• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.92-97
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• 2024

To improve the efficiency of water splitting systems for hydrogen production, the high overvoltages of electrochemical reactions caused by catalysts in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER, Oxygen Evolution Reaction) must be reduced. Among them, LDH (Layered Double Hydroxide) compounds containing transition metal such as Ni, are attracting attention as catalyst materials that can replace precious metals such as platinum that are currently used. In this study, nickel foam, an inexpensive metallic porous material, was used as a support, and NiCo LDH (Layered Double Hydroxide) nanocrystals were synthesized through a hydrothermal synthesis process. In addition, changes in the shape, crystal structure, and water decomposition characteristics of the Mo-doped NiCo LDH nanocrystal samples synthesized by doping Mo to improve OER properties were observed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.333-337
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to develop a process technology to produce high hardness concentrated seawater removing chloride ions but containing useful minerals such as magnesium and calcium in the seawater desalination process. In order to make high hardness concentrated seawater, evaporation system is mostly used recently. Because evaporation system requires a large amount of energy consumption, in this study, it was aimed to produce high hardness concentrated seawater using membrane filtration requiring less energy. Nano filtration membranes were used for the experiments, and different types of high hardness concentrated seawater was produced depending on the membranes' specification, the number of times being concentrated, and pressure. As a result, at between 15bar and 20 bar in pressure, in between the second and the third times of concentration, the experiment result showed the best economic efficiency. By the experiment, production of high hardness concentrated seawater seemed to have a good economic feasibility.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.800-805
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• 2016

Rapid growth in nanotechnologies promises novel benefits through the exploitation of their unique industrial applications. However, as the production volume of nanomaterials increases, their unintentional exposure to the environment has been occured. Potential impacts of nanoproducts on the environment can be evaluated in the life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is the systematic analysis of the resource usages and emissions over the life time from the primary resources to the moment of disposal. In this study, we performed LCA for fabrication processes of superhydrophilic oil/water separator using nano-$TiO_2$. $TOTAL^{TM}$ freeware was used to analyze for all fabrication processes, and 6-environmental impact factors (resource depletion, climate change, ozone depletion, acidification, eutropication, and photochemical oxidation) were introduced. In addition, the use of nano-$TiO_2$ in the fabrication of superhydrophilic oil/water separator was actively contributed to the environmental impact factors, compared to the bulk-$TiO_2$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.550-556
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• 2022

The performance of enzymatic fuel cells that convert chemical energy contained in various organic molecules such as sugar, alcohol, organic acids, and amino acids into electrical energy is greatly affected by the cathode as well as the anode. This study aimed to develop a laccase-based cathode with high performance. An enzyme composite composed of an laccase, redox mediator, and carbon nanotubes was immobilized on the surface of electrode in multiple layers, and the effect of the number of layers and the presence or absence of carbon nanotubes on electrode performance was investigated. As the number of layers of the enzyme-mediator (Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl)) on the electrode surface increased, the amount of reduction current generated at the electrode increased. The enzyme-carbon nanotube-mediator composite electrode (Lac-SWCNTs-(PVI-Os-dCl)) generated a current 1.7 times greater than that of the Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl). It was found that the largest amount of current (10.1±0.1 µA) was generated in the electrode composed of two layers of Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl) and two layers of Lac-SWCNTs-(PVI-Os-dCl) in the evaluation of electrodes with different ratio of Lac-SWCNTs-(PVI-Os-dCl) and Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl). The maximum power density of the cell using the cathode composed of a single layer of Lac-(PVI-Os-dCl) and the cell using the optimized cathode were 0.46±0.05 and 1.23±0.04 µW/cm², respectively. In this study, it was demonstrated that the performance of cathode and the enzymatic fuel cell using the same can be improved by optimizing the layers of composites composed of laccase, redox mediator, and carbon nanotubes on the electrode surface.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.109-110
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• 2014

주사전자현미경(Scanning Electron Microscopy: SEM)은 고체상태에서 미세조직과 형상을 관찰하는 데에 가장 다양하게 쓰이는 분석기기로서 최근에 판매되고 있는 고분해능 SEM은 수 나노미터의 분해능을 가지고 있다. 그리고 SEM의 초점심도가 크기 때문에 3차원적인 영상의 관찰이 용이해서 곡면 혹은 울퉁불퉁한 표면의 영상을 육안으로 관찰하는 것처럼 보여준다. 활용도도 매우 다양해서 금속파면, 광물과 화석, 반도체 소자와 회로망의 품질검사, 고분자 및 유기물, 생체시료 nnnnnnnnn와 유가공 제품 등 모든 산업영역에 걸쳐 있다(Fig. 1). 입사된 전자빔이 시료의 원자와 탄성, 비탄성 충돌을 할 때 2차 전자(secondary electron)외에 후방산란전자(back scattered electron), X선, 음극형광 등이 발생하게 되는 이것을 통하여 topography (시료의 표면 형상), morphology(시료의 구성입자의 형상), composition(시료의 구성원소), crystallography (시료의 원자배열상태)등의 정보를 얻을 수 있다. SEM은 2차 전자를 이용하여 시료의 표면형상을 측정하고 그 외에는 SEM을 플랫폼으로 하여 EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy), WDS (Wave Dispersive X-ray Spectroscope), EPMA (Electron Probe X-ray Micro Analyzer), FIB (Focus Ion Beam), EBIC (Electron Beam Induced Current), EBSD (Electron Backscatter Diffraction), PBMS (Particle Beam Mass Spectrometer) 등의 많은 분석장치들이 SEM에 부가적으로 장착되어 다양한 시료의 측정이 이루어진다. 이 중 결정구조, 조성분석을 쉽고 효과적으로 할 수 있게 하는 X선 분석장치인 EDS를 SEM에 일체화시킨 장비와 EDS 및 PBMS를 SEM에 장착하여 반도체 공정 중 발생하는 나노입자의 형상, 성분, 크기분포를 측정하는 PCDS(Particle Characteristic Diagnosis System)에 대해 소개하고자 한다. - EDS와 통합된 SEM 시스템 기본적으로 SEM과 EDS는 상호보완적인 기능을 통하여 매우 밀접하게 사용되고 있으나 제조사와 기술적 근간의 차이로 인해 전혀 다른 방식으로 운영되고 있다. 일반적으로 SEM과 EDS는 별개의 시스템으로 스캔회로와 이미지 프로세싱 회로가 개별적으로 구현되어 있지만 로렌츠힘에 의해 발생하는 전자빔의 왜곡을 보정을 위해 EDS 시스템은 SEM 시스템과 연동되어 운영될 수 밖에 없다. 따라서, 각각의 시스템에서는 필요하지만 전체 시스템에서 보면 중복된 기능을 가지는 전자회로들이 존재하게 되고 이로 인해 SEM과 EDS에서 보는 시료의 이미지의 차이로 인한 측정오차가 발생한다(Fig. 2). EDS와 통합된 SEM 시스템은 중복된 기능인 스캔을 담당하는 scanning generation circuit과 이미지 프로세싱을 담당하는 FPGA circuit 및 응용프로그램을 SEM의 회로와 프로그램을 사용하게 함으로 SEM과 EDS가 보는 시료의 이미지가 정확히 일치함으로 이미지 캘리브레이션이 필요없고 측정오차가 제거된 EDS 측정이 가능하다. - PCDS 공정 중 발생하는 입자는 반도체 생산 수율에 가장 큰 영향을 끼치는 원인으로 파악되고 있으며, 생산수율을 저하시키는 원인 중 70% 가량이 이와 관련된 것으로 알려져 있다. 현재 반도체 공정 중이나 반도체 공정 장비에서 발생하는 입자는 제어가 되고 있지 않은 실정이며 대부분의 반도체 공정은 저압환경에서 이루어지기에 이 때 발생하는 입자를 제어하기 위해서는 저압환경에서 측정할 수 있는 측정시스템이 필요하다. 최근 국내에서는 CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) 시스템 내 파이프내벽에서의 오염입자 침착은 심각한 문제점으로 인식되고 있다(Fig. 3). PCDS (Particle Characteristic Diagnosis System)는 오염입자의 형상을 측정할 수 있는 SEM, 오염입자의 성분을 측정할 수 있는 EDS, 저압환경에서 기체에 포함된 입자를 빔 형태로 집속, 가속, 포화상태에 이르게 대전시켜 오염입자의 크기분포를 측정할 수 있는 PBMS가 일체화 되어 반도체 공정 중 발생하는 나노입자 대해 실시간으로 대처와 조치가 가능하게 한다.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.147-152
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• 2021

We report high-power continuous-wave operation of a Yb-doped fiber laser at 1070 nm, pumped by high-power laser diodes at 976 nm. Based on theoretical calculation of the stimulated Raman scattering and temperature distribution in the fiber, we construct a bidirectionally pumped Yb-fiberlaser system incorporating a pair of fiber Bragg gratings and a cladding light stripper. The fiber laser yields 3.0 kW of continuous-wave output at 1070 nm in a diffraction-limited beam with M² ≈ 1.26 for 4.1 kW of incident pump power, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 81.5%. The prospects for further power scaling are discussed.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.406-413
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• 2018

In OBIGGS, a small amount of ozone in the atmosphere damages the polymer membrane. Therefore, the ozone removal device is installed at the front end to prevent the damage of the membrane by reducing the concentration of ozone in the gas delivered to the membrane. In this study, two hollow fiber membranes, PI and PSf, used to fabrication hollow fiber module with an effective membrane area of $6.37cm^2$ for gas separation in OBIGGS. The ozone concentration in the chamber was maintained at 2-3 ppm. The gas was continuously supplied into the module by using a pump. The gas permeation characteristics and the tensile strength were evaluated as a function of ozone exposure time. The PI-based hollow fiber membrane showed only 20% reduction in the transmittance, and remained its original uniformity without any significant changes. However, when PSf type hollow fiber membranes were used, the permeability decreased by more than 80% and the tensile strength decreased by more than 70%.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2022

Adsorption tower systems based on activated carbon adsorption towers have mainly been employed to reduce the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a major cause of air pollution. However, the activated carbon currently used in these systems has a short lifespan and thus requires frequent replacement. An approach to overcome this shortcoming could be to develop metal oxide photocatalysis-activated carbon composites capable of degrading VOCs by simultaneously utilizing photocatalytic activation and powerful adsorption by activated carbon. TiO₂ has primarily been used as a metal oxide photocatalyst, but it has low economic efficiency due to its high cost. In this study, ZnO particles were synthesized as a photocatalyst due to their relatively low cost. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were deposited on the ZnO surface to compensate for the photocatalytic deactivation that arises from the wide band gap of ZnO. A microfluidic process was used to synthesize ZnO particles and Ag NPs in separate reactors and the solutions were continuously supplied with a pack bed reactor loaded with activated carbon powder. This microfluidic-assisted pack bed reactor efficiently prepared a Ag-ZnO-activated carbon composite for VOC removal. Analysis confirmed that Ag-ZnO photocatalytic particles were successfully deposited on the surface of the activated carbon. Conducting a toluene gasbag test and adsorption breakpoint test demonstrated that the composite had a more efficient removal performance than pure activated carbon. The process proposed in this study efficiently produces photocatalysis-activated carbon composites and may offer the potential for scalable production of VOC removal composites.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.576-583
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the impact of enhancing the electrode conductivity and mitigating the production of hydrogen peroxide - a by-product arising from lactate oxidation - on the performance of lactate electrodes. The electrical conductivity of the electrode was improved by modifying the surface of carbon paper with single-walled carbon nanotubes. Catalase was introduced to effectively eliminate the hydrogen peroxide produced during the lactate oxidation reaction. The carbon paper electrode, with simultaneous immobilization of both lactate oxidase and catalase, yielded a current 1.7 times greater than the electrode where only lactate oxidase was immobilized. The electrode in which lactate oxidase and catalase were co-immobilized on the surface of carbon paper modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes, produced a current of 171 µA, which was more than twice as much current as the carbon paper with only lactate oxidase immobilized. The optimized electrode showed a linear response up to lactate concentration of 20 mM, confirming that it can be used as a sensor electrode.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.11
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• pp.845-852
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• 2011

The Spark Plasma Sintering(SPS) method offers a means of fabricating a sintered-body having high density without grain growth through short sintering time and a one-step process. A titanium compact having high density and purity was fabricated by the SPS process. It can be used to fabricate a Ti sputtering target with controlled parameters such as sintering temperature, heating rate, and pressure to establish the optimized processing conditions. The compact/target(?) has a diameter of ${\Phi}150{\times}6.35mm$. The density, purity, phase transformation, and microstructure of the Ti compact were analyzed by Archimedes, ICP, XRD and FE-SEM. A Ti thin-film fabricated on a $Si/SiO_2$ substrate by a sputtering device (SRN-100) was analyzed by XRD, TEM, and SIMS. Density and grain size were up to 99% and below $40{\mu}m$, respectively. The specific resistivity of the optimized Ti target was $8.63{\times}10^{-6}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$.