• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.132-138
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• 2022

In this study, a basic study was performed to systematically compare the changes in surface properties according to the post-processing method of the stereolithography (SLA) printing method, which is a photocuring 3D printing method, and to provide information on the post-processing method suitable for the application. Although it was possible to improve some of the transparency of the SLA-type output by regularly changing the irregular microstructure of the surface through polishing, it was difficult to secure sufficient transparency like glass. The change in contact angle characteristics due to grinding showed a tendency to slightly increase as the grinding time increased and the particle size of the sandpaper used was small, but the variation between samples was large and the average contact angle was 77~90°, showing no statistically significant difference. Surface treatment methods other than polishing were tried, and it was confirmed that it was possible to easily and simply improve the transparency by applying a commercially available vehicle scratch remover or silicone oil. In addition, a method for securing high transparency such as glass by using a scratch remover after sequential grinding while reducing the particle size of the sandpaper was proposed. Finally, even after surface treatment through polishing and various methods, it was difficult to secure a contact angle of 90° or more.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.35-41
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• 2023

The carbon-coated silicon monoxide (c-SiO_x), which is a negative electrode active material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), has a limited cycle performance due to severe volume changes during cycles, despite its high specific capacity. In particular, the significant volume change of the active material can deform the electrode structure and easily damage the electron transfer pathway. To improve performance and mitigate electrode damage caused by volume changes, we replaced parts of the carbon black conducting agent with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having a linear shape. The content of the entire conductive material in the electrode was fixed at 10% by mass, and the relative content of CNTs ranged from 0% to 25% by mass to prepare electrodes and evaluate electrochemical performance. As the CNT content in the electrode increased, both cycle life and rate capability improved. Even a small amount of CNT can significantly improve the electrochemical performance of a c-SiO_x negative electrode with large volume changes. Furthermore, dispersing CNTs effectively can lead to achieving the equivalent performance with a reduced quantity of CNTs.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2010

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on Si (111) substrate were prepared by hydrothermal method. The ZnO nanorods on spin-coated seed layer were synthesized at $140^{\circ}C$ for 6 hours in autoclave and were thermally annealed in argon atmosphere for 20 minutes at temperature of 300, 500, $700^{\circ}C$. The effects of the thermal annealing on the structural and optical properties of the grown on ZnO nanorods were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), photoluminescence (PL). All the ZnO nanorods show a strong ZnO (002) and weak (004) diffraction peak, indicating c-axis preferred orientation. The residual stress of the ZnO nanorods is changed from compressive to tensile by increasing annealing temperature. The hexagonal shaped ZnO nanorods are observed. The PL spectra of the ZnO nanorods show a sharp near-band-edge emission (NBE) at 3.2 eV, which is generated by the free-exciton recombination and a broad deep-level emission (DLE) at about 2.12~1.96 eV, which is caused by the defects in the ZnO nanorods. The intensity of the NBE peak is decreased and the DLE peak is red-shifted due to oxygen-related defects by thermal annealing.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.25-38
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• 2020

Photoelectrochemical water splitting has been considered as the most promising technology for generating hydrogen energy. Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) compounds have currently attracted tremendous attention due to their outstanding ability towards the catalytic water-splitting hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we report the synthesis method of various transition metal dichalcogenide including MoS₂, MoSe₂, WS₂, and WSe₂ nanosheets as excellent catalysts for solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen evolution. Photocathodes were fabricated by growing the nanosheets directly onto Si nanowire (NW) arrays, with a thickness of 20 nm. The metal ion layers were formed by soaking the metal chloride ethanol solution and subsequent sulfurization or selenization produced the transition metal chalcogenide. They all exhibit excellent PEC performance in 0.5 M H₂SO₄; the photocurrent reaches to 20 mA cm^-2 (at 0 V vs. RHE) and the onset potential is 0.2 V under AM1.5 condition. The quantum efficiency of hydrogen generation is avg. 90%. The stability of MoS₂ and MoSe₂ is 90% for 3h, which is higher than that (80%) of WS₂ and WSe₂. Detailed structure analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for before/after HER reveals that the Si-WS₂ and Si-WSe₂ experience more oxidation of Si NWs than Si-MoS₂ and Si-MoSe₂. This can be explained by the less protection of Si NW surface by their flake shape morphology. The high catalytic activity of TMDs should be the main cause of this enhanced PEC performance, promising efficient water-splitting Si-based PEC cells.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.33-38
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• 2021

Recently, rollable and foldable displays are attracting great attention in the flexible display market due to their excellent form factor. To predict and prevent the mechanical failure of the display panels, it is essential to accurately understand the mechanical properties of brittle SiN_x thin films, which have been used as an insulating film in flexible displays. In this study, tensile properties of the ~130 nm- and ~320 nm-thick SiN_x thin films were successfully measured by coating a ~190 nm-thick organic nano-support-layer (PMMA, PS, P3HT) on the fragile SiN_x thin films and stretching the films as a bilayer state. Young's modulus values of the ~130 nm and ~320 nm SiN_x thin films fabricated through the controlled chamber pressure and deposition power (A: 1250 mTorr, 450 W/B: 1000 mTorr, 600 W/C: 750 mTorr, 700 W) were calculated as A: 76.6±3.5, B: 85.8±4.6, C: 117.4±6.5 GPa and A: 100.1±12.9, B: 117.9±9.7, C: 159.6 GPa, respectively. As a result, Young's modulus of ~320 nm SiN_x thin films fabricated through the same deposition condition increased compared to the ~130 nm SiN_x thin films. The tensile testing method using the organic nano-support-layer was effective in the precise measurement of the mechanical properties of the brittle thin films. The method developed in this study can contribute to the robust design of the rollable and foldable displays by enabling quantitative measurement of mechanical properties of fragile thin films for flexible displays.