• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.98-105
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• 2009

The cochlea of the inner ear has two core components, basilar membrane and hair cells. The basilar membrane disperses incoming sound waves by their frequencies. The hair cells are on the basilar membrane, and they are the sensory receptors generating bioelectric signals. In this paper, a biomimetic technology using ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillar was studied as the part of developing process for artificial cochlea and novel artificial mechanosensory system mimicking human auditory senses. In particular, ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillar was fabricated by both low and high temperature growth methods. ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillars were grown on solid (high temperature growth) and flexible (low temperature growth) substrates. The substrates were patterned prior to ZnO nano-pillar growth so that we can selectively grow ZnO nano-pillar on the substrates. A multi-physical simulation was also conducted to understand the behavior of ZnO nano-pillar. The simulation results show electric potential, von Mises stress, and deformation in the ZnO nano-pillar. Both the experimental and computational works help characterize and optimize ZnO nano-pillar.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.211-221
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• 2023

This study presents a comprehensive study on the synthesis and characterization of PVI-PGMA/LiTFSI polymeric membrane electrolytes and CxNy-C flexible electrodes for energy storage applications. The dual-functional PVI-PGMA copolymer exhibited excellent ionic conductivity, with the PVI-PGMA73/LiTFSI200 membrane electrolyte achieving the highest conductivity of 1.0 × 10^-3 S cm^-1. The electrochemical performance of the CxNy-C electrodes was systematically investigated, with C3N2-C demonstrating superior performance, achieving the highest specific capacitance of 958 F g^-1 and lowest charge transfer resistance (R_ct) due to its highly interconnected hybrid structure comprising nanowires and polyhedrons, along with binary Co/Ni oxides, which provided abundant redox-active sites and facilitated ion diffusion. The presence of a graphitic carbon shell further contributed to the enhanced electrochemical stability during charge-discharge cycles. These results highlight the potential of PVI-PGMA/LiTFSI polymeric membrane electrolytes and CxNy-C electrodes for advanced energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, paving the way for further advancements in sustainable and high-performance energy storage technologies.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.68
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• pp.416-424
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• 2018

Oil spill and oily wastewater have now become a serious threat to the freshwater and marine environments. Porous materials with super-hydrophobicity and super-oleophilicity are good candidates for the oil adsorption and oil/water separation. Here, flexible hybrid nanofibrous membrane (FHNM) containing $SiO_2$/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) microspheres was prepared by simultaneous electrospinning and electrospraying. The obtained FHNM combined the flexibility of the nanofiber mat and super-hydrophobicity of the microspheres, which could not be achieved by either only electrospinning or only electrospraying. It was found that when the weight ratio between the $SiO_2$ and PVDF reached a critical value, the $SiO_2$ nanoparticles were present on the PVDF microsphere surface, significantly improving the surface roughness and hence the contact angle of the FHNM. Compared with the pure electrospun PVDF nanofiber mat, most of the FHNMs have a higher oil adsorption capacity. The FHNM could separate the oil with water quickly under the gravity and displayed a high efficiency and good reusability for the oil/water separation. More importantly, the FHNM could not only separate the oil with the pure water but also the corrosive solution including the salt, acid and alkali solution.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.224-232
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• 2005

The use of the lung assist device (LAD) would be well suited for acute respiratory failure (ARF) patients, combining the simplicity of mechanical ventilation with the ability of extracoporeal membrane oxygenators (ECMO) to provide temporary relief for the natural lungs. This study's specific attention was focused on the effect of membrane vibration in the LAD. Quantitative experimental measurements were performed to evaluate the performance of the device, and to identify membrane vibration dependence on blood hemolysis. We tried to decide upon excited frequency band of limit hemolysis when blood hemolysis came to through a membrane vibration action. The excited frequency of the module type 5, consisted of 675 hollow fiber membranes, showed the maximum gas transfer rate. We concluded that the maximum oxygen transfer rate seemed to be caused by the occurrence of maximum amplitude and the transfer of vibration to hollow fiber membranes. It was excited up to $25{\pm}5$ Hz at each blood flow rate of module type 5. We found that this frequency became the 2nd mode resonance riequency of the flexible in blood flow. Blood hemolysis was low at the excited frequency of $25{\pm}5$ Hz. Therefore, we decided that limit hemolysis frequency of this LAD was $25{\pm}5$ Hz.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.438-442
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• 2006

Novel sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketones) containing benzoxazole were directly synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic polycondensation using various ratios of 2,2'-bi[2-( 4-flurophenyl)benzoxazol-6-yl]hexafluoropropane to sodium 5,5'-carbonylbis(2-fluorobenzenesulfonate). The copolymers were soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and N,N-dimethylformamide at a relatively high solid composition (>15 wt%) and formed tough, flexible and transparent membranes. The membranes exhibited a degradation temperature of above $290^{\circ}C$. The exact dissolution times of these membranes at $80^{\circ}C$ in Fenton's reagent (3 wt% $H_2O_2$ containing 2 ppm $FeSO_4$) were undetectable, confirming their excellent chemical stability in fuel cell application. The membranes showed a moderate increase in water uptake with respect to increasing temperature. The proton conductivities of the membranes were dependent on the composition and ranged from $1.10{\times}10^{-2}$ to $5.50{\times}10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ at $80^{\circ}C$ and 95% relative humidity (RH). At $120^{\circ}C$ without externally humidified conditions, the conductivities increased above $10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ with respect to increasing benzoxazole content, which suggested that the benzoxazole moieties contributed to the proton conduction.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.1005-1012
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• 2011

In this paper, the effect of wrinkling on the failure behavior of thin membrane was studied using geometrically nonlinear shell element post-buckling analysis with global-local analysis strategy. In the analysis, double-edge notched and single-edge notched tensile specimen configurations were considered. The analyses were performed for both cases with allowing and suppressing the wrinkling deformation. The results were investigated focusing on the effect of wrinkle development on the variation of J-integral values at the cut tip. The effect of cut lengths and the specimen lengths were also systematically studied.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.87.1-87.1
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• 2011

For commercial applications, MEA development must be optimized in order to achieve high performance and low cost. There are many factors that affect the performance of MEA. Especially, the optimization of the method for preparing catalyst layer has great effect on the performance of MEA. Various methods have been used to prepare the catalyst layer of MEA. Among them, spraying method has a merit in that catalysis lay can be prepared with very flexible changes in catalyst layer as well as in the solvent composition of catalyst ink. In addition, in order to reduce the time required for manufacturing catalyst layer, an effort has been made to change the nozzle size and injection pressure of spray system. Further, the operation condition of spray system was changed in various ways in an effort to prepare optimum catalyst layer of MEA. Having optimized the operation condition of spraying system, comprehensive and diverse experiments were carried out concerning various factors that affect the performance of MEA. The present research report describes the results of more sub-categorized and more detailed experiments about the important factors (Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer, Relative humidity) which have been shown in previous experiments to exert greater effect on the performance of MEA.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.207-211
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• 2003

Caveolin-1 is a principal protein in the plasma membrane microdomains called caveolae. Caveolae play an important role in the transcytosis and pinocytosis. Therefore, caveolin-1 is most likely to work for the membrane dynamic events. In addition, caveolin-1 interacts with various signaling molecules. Although caveolin-1 possesses a variety of physiological functions, its structural properties were little construed. Here we analyzed the structural dynamics of the N-terminal caveolin-1 (residues 1-101), in order to better understand the structural properties in terms of its versatile functionality. We first analyzed its oligomeric form using GST-fused N-terminal domain, revealing that it equilibrates between a dimer and monomers in av concentration-dependent manner. The N-terminal domain of caveolin-1 was previously found to form a heptamer, so that our data suggest the dimeric form as an intermediate structure for the heptamer formation. Then, we obtained the folding profile, which indicated that $\DeltaG_{H2O}\;is\;about\;0.5\;\pm0.03$ kcal/mol. The stability of N-terminal domain is relatively low, indicating that N-terminal domain may not be crystalline. Conclusively, the dynamic and flexible structure of N-terminal domain appears more favorable to maintain the versatile functions of caveolin-1.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.428-432
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• 2013

This paper described the development of electrostatically driven peristaltic micropump. The proposed micropump consists of a flexible membrane and a single chamber which electrodes are inserted. The single chamber is divided into smaller cells by the electrodes. The fabricated micropump was operated with four electrodes in the membrane and a various phase sequencing actuation. We studied the changes in the flow rate corresponding to the actuating signal applied to the micropump under the zero hydraulic pressure difference between lnlet port and outlet port. The pump was operated from 60 to 130 V. Whereas the maximum flow rate in basic actuating signal is about 83 ${\mu}1/min$ at 15 Hz, the maximum flow rate in optimized actuating signal is about 114 ${\mu}l/min$ at 10 Hz.

• Composites Research
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.222-228
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• 2019

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system has many potential uses as an environmentally friendly power source. Carbon fiber composite bipolar plates are highly corrosion resistant and have high specific strength and stiffness in acidic environments, however, the relatively low electrical conductivity is a major issue which reduces the efficiency of PEMFC. In this study, electrically conductive particles (graphite powder and carbon black) are applied to carbon-epoxy composite prepregs to reduce the electrical resistance of the bipolar plates. The electrical resistance and mechanical properties are measured using conventional test methods, and a unit cell performance evaluation of developed carbon composite bipolar plates is performed to compare with the conventional bipolar plate.