• Clean Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.39-44
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• 2015

This study investigated the effects of six metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs: CuO, NiO, TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, Co₃O₄, ZnO) on seed germination and germination index (G.I) for five types of seeds: Brassica napus L., Malva verticillata L., Brassica olercea L., Brassica campestris L., Daucus carota L. NPs of CuO, ZnO, NiO show significant toxicity impacts on seed activities [CuO (6-27 mg/L), ZnO (16-86 mg/L), NiO (48-112 mg/L)], while no significant effects were observed at > 1000 mg/L of TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, Co₃O₄. Tested five types of seed showed different sensitivities on seed germination and root activity, especially on NPs of CuO, ZnO, NiO. Malva verticillata L. seed was highly sensitive to toxic metal oxide NPs and showed following EC₅₀s : CuO 5.5 mg/L, ZnO 16.4 mg/L, NiO 53.4 mg/L. Mostly following order of toxicity was observed, CuO > ZnO > NiO > Fe₂O₃ ≈ Co₃O₄ ≈ TiO₂, where slightly different toxicity order was observed for carrot, showing CuO > NiO ≈ ZnO > Fe₂O₃ ≈ Co₃O₄ ≈ TiO₂.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.470-477
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• 2021

Energy storage systems should address issues such as power fluctuations and rapid charge-discharge; to meet this requirement, CoFe₂O₄ (CFO) spinel nanoparticles with a suitable electrical conductivity and various redox states are synthesized and used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. In particular, CFO electrodes combined with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can provide long-term cycling stability by fabricating binder-free three-dimensional electrodes. In this study, CFO-decorated CNFs are prepared by electrospinning and a low-cost hydrothermal method. The effects of heat treatment, such as the activation of CNFs (ACNFs) and calcination of CFO-decorated CNFs (C-CFO/ACNFs), are investigated. The C-CFO/ACNF electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 142.9 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/s and superior rate capability of 77.6% capacitance retention at a high scan rate of 500 mV/s. This electrode also achieves the lowest charge transfer resistance of 0.0063 Ω and excellent cycling stability (93.5% retention after 5,000 cycles) because of the improved ion conductivity by pathway formation and structural stability. The results of our work are expected to open a new route for manufacturing hybrid capacitor electrodes containing the C-CFO/ACNF electrode that can be easily prepared with a low-cost and simple process with enhanced electrochemical performance.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.37-41
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• 2012

The Ag nanoparticles attached $La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}Co_{0.3}Fe_{0.7}O_{3-{\delta}}$ (LSCF) perovskites were prepared by plasma method. The Ag nanoparticles with size of several nanometers deposited from the Ag target were coated on the surface of LSCF powders with size range from 0.2 to 3 ${\mu}m$. The agglomeration of Ag particles annealed at $800^{\circ}C$ under inert gas of Ar were rarely observed. The inter-diffusion between surface Ag and core LSCF is effectively strong to prevent aggregation of Ag nanoparticles. The wave number of FT-IR spectra for LSCF were largely shifted as the concentration of Ag on LSCF up to 2.11 wt.%. The ionic states of irons in LSCF were measured by M$\ddot{o}$ssbauer spectroscopy. The small amount of $Fe^{4+}$ ions are converted to $Fe^{3+}$ ions after Ag nanopartcles were coated on LSCF.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.7
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• pp.370-374
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• 2014

Inorganic pigments have high thermal stability and chemical resistance at high temperature. For these reasons, they are used in clay, paints, plastic, polymers, colored glass and ceramics. $CoAl_2O_4$ nano-powder was synthesized by reverse-micelle processing the mixed precursor(consisting of $Co(NO_3)_2$ and $Al(NO_3)_3$). The $CoAl_2O_4$ was prepared by mixing an aqueous solution at a Co:Al molar ratio of 1:2. The average particle size, and the particle-size distribution, of the powders synthesized by heat treatment (at 900; 1,000; 1,100; and $1,200^{\circ}C$ for 2h) were in the range of 10-20 nm and narrow, respectively. The average size of the synthesized nano-particles increased with increasing water-to-surfactant molar ratio. The synthesized $CoAl_2O_4$ powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis(XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM) and color spectrophotometry. The intensity of X-ray diffraction of the synthesized $CoAl_2O_4$ powder, increased with increasing heating temperature. As the heating temperature increased, crystal-size of the synthesized powder particles increased. As the R-value(water/surfactant) and heating temperature increased, the color of the inorganic pigments changed from dark blue-green to cerulean blue.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.42 no.11 s.282
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• pp.722-728
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• 2005

A wet-chemical route was utilized to obtain nanosized crystalline goethite ($\alpha$-FeOOH) particle, which was known as an oxidation catalyst in reducing carbon monoxide (CO) and dioxine during incineration. A cost-effective $FeSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$ was used as starting raw material and a successive process of hydrolysis-oxidation was utilized as synthetic method. The effects of the initial $Fe^{2+}$ concentration, hydrolysis time and oxidation period on the crystalline phase and particle characteristics were systematically investigated by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and BET analyses. It was found that the spindle-shaped crystalline $\alpha$-FeOOH particle with the width of 70 nm and the length of 200 nm could be obtained successfully when the initial concentration of 1.5 M, hydrolysis time of 4h, and oxidation period of 10 h, respectively. In addition, it was observed that the spindle-shaped $\alpha$-FeOOH particle consisted of nano-sized primary crystallites of $30\~50\;nm$, which were de-agglomerated into individual particle and successively re­agglomerated into spherical or irregular-shaped agglomerates beyond certain periods in the hydrolysis and oxidation process.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.590-592
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• 2010

Li-Mn spinel ($LiMn_2O_4$) is prepared by a hydrothermal process with K-Birnessite ($KMnO_4{\cdot}yH_2O$) as a precursor. The K-Birnessite obtained via a hydrothermal process with potassium permanganate [$KMnO_4$] and urea [$CO(NH_2)_2$] as starting materials are converted to Li-Mn spinel nanoparticles reacting with LiOH. The molar ratio of LiOH/K-Birnessite is adjusted in order to find the effect of the ratio on the structural, morphological and electrochemical performances of the Li-Mn spinel. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and thermogravimetry (TG) are used to investigate the crystal structure and morphology of the samples. Galvanostatic charge and discharge are carried out to measure the capacity and rate capability of the Li-Mn spinel. The capacity shows a maximum value of $117\;mAhg^{-1}$ when the molar ratio of LiOH/K-Birnessite is 0.8 and decreases with the increase of the ratio. However the rate capability is improved with the increase of the ratio due to the reduction of the particle size.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.51-71
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• 2017

Antimicrobial polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes containing zerovalent iron ($Fe^0$) and magnetite ($Fe_3O_4$) nanoparticles were synthesized via phase inversion method using polyethersulfone (PES) as membrane material and nano-iron as nanoparticle materials. Zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) were prepared by the reduction of iron ions with borohydride applying an inert atmosphere by using $N_2$ gases. The magnetite nanoparticles (nMag) were prepared via co-precipitation method by adding a base to an aqueous mixture of $Fe^{3+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$ salts. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and dynamic light scattering analysis. Moreover, the properties of the synthesized membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The PES membranes containing the nZVI or nMag were examined for antimicrobial characteristics. Moreover, amount of iron run away from the PES composite membranes during the dead-end filtration were tested. The results showed that the permeation flux of the composite membranes was higher than the pristine PES membrane. The membranes containing nano-iron showed good antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli). The composite membranes can be successfully used for the domestic wastewater filtration to reduce membrane biofouling.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.285-295
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• 2021

The inverse spinel Cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄, CFO) is considered to be a promising alternative to commercial graphite anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, the further development of CFO is limited by its unstable structure during battery cycling and low electrical conductivity. In an effort to address the challenge, we construct three-dimensional hierarchical flower-like CFO nanoclusters (CFO NCs)-decorated carbonized cotton carbon fiber (CFO NCs/CCF) composite. This structure is consisted of microfibers and nanoflower cluster composited of CFO nanoparticle, in which CCF can be used as a long-range conductive matrix, while flower-like CFO NCs can provide abundant active sites, large electrode/electrolyte interface, short lithium ion diffusion path, and alleviated structural stress. As anode materials in LIBs, the flower-like CFO NCs/CCF exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. After 100 cycles at a current density of 0.3 A g^-1, the CFO NCs/CCF delivers a discharge/charge capacity of 1008/990 mAh g^-1. Even at a high current density of 15 A g^-1, it still maintains a charge/discharge capacity of 362/361 mAh g^-1.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1197-1205
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• 2018

UV protection cosmetics belong to functional cosmetics and contain organic or inorganic UV blocking pigments. The inorganic UV blocking pigments are mainly zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. It is known that inorganic UV blocking pigment has a diameter of 60 to 100 nm and has good blocking ability of UVA and UVB. Also, it has high inactivity against sunlight including UV and is excellent in safety. In addition, it is not absorbed or accumulated on the skin like organic pigments and does not cause skin irritation or allergy. In this study, mica, a plate-shaped inorganic pigment, nanosized titanium dioxide, an UV blocking material, and hydrophobic silica were surface-treated with surfactants. And then, titanium dioxide nanoparticles and silica were physically adsorbed on the mica by non-chemical mutual attraction due to differences in charge. Thereafter, the mica complex was surface-treated with silane to prepare a hydrophobic UV blocking pigment complex. The plate-shaped UV blocking composite improves the cohesiveness of a general nanoparticle material titanium dioxide, enhances UV blocking effect due to uniform dispersion, and can greatly improve dispersion stability in cosmetic formulations by surface treatment with hydrophobic property. The surface charge of the pigment was evaluated by zeta potential. The properties of the UV blocking pigment complex were evaluated by FE-SEM, XRD, FT-IR and UV-VIS.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2017

Cobalt ferrocyanide (CoFC) or nickel ferrocyanide (NiFC) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were fabricated for efficient removal of radioactive cesium, followed by rapid magnetic separation of the absorbent from contaminated water. The $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticles, synthesized using a co-precipitation method, were coated with succinic acid (SA) to immobilize the Co or Ni ions through metal coordination to carboxyl groups in the SA. CoFC or NiFC was subsequently formed on the surfaces of the MNPs as Co or Ni ions coordinated with the hexacyanoferrate ions. The CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs possess good saturation magnetization values ($43.2emu{\cdot}g^{-1}$ for the CoFC-MNPs, and $47.7emu{\cdot}g^{-1}$ for the NiFC-MNPs). The fabricated CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, and DLS. The adsorption capability of the CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs in removing cesium ions from water was also investigated. Batch experiments revealed that the maximum adsorption capacity values were $15.63mg{\cdot}g^{-1}$ (CoFC-MNPs) and $12.11mg{\cdot}g^{-1}$ (NiFC-MNPs). Langmuir/Freundlich adsorption isotherm equations were used to fit the experimental data and evaluate the adsorption process. The CoFC-MNPs and NiFC-MNPs exhibited a removal efficiency exceeding 99.09% for radioactive cesium from $^{137}Cs$ solution ($18-21Bq{\cdot}g^{-1}$). The adsorbent selectively adsorbed $^{137}Cs$, even in the presence of competing cations.