• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.342-351
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• 2021

Because of its unique properties, tungsten is a strategic and rare metal used in various industrial applications. However, the world's annual production of tungsten is only 84000 t. Ammonium paratungstate (APT), which is used as the main intermediate in industrial tungsten production, is usually obtained from tungsten concentrates of wolframite and scheelite by hydrometallurgical treatment. Intermediates such as tungsten trioxide, tungsten blue oxide, tungstic acid, and ammonium metatungstate can be derived from APT by thermal decomposition or chemical attack. Tungsten metal powder is produced through the hydrogen reduction of high-purity tungsten oxides, and tungsten carbide powder is produced by the reaction of tungsten powder and carbon black powder at 1300-1700℃ in a hydrogen atmosphere. Tungsten scrap can be divided into hard and soft scrap based on shape (bulk or powder). It can also be divided into new scrap generated during the production of tungsten-bearing goods and old scrap collected at the end of life. Recycling technologies for tungsten can be divided into four main groups: direct, chemical, and semi-direct recycling, and melting metallurgy. In this review, the current status of tungsten smelting and recycling technologies is discussed.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.242-251
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• 2023

The electrochemical corrosion behaviors of 304 stainless steels (STSs) with various coatings (organic coating and dry coating) were examined, and their applicability as bipolar plates in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) was validated. The results showed that the organic-coated samples had a significant decrease in anodic and cathodic current density compared to the uncoated sample. However, an increase in carbon black content in the organic coating or additional heat treatment at 700 ℃ resulted in a decrease in corrosion resistance. In addition, improvements in corrosion resistance achieved by adding TiO₂ powder to the organic coating were found to be limited. In contrast, dry coating with TiC and CrC exhibited higher corrosion potential, significantly lower current density, and reduced contact resistance compared to the organic coatings. Notably, the TiC-coated sample showed a comparatively lower current density and more stable behavior than the CrC-coated sample. Based on a series of experimental results, a thin TiC coating without defects is proposed as a promising surface treatment strategy for STS bipolar plates in PEMFC.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.41-49
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• 2010

Furan-containing epoxide monomers (8, 9) were designed and synthesized as carbon-neutral, environment-friendly adhesion material. Bicyclic skeleton were constructed using the Diels-Alder reaction of furan and methyl acrylate, both readily accessible starting material from a biomass via bio-refinery process. After reduction of ester functionality, resulting hydroxyl moieties were coupled to epichlorohydrin to provide the epoxy-functionalized furanic monomers (8, 9). The structure of new furanic monomers was confirmed by $^1H$ and $^{13}C$ NMR spectroscopy. As UV-curable monomers, basic properties such as UV curing time and the extent of UV curing were evaluated by photo DSC. Photo-curing shrinkages were measured by linear variable differential transformer transducer (LVDT) and the effect of molecular structure on shrinkage was considered. In addition, new synthetic compounds showed the shear strength over 3 MPa when they were photo-cured between polycarbonate plates, which indicates these compounds are feasible to use as photo-curable adhesive materials.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.292-303
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• 2022

An eco-friendly energy conversion device without the emission of pollutants has gained much attention due to the rapid use of fossil fuels inducing carbon dioxide emissions ever since the first industrial revolution in the 18th century. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) that can produce water during the reaction without the emission of carbon dioxide are promising devices for automotive and residential applications. As a key component of PEMFCs, polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) need to have high proton conductivity and physicochemical stability during the operation. Currently, perfluorinated sulfonic acid-based PEMs (PFSA-PEMs) have been commercialized and utilized in PEMFC systems. Although the PFSA-PEMs are found to meet these criteria, there is an ongoing need to improve these further, to be useful in practical PEMFC operation. In addition, the well-known drawbacks of PFSA-PEMs including low glass transition temperature and high gas crossover need to be improved. Therefore, this review focused on recent trends in the development of high-performance PFSA-PEMs in three different ways. First, control of the side chain of PFSA copolymers can effectively improve the proton conductivity and thermal stability by increasing the ion exchange capacity and polymer crystallinity. Second, the development of composite-type PFSA-PEMs is an effective way to improve proton conductivity and physical stability by incorporating organic/inorganic additives. Finally, the incorporation of porous substrates is also a promising way to develop a thin pore-filling membrane showing low membrane resistance and outstanding durability.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.158-162
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• 2015

To substitute indium tin oxide (ITO), many substituents have been studied such as metal nanowires, carbon based materials, 2D materials, and conducting polymers. These materials are not good enough to apply to an electrode because theses exhibit relatively high resistance. So metal grids are required as an additionalelectrode to improve the conductivities of substituents. The metal grids were printed by electrohydrodynamic printing system using Ag nanoparticle based ink. The Ag grids showed high uniformity and the line width was about $10{\mu}m$. The Ag nanoparticles are surrounded by dispersants such as unimolecular and polymer to prevent aggregation between Ag nanoparticles. The dispersants lead to low conductivity of Ag grids. Thus, the sintering process of Ag nanoparticles is strongly recommended to remove dispersants and connect each nanoparticles. For sintering process, the interface and microstructure of the Ag grid were controlled in 1.0 torr Ar atmosphere at aound $400^{\circ}C$ of temperature. From the sintering process, the uniformity of the Ag grid was improved and the defects on the Ag grids were reduced. As a result, the resistivity of Ag grid was greatly reduced up to $5.03({\pm}0.10){\times}10^{-6}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$. The metal grids embedded substrates containing low pressure Ar sintered Ag grids showed 90.4% of transmittance in visible range with $0.43{\Omega}/{\square}$ of sheet resistance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.691-697
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• 2011

In this study, by using the Water footprint technique, the water consumption by washing machines, which holds higher ranks in using water than any other electric appliances, was analyzed during their life cycle. The life cycle is defined as raw materials production step, manufacturing step, and using step. In raw materials production step, Input materials were researched by using LCI DB(Life Cycle Inventory Database) and the water consumption was calculated with consideration of approximately 65% Input materials which were based weight. In manufacturing step, the water consumption was calculated by the amount of energy used in assembly factories and components subcontractors and emission factor of energy. In using step, referring to guidelines on carbon footprint labeling, the life cycle is applied as 5 years for a washing machine and 218 cycles for annual bounds of usage. The water and power consumption for operating was calculated by referring to posted materials on the manufacture's websites. The water consumption by nation unit was calculated with the result of water consumption by a unit of washing machine. As a result, it shows that water consumption per life cycle s 110,105 kg/unit. The water consumption of each step is 90,495 kg/unit for using, 18,603 kg for raw materials production and 1,006 kg/unit for manufacturing, which apparently shows that the using step consume the most water resource. The water consumption by nation unit is 371,269,584tons in total based on 2006, 83,385,649 tons in both steps of raw material production and manufacturing, and 287,883,935 tons in using step.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.85-98
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• 2015

A global trend of replacing metal or glass containers with polymer-based packaging materials has been prevalent in the food packaging industry due to their ease in processibility, excellent transparency, and good cost efficiency. Barrier polymers tend to show low permeabilities for atmospheric gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor, which allow them to be utilized in the food and beverage packaging industry. With the current global trend, expansion of polymeric packaging materials to new markets such as oxygen sensitive juices, flavored water, and energy drinks requires improved $CO_2$ and $O_2$ barrier properties. The improvement of the existing polymer-based barrier platform will enable a rapid market impact. In this paper, the current barrier technologies such as (1) antiplasticization-induced barrier materials, (2) synergistic effect of antiplasticization and crystallization, (3) new barrier polymers, (4) nanocomposite materials, and (5) polymer blending are introduced with their characterization techniques for the development of advanced packaging materials.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.175-188
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• 2023

Water electrolysis holds great potential as a method for producing renewable hydrogen fuel at large-scale, and to replace the fossil fuels responsible for greenhouse gases emissions and global climate change. To reduce the cost of hydrogen and make it competitive against fossil fuels, the efficiency of green hydrogen production should be maximized. This requires superior electrocatalysts to reduce the reaction energy barriers. The development of catalytic materials has mostly relied on empirical, trial-and-error methods because of the complicated, multidimensional, and dynamic nature of catalysis, requiring significant time and effort to find optimized multicomponent catalysts under a variety of reaction conditions. The ultimate goal for all researchers in the materials science and engineering field is the rational and efficient design of materials with desired performance. Discovering and understanding new catalysts with desired properties is at the heart of materials science research. This process can benefit from machine learning (ML), given the complex nature of catalytic reactions and vast range of candidate materials. This review summarizes recent achievements in catalysts discovery for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The basic concepts of ML algorithms and practical guides for materials scientists are also demonstrated. The challenges and strategies of applying ML are discussed, which should be collaboratively addressed by materials scientists and ML communities. The ultimate integration of ML in catalyst development is expected to accelerate the design, discovery, optimization, and interpretation of superior electrocatalysts, to realize a carbon-free ecosystem based on green hydrogen.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.105-112
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• 2020

Transition metal oxide, which undergoes a conversion reaction in the negative electrode material for a lithium-ion batteries, has a high specific capacity, but still has several critical problems. In this study, manganese pyrophosphate (Mn₂P₂O₇), nickel pyrophosphate (Ni₂P₂O₇), and carbon composite materials with pyrophosphates as novel negative electrode materials instead of transition metal oxide, are synthesized through simple solid-state reaction. The initial reversible capacity of Mn₂P₂O₇ and Ni₂P₂O₇ are 333 and 340 mAh g^-1, and when the composite materials are composed with carbon, the reversible capacity increases to 433 and 387 mAh g^-1, respectively. The initial Coulombic efficiency is also improved by about 10%. The Mn₂P₂O₇ and carbon composite material has the highest initial capacity and efficiency, and has the best cycle performance. Mn₂P₂O₇ containing polyanion, has a lower specific capacity due to the large mass of polyanion compared to MnO (manganese oxide). However, since Mn₂P₂O₇ shows a voltage curve with a slope, the charging (lithiation) voltage increases from 0.51 to 0.57 V (vs. Li/Li⁺), and the discharge (delithiation) voltage decreases from 1.15 to 1.01 V (vs. Li/Li⁺). Therefore, the voltage efficiency of the cell is improved because the voltage difference between charging and discharging is greatly reduced from 0.64 to 0.44 V, and the operating voltage of the full cell increases because the negative electrode potential is lowered during the discharging process.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2020

Synthetic resin formwork is made of lightweight high-density polyethylene(HDPE). This study used a process flow chart that satisfies the system boundary (such as Cradle-to- Product shipmen ) required by ISO FDIS 13352 to evaluate the entire process of synthetic resin foam using. The entire life cycle inventory (LCI) database calculated from input energy sources, materials used, transportation methods, and manufacturing processes at the system boundary was analyzed. Based on the environmental impact assessment index methodology of the Ministry of Environment from the LCI data analysis of synthetic resin formwork, the environmental impact assessment was carried out through classification, normalization, characterization, and weighting process. The experimental results are as follows the amount of CO₂ (carbon) emission considering the number of conversions was about 32% lower than that of the Euroform. This shows that the use of synthetic resin formwork reduces material production by half compared to Euroform and reduces CO₂ (carbon) emissions.