• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.58-63
• /
• 2022

Graphite has been used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries for the past 30 years due to its low de-/lithiation voltage, high theoretical capacity of 372 mAh/g, low price, and long life properties. Recently, all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLB), which are composed of inorganic solid materials with high stability, have received great attention as electric vehicles and next-generation energy storage devices, but research works on graphite that works well for ASSLB systems are insufficient. Therefore, we induced the performance improvement of ASSLB anode electrode graphite material by removing the amorphous carbon present in the carbon material surface, acting as a resistive layer from the graphite. As a result of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis using heat treated graphite in air at 400, 500, and 600 ℃, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) at (002) peak was reduced compared to that of bare graphite, indicating that the crystallinity of graphite was improved after heat treatment. In addition, the discharge capacity, initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) and cycle stability increased as the crystallinity of graphite increased after heat treatment. In the case of graphite annealed in air at 500 ℃, the high capacity retention rate of 331.1 mAh/g and ICE of 86.2% and capacity retention of 92.7% after 10-cycle measurement were shown.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.101-117
• /
• 2023

Active debris removal, a technology that approaches and removes space debris in orbit, and the on-orbit service, a technology for extending the mission life of satellites by fuel charging or by exchanging the battery, are gaining interest with the growth of the space community. SaTReC plans to develop a satellite capable of capturing and removing Korean satellites orbiting in space after the end of their missions. In contrast to the previously launched satellites by Korea, which were mainly intended to observe Earth and the space environment, rendezvous/docking technologies, as required in the future during, for instance, space exploration missions, will be implemented and demonstrated. In this paper, an orbital transition method for next-generation small satellites that will capture and remove space debris will be introduced. It is assumed that a small satellite with a mass of approximately 200 kg will be injected into the mission orbit through Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II in 2027. Because the satellite must access the target using a minimum amount of fuel, an approaching technology using Earth's J2 perturbation force has been developed. This method is expected to enable space debris removal missions for relatively lightweight satellites and to serve as the basis for carrying out a new type of space exploration in what is termed the 'Newspace' era.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.627-632
• /
• 2023

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in various applications, including electric vehicles and portable electronics, due to their high energy density and long cycle life. The performance of lithium-ion batteries can be improved by using solid electrolytes, in terms of higher safety, stability, and energy density. Li_1.5Al_0.5Ti_1.5(PO₄)₃ (LATP) is a promising solid electrolyte for all-solid-state lithium batteries due to its high ionic conductivity and excellent stability. However, the ionic conductivity of LATP needs to be improved for commercializing all-solid-state lithium battery systems. In this study, we investigate the microstructures and ionic conductivities of LATP by incorporating B₂O₃ glass ceramics. The smaller grain size and narrow size distribution were obtained after the introduction of B₂O₃ in LATP, which is attributed to the B₂O₃ glass on grain boundaries of LATP. Moreover, higher ionic conductivity can be obtained after B₂O₃ incorporation, where the optimal composition is 0.1 wt% B₂O₃ incorporated LATP and the ionic conductivity reaches 8.8×10^-5 S/cm, more than 3 times higher value than pristine LATP. More research could be followed for having higher ionic conductivity and density by optimizing the processing conditions. This facile approach for establishing higher ionic conductivity in LATP solid electrolytes could accelerate the commercialization of all-solid-state lithium batteries.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.58-68
• /
• 2024

Critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, are known as materials for cathodic active materials of lithium ion batteries. The consumption of the minerals is expected to grow with increasing the demands of electric vehicles, resulting from carbon neutrality. Especially, the demand for LIB (lithium ion battery) recycling is expected to increase to meet the supply of nickel, cobalt and lithium for LIB. The recycling of EOL (end-of-life) LIB can be achieved by leaching EOL LIB using inorganic acid such as HCl, HNO₃ and H₂SO₄, which are regarded as hazardous materials. In the present study, the potential use of MSA (Methanesulfonic acid), as an alternative lixiviant replacing sulfuric acid was investigated. In addition, leaching behaviors of NCM black mass leaching with MSA was also investigated by studying various leaching factors such as chemical concentration, leaching time, pulp density (P/D) and temperatures. The leaching efficiency of nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), lithium (Li), and manganese (Mn) from LIB was enhanced by increasing concentration of lixiviant and reductant, leaching time and temperature. The maximum leaching of the metals was above 99% at 80℃. In addition, MSA can replace sulfuric acid to recover Ni, Co, Li, Mn from NCM black mass.

• Fiber Technology and Industry
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.490-508
• /
• 1998

One of the latest fields of research in the area of output devices is tactual display devices [13,31]. These tactual or haptic devices allow the user to receive haptic feedback output from a variety of sources. This allows the user to actually feel virtual objects and manipulate them by touch. This is an emerging technology and will be instrumental in enhancing the realism of wearable augmented environments for certain applications. Tactual displays have previously been used for scientific visualization in virtual environments by chemists and engineers to improve perception and understanding of force fields and of world models populated with the impenetrable. In addition to tactual displays, the use of wearable audio displays that allow sound to be spatialized are being developed. With wearable computers, designers will soon be able to pair spatialized sound to virtual representations of objects when appropriate to make the wearable computer experience even more realistic to the user. Furthermore, as the number and complexity of wearable computing applications continues to grow, there will be increasing needs for systems that are faster, lighter, and have higher resolution displays. Better networking technology will also need to be developed to allow all users of wearable computers to have high bandwidth connections for real time information gathering and collaboration. In addition to the technology advances that make users need to wear computers in everyday life, there is also the desire to have users want to wear their computers. In order to do this, wearable computing needs to be unobtrusive and socially acceptable. By making wearables smaller and lighter, or actually embedding them in clothing, users can conceal them easily and wear them comfortably. The military is currently working on the development of the Personal Information Carrier (PIC) or digital dog tag. The PIC is a small electronic storage device containing medical information about the wearer. While old military dog tags contained only 5 lines of information, the digital tags may contain volumes of multi-media information including medical history, X-rays, and cardiograms. Using hand held devices in the field, medics would be able to call this information up in real time for better treatment. A fully functional transmittable device is still years off, but this technology once developed in the military, could be adapted tp civilian users and provide ant information, medical or otherwise, in a portable, not obstructive, and fashionable way. Another future device that could increase safety and well being of its users is the nose on-a-chip developed by the Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee. This tiny digital silicon chip about the size of a dime, is capable of 'smelling' natural gas leaks in stoves, heaters, and other appliances. It can also detect dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. This device can also be configured to notify the fire department when a leak is detected. This nose chip should be commercially available within 2 years, and is inexpensive, requires low power, and is very sensitive. Along with gas detection capabilities, this device may someday also be configured to detect smoke and other harmful gases. By embedding this chip into workers uniforms, name tags, etc., this could be a lifesaving computational accessory. In addition to the future safety technology soon to be available as accessories are devices that are for entertainment and security. The LCI computer group is developing a Smartpen, that electronically verifies a user's signature. With the increase in credit card use and the rise in forgeries, is the need for commercial industries to constantly verify signatures. This Smartpen writes like a normal pen but uses sensors to detect the motion of the pen as the user signs their name to authenticate the signature. This computational accessory should be available in 1999, and would bring increased peace of mind to consumers and vendors alike. In the entertainment domain, Panasonic is creating the first portable hand-held DVD player. This device weight less than 3 pounds and has a screen about 6' across. The color LCD has the same 16:9 aspect ratio of a cinema screen and supports a high resolution of 280,000 pixels and stereo sound. The player can play standard DVD movies and has a hour battery life for mobile use. To summarize, in this paper we presented concepts related to the design and use of wearable computers with extensions to smart spaces. For some time, researchers in telerobotics have used computer graphics to enhance remote scenes. Recent advances in augmented reality displays make it possible to enhance the user's local environment with 'information'. As shown in this paper, there are many application areas for this technology such as medicine, manufacturing, training, and recreation. Wearable computers allow a much closer association of information with the user. By embedding sensors in the wearable to allow it to see what the user sees, hear what the user hears, sense the user's physical state, and analyze what the user is typing, an intelligent agent may be able to analyze what the user is doing and try to predict the resources he will need next or in the near future. Using this information, the agent may download files, reserve communications bandwidth, post reminders, or automatically send updates to colleagues to help facilitate the user's daily interactions. This intelligent wearable computer would be able to act as a personal assistant, who is always around, knows the user's personal preferences and tastes, and tries to streamline interactions with the rest of the world.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.5-13
• /
• 2014

Objectives: Depression, sleep complaints and cognitive impairments are commonly observed in the elderly. Elderly subjects with depressive symptoms have been found to show both poor cognitive performances and sleep disturbances. However, the relationship between sleep complaints and cognitive dysfunction in elderly depression is not clear. The aim of this study is to identify the association between sleep disturbances and cognitive decline in late-life depression. Methods: A total of 282 elderly people who underwent nocturnal polysomnography in a sleep laboratory were enrolled in the study. The Korean version of the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery developed by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) was applied to evaluate cognitive function. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the geriatric depression scale (GDS) and subjective sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI). Results: The control group ($GDS{\leq}9$) when compared with mild ($10{\leq}GDS{\leq}16$) and severe ($17{\leq}GDS$) depression groups, had significantly different scores in the Trail making test part B (TMT-B), Benton visual retention test part A (BVRT-A), and Stroop color and word test (SCWT)(all tests p<0.05). The PSQI score, REM sleep duration, apnea-hypopnea index and oxygen desaturation index were significantly different across the three groups (all indices, p<0.05). A stepwise multiple regression model showed that educational level, age and GDS score were predictive for both TMT-B time (adjusted $R^2$=35.6%, p<0.001) and BVRT-A score (adjusted $R^2$=28.3%, p<0.001). SCWT score was predicted by educational level, age, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and GDS score (adjusted $R^2$=20.6%, p<0.001). Poor sleep quality and sleep structure alterations observed in depression did not have any significant effects on cognitive deterioration. Conclusion: Older adults with depressive symptoms showed mild sleep alterations and poor cognitive performances. However, we found no association between sleep disturbances (except sleep apnea) and cognitive difficulties in elderly subjects with depressive symptoms. It is possible that the impact of sleep disruptions on cognitive abilities was hindered by the confounding effect of age, education and depressive symptoms.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.242-246
• /
• 2017

The application of composite cathode materials including $LiFePO_4$ (lithium iron phosphate) of olivine crystal structure, which has high thermal stability, were investigated as alternatives for hybrid battery-capacitors with a $LiMn_2O_4$ (spinel crystal structure) cathode, which exhibits decreased performance at high temperatures due to Mn-dissolution. However, these composite cathode materials have been shown to have a reduction in capacity by conducting life cycle experiments in which a $LiFePO_4$/activated carbon cell was charged and discharged between 1.0 V and 2.3 V at two temperatures, $25^{\circ}C$ and $60^{\circ}C$, which caused a degradation of the anode due to the lowered voltage in the anode. To avoid the degradation of the anode, composite cathodes of $LiFePO_4/LiMn_2O_4$ (50:50 wt%), $LiFePO_4$/activated carbon (50:50 wt%) and $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ (50:50 wt%) were prepared and the life cycle experiments were conducted on these cells. The composite cathode including $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ of layered crystal structure showed stable voltage behavior. The discharge capacity retention ratio of $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ was about twice as high as that of a $LiFePO_4/LiMn_2O_4$ cell at thermal stability experiment for a duration of 1,000 hours charged at 2.3 V and a temperature of $80^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.60 no.2
• /
• pp.243-248
• /
• 2022

As the scope of use of portable and wearable electronic devices is expanding, the limitations of heavy and bulky solid-state batteries are being revealed. Given that, it is urgent to develop a small energy harvesting device that can partially share the role of a battery and the utilization of energy sources that are thrown away in daily life is becoming more important. Contact electrification, which generates electricity based on the coupling of the triboelectric effect and electrical induction when the two material surfaces are in contact and separated, can effectively harvest the physical and mechanical energy sources existing in the surrounding environment without going through a complicated intermediate process. Recently, the interest in the harvest and utilization of wind energy is growing since the wind is an infinitely ecofriendly energy source among the various environmental energy sources that exist in human surroundings. In this study, the optimization of the energy harvesting device for the effective harvest of wind energy based on the contact electrification was analyzed and then, the utilization strategy to maximize the utilization of the generated electricity was investigated. Natural wind based Fluttering TENG (NF-TENG) using fluttering film was developed, and design optimization was conducted. Moreover, the safe high voltage generation system was developed and a plan for application in the field requiring high voltage was proposed by highlighting the unique characteristics of TENG that generates low current and high voltage. In this respect, the result of this study demonstrates that a portable energy harvesting device based on the contact electrification shows great potential as a strategy to harvest wind energy thrown away in daily life and use it widely in fields requiring high voltage.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.145-156
• /
• 2004

Objectives : Internet addiction is a newly appeared addictive phenomenon that is defined as 'difficulty in real life due to internet over-use', 'excessive time spent on the internet or replacement of genuine real relationships with superficial virtual ones' or 'weakness in self-control about internet use and if discontinued, fallen in psychological confusion and anergic state'. This study was aimed to compare the internet addiction rate, demographic factors, computer using patterns, anxiety, depression, and internet self-efficacy and outcome expectancy between Korean middle and high school students in three areas - Seoul, Cheonan, and Rural areas - that were different in economic, cultural, and geographic state. Methods : Subjects are consisted of middle and high school students in Seoul, Chunan, and Rural areas(N=1718). Self-rating questionnaire included demographic data, Korean Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Korean Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS), questions for internet-using pattern, Korean version of Internet Addiction Scale invented by K. S. Young, Internet Self-efficacy and Out-come Expectancy Scale. Results: In this study, prevalence of internet addiction was 2.9%. There was no significant difference found in prevalence of internet addiction among three areas. In all subjects, there were significant differences in anxiety, depression, internet self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, leisure style, places of internet use, internet connecting method, and insight on internee addiction. But, in addicted group, there was no significant difference among three areas. Conclusion: This study suggested that the difference in economic, cultural, and geographic state was not related to prevalence of internet addiction. Although there were significant differences in anxiety, depression, self-efficacy associated with internee use, leisure style, places of internet use, internet connecting method, insight on internet addiction among three areas, there were no significant difference in addicted group among three areas. So, we concluded that the difference in economic, cultural, and geographic state did not influence the prevalence of internet addiction, and despite the difference in economic, cultural, and geographic state, people in three areas were equally influenced by internet addiction.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.67-74
• /
• 2017

Layered Ni-rich NCM cathode materials $Li[Ni_xCo_{(1-x)/2}Mn_{(1-x)/2}]O_2$ ($x{\geq}0.6$) have advantages of high energy density and cost competitive over $LiCoO_2$. The discharge capacity of NCM increases proportionally to the Ni contents. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to realize the stable electrochemical performance due to cation mixing. In this study, synthesis conditions for the layered Ni-rich NCMs are investigated to achieve deliver the ones having good electrochemical performances. Synthesis parameters are atmosphere, lithium source, synthesis time, synthesis temperature and Li/M (M=transition metal) ratio. The degree of cation mixing gets worse as the Ni content is increased from $Li[Ni_{0.6}Co_{0.2}Mn_{0.2}]O_2$ (NCM6) to $Li[Ni_{0.8}Co_{0.1}Mn_{0.1}]O_2$ (NCM8). It is confirmed that higher level of cation mixing affects negatively on the electrochemical performance of NCMs. Optimum synthesis conditions are explored for NCMx (x=6, 7, 8) in order to reduce the cation mixing. Under optimized conditions for three representative NCMx, a high initial discharge capacity and a good cycle life are obtained for $180mAh{\cdot}g^{-1}$, 96.2% (50 cycle) in NCM6, $187mAh{\cdot}g^{-1}$, 94.7% (50 cycle) in NCM7, and $201mAh{\cdot}g^{-1}$, 92.7% (50 cycle) in NCM8, respectively.