$/$V{\cdot}s$, $12.8{\times}10^{-3}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$, $77.9{\Omega}^{-1}{\cdot}cm^{-1}$ and $116.6{\Omega}$/${\Box}$ respectively. We observed that ${\mu}Hall$ and ${\sigma}$ were decreased, and ${\rho}$ and Rsh were increased. In this study, BZO layer plays an important role of conducting path for electrons generated by incident light onthe CIGS absorption layer. Therefore, the degradation of BZO layer characterized by the parameters of ${\mu}Hall$, ${\rho}$, ${\sigma}$ and Rsh, affect to the cell efficiency.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.442-443
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• 2006

Electrical, optical, surface, and structural properties of amorphous indium zinc oxide (IZO) films grown on $SiO_2$/PES/$SiO_2$ substrate by a RF sputtering in pure Ar ambient at room temperature were investigated. A sheet resistance of $13.5\;{\Omega}{\square}$, average transmittance above 85 % in 550 nm, and root mean square roughness of $10.5\;{\AA}$ were obtained even in the IZO layers grown at room temperature in pure Ar ambient. Without addition of oxygen gas during IZO sputtering process, we can obtain high quality IZO anode films from the specially synthesized oxygen rich IZO target. XRD result shows that the IZO films grown at room temperature is completely amorphous structure due to low substrate temperature. In addition, the electrical and optical properties of the flexible OLED fabricated on IZO/$SiO_2$/PES/$SiO_2$ is critically influenced by the electrical properties of a IZO anode. This findings indicate that the IZO/$SiO_2$/PES/$SiO_2$ is a promising anode/substrate scheme for realizing organic based flexible displays.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.131-131
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• 2010

We compared the electrical, optical, structural, and interface properties of indium zinc oxide (IZO)-Ag-IZO and IZO-Au-IZO multilayer electrodes deposited by linear facing target sputtering system at room temperature for organic photovoltaics. The IZO-Ag-IZO and IZO-Au-IZO multilayer electrodes show a significant reduction in their sheet resistance (4.15 and 5.49 Ohm/square) and resistivity ($3.9{\times}10^{-5}$ and $5.5{\times}10^{-5}$Ohm-cm) with increasing thickness of the Ag and Au layers, respectively. In spite of its similar electrical properties, the optical transmittance of the IZO-Ag-IZO electrode is much higher than that of the IZO-Au-IZO electrode, due to the more effective antireflection effect of Ag than Au in the visible region. In addition, the Auger electron spectroscopy depth profile results for the IZO/Ag/IZO and IZO/Au/IZO multilayer electrodes showed no interfacial reaction between the IZO layer and Ag or Au layer, due to the low preparation temperature. To investigate in detail the Ag and Au structures on the bottom IZO electrode with increasing thickness, a synchrotron x-ray scattering examination was employed. Moreover, the OSC fabricated on the IZO-Ag-IZO electrode shows a higher power conversion efficiency (3.05%) than the OSC prepared on the IZO-Au-IZO electrode (2.66%), due to its high optical transmittance in the wavelength range of 400-600 nm, which is the absorption wavelength of the P3HT:PCBM active layer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.645-658
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• 2021

Porins are essential for the viability of Gram-negative bacteria. They ensure the uptake of nutrients, can be involved in the maintenance of outer membrane integrity and define the antibiotic or drug resistance of organisms. The function and structure of porins in proteobacteria is well described, while their function in photoautotrophic cyanobacteria has not been systematically explored. We compared the domain architecture of nine putative porins in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and analyzed the seven candidates with predicted OprB-domain. Single recombinant mutants of the seven genes were created and their growth capacity under different conditions was analyzed. Most of the putative porins seem to be involved in the transport of salt and copper, as respective mutants were resistant to elevated concentrations of these substances. In turn, only the mutant of alr2231 was less sensitive to elevated zinc concentrations, while mutants of alr0834, alr4741 and all4499 were resistant to high manganese concentrations. Notably the mutant of alr4550 shows a high sensitivity against harmful compounds, which is indicative for a function related to the maintenance of outer membrane integrity. Moreover, the mutant of all5191 exhibited a phenotype which suggests either a higher nitrate demand or an inefficient nitrogen fixation. The dependency of porin membrane insertion on Omp85 proteins was tested exemplarily for Alr4550, and an enhanced aggregation of Alr4550 was observed in two omp85 mutants. The comparative analysis of porin mutants suggests that the proteins in parts perform distinct functions related to envelope integrity and solute uptake.

• Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.2256-2268
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• 2018

Hydrophilic and hydrophobic polyethersulfone (PES)-zinc oxide (ZnO) sublayers were prepared by loading of ZnO nanoparticles into PES matrix. Both porosity and hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic sublayer were increased upon addition of hydrophilic ZnO, while these were decreased for the hydrophobic sublayer. In addition, the results demonstrated that the hydrophilic membrane exhibited smaller structural parameter (S value or S parameter or S), which is beneficial for improving pure water permeability and decreasing mass transfer resistance. In contrast, a higher S parameter was obtained for the hydrophobic membrane. With a 2 M NaCl as DS and DI water as FS, the pure water flux of hydrophilic TFN0.5 membrane was increased from $21.02L/m^2h$ to $30.06L/m^2h$ and decreased for hydrophobic TFN0.5 membrane to $14.98L/m^2h$, while the salt flux of hydrophilic membrane increased from $10.12g/m^2h$ to $17.31g/m^2h$ and decreased for hydrophobic TFN0.5 membrane to $3.12g/m^2h$. The increment in pure water permeability can be ascribed to reduction in S parameter, which resulted in reduced internal concentration polarization (ICP). The current study provides a feasible and low cost procedure to decrease the ICP in FO processes.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.150-155
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• 2021

Zinc oxide (ZnO) based transparent conducting oxides (TCO) thin films, are used in many applications such as solar cells, flat panel displays, and LEDs due to their wide bandgap nature and excellent electrical properties. In the present work, fluorine and aluminium-doped ZnO targets are prepared and thin films are deposited on soda-lime glass substrate using a RF magnetron sputtering unit. The aluminium concentration is fixed at 2 wt%, and the fluorine concentration is adjusted between 0 to 2.0 wt% with five different concentrations, namely, Al2ZnO98(AZO), F0.5AZO97.5(FAZO1), F1AZO97(FAZO2), F1.5AZO96.5(FAZO3), and F2AZO96(FAZO4). Thin films are deposited with an RF power of 40 W and working pressure of 5 m Torr at 270 ℃. The morphological analysis performed for the thin film reveals that surface roughness decreases in FAZO1 and FAZO2 samples when doped with a small amount of fluorine. Further, optical and electrical properties measured for FAZO1 sample show average optical transmissions of over 89 % in the visible region and 82.5 % in the infrared region, followed by low resistivity and sheet resistance of 3.59 × 10-4 Ωcm and 5.52 Ω/sq, respectively. In future, these thin films with excellent optoelectronic properties can be used for thin-film solar cell and other optoelectronics applications.