• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.568-573
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• 2016

We explore the crystalline structure and phase transition of lithium thiophosphate ($Li_7P_3S_{11}$) solid electrolyte using electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The glass-like $Li_7P_3S_{11}$ powder is prepared by the high-energy mechanical milling process. According to the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and selected area diffraction (SAD) analysis, the glass powder shows chemical homogeneity without noticeable contrast variation at any specific spot in the specimen and amorphous SAD ring patterns. Upon heating up to $260^{\circ}C$ the glass $Li_7P_3S_{11}$ powder becomes crystallized, clearly representing crystal plane diffraction contrast in the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy image. We further confirm that each diffraction spot precisely corresponds to the diffraction from a particular $Li_7P_3S_{11}$ crystallographic structure, which is also in good agreement with the previous X-ray diffraction results. We expect that the microscopic analysis with EDS and SAD patterns would permit a new approach to study in the atomic scale of other lithium ion conducting sulfides.

• Ceramist
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.110-121
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• 2019

Triboelectric nanogenerators and piezoelectric nanogenerators are a spotlighted energy harvesting method that converts the wasted mechanical energy from the environment into usable electrical energy. In the case of triboelectric nanogenerators, researches have been mainly focused on high permittivity and flexible polymer materials, and in the case of piezoelectric nanogenerators, researches have been focused on ceramic materials exhibiting high polarization characteristics. Recently, many researches have been conducted to improve durability and power in various environments by using composite materials which have flexible properties of polymer, high permittivity, thermal resistance and high polarization properties of ceramics. This article reviews the energy harvesting studies reported about composites materials using ceramics and polymers.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.119-132
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• 2024

Dielectric ceramic capacitors present high output power density due to the fast energy charge and discharge nature of dielectric polarization. By forming dense ceramic films with nano-grains through the Aerosol Deposition (AD) process, dielectric ceramic capacitors can have high dielectric breakdown strength, high energy storage density, and leading to high power density. Dielectric capacitors fabricated by AD process are expected to meet the increasing demand in applications that require not only high energy density but also high power output in a short time. This article reviews the recent progress on the dielectric ceramic capacitors with improved energy storage properties through AD process, including energy storage capacitors based on both leadbased and lead-free dielectric ceramics.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2006

High temperature electrolysis is a promising technology to produce massively hydrogen using renewable and nuclear energy. Solid oxide fuel cell materials are candidates as the components of steam electrolysers. However, the polarization characteristics of the typical electrode materials during the electrolysis have not been intensively investigated. In this study, NiO electrode was deposited on YSZ electrolyte by spin coat process and firing at $1300^{\circ}C$. Pt electrode was applied on the other side of the electrolyte to compare the polarization characteristics with those by NiO during electrolysis. The $H_2$ evolution rate was also monitored by measuring the electromotive force of Lambda probe and calculated by thermodynamic consideration. At low current density, Pt showed lower cathodic polarization and thus higher current efficiency than Ni, but the oxidation of Ni into NiO caused the increase of anodic resistance with increasing current density. High overpotential induced high power consumption to produce hydrogen by electrolysis.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.506-510
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• 2016

The eutectic melt of BaO-CuO flux is known to be a potential sintering aid for $Ba(Zr,Y)O_3$ (BZY) electrolyte for proton-conducting ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs). A density of BZY higher than 97% of theoretical density can be achieved via sintering at $1300^{\circ}C$ for 2 h using a flux composed of 28 mol% BaO and 72 mol% CuO. In the present study, chemical and structural evolution of BaO-CuO flux throughout the sintering process was investigated. An intermediate holding step at $1100^{\circ}C$ leads to formation of various impurity compounds such as $BaCuO_{1.977}$, $Ba_{0.92}Cu_{1.06}O_{2.28}$ and $Cu_{16}O_{14.15}$, which exhibit significantly larger unit cell volumes than the matrix. The presence of such secondary compounds with large lattice mismatch can potentially lead to mechanical failure. On the other hand, direct heating to the final sintering temperature produced CuO and $Cu_2O$ as secondary phases, whose unit cell volumes are close to that of the matrix. Therefore, the final composition of the flux is strongly affected by the thermal history, and a proper sintering schedule should be used to obtain the desired properties of the final product.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.429-436
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• 2011

The corrosion of materials exposed to high temperature helium in a very high temperature reactor is caused by interaction with the impurities in the helium. This interaction then induces high temperature mechanical deterioration. By considering the effect of the impurity concentration on material corrosion, a long-term coolant chemistry guideline can be determined for the range of impurity concentration at which the material is stable for a long time. In this work, surface reactions were investigated by analyzing the thermodynamics and the experimental results for Alloy 617 exposed to controlled impure helium at $950^{\circ}C$. Moreover, the surfaces were examined for the Alloy 617 crept in air and in uncontrolled helium, which was explained by possible surface reactions.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.304-307
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• 2015

To reduce the lateral conduction loss of thin-film-processed cathodes, the microstructure of the thin-film cathode is engineered to contain a denser bridging layer in the middle. By doing so, the characteristic crack-like pores that separate the cathode domains in thin-film-processed cathodes and hamper lateral conduction are better connected and, as a result, the sheet resistance of the cathode is effectively reduced by a factor of 5. This induces suppression of the lateral conduction loss and expansion of the effective current collecting area; the cell performance is improved by more than 30%.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.9
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• pp.659-667
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• 2012

Alloy 617 is a Ni-base superalloy and a candidate material for the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) of a very high temperature gas reactor (VHTR) which is one of the next generation nuclear reactors under development. The high operating temperature of VHTR enables various applications such as mass production of hydrogen with high energy efficiency. Alloy 617 has good creep resistance and phase stability at high temperatures in an air environment. However, it was reported that the mechanical properties decreased at a high temperature in an impure helium environment. In this study, high-temperature corrosion tests were carried out at $850^{\circ}C-950^{\circ}C$ in a helium environment containing the impurity gases $H_2$, CO, and $CH_4$, in order to examine the corrosion behavior of Alloy 617. Until 250 h, Alloy 617 specimens showed a parabolic oxidation behavior at all temperatures. The activation energy for oxidation in helium environment was 154 kJ/mol. The SEM and EDS results elucidated a Cr-rich surface oxide layer, Al-rich internal oxides and depletion of grain boundary carbides. The thickness and depths of degraded layers also showed a parabolic relationship with time. A normal grain growth was observed in the Cr-rich surface oxide layer. When corrosion tests were conducted in a pure helium environment, the oxidation was suppressed drastically. It was elucidated that minor impurity gases in the helium would have detrimental effects on the high-temperature corrosion behavior of Alloy 617 for the VHTR application.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.648-653
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• 2012

Hybridization of dense ceramic membranes for hydrogen separation with an electronically conductive metallic phase is normally utilized to enhance the hydrogen permeation flux and thereby to increase the production efficiency of hydrogen. In this study, we developed a nickel and proton conducting oxide ($BaCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{3-{\delta}}$: BCY) based cermet (ceramic-metal composites) membrane. Focused on the general criteria in that the hydrogen permeation properties of a cermet membrane depend on its microstructural features, such as the grain size and the homogeneity of the mix, we tried to optimize the microstructure of Ni-BCY cermets by controlling the fabrication condition. The Ni-BCY composite powder was synthesized via a solid-state reaction using $2NiCO_3{\cdot}3Ni(OH)_2{\cdot}4H_2O$, $BaCeO_3$, $CeO_2$ and $Y_2O_3$ as a starting material. To optimize the mixing scale and homogeneity of the composite powder, we employed a high-energy milling process. With this high-energy milled composite powder, we could fabricate a fine-grained dense membrane with an excellent level of mixing homogeneity. This controlled Ni-BCY cermet membrane showed higher hydrogen permeability compared to uncontrolled Ni-BCY cermets created with a conventionally ball-milled composite powder.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.442-442
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• 2014

Although electrochemical capacitors (ECs), also known as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors, is one of the most promising energy-storage devices because of its high power density, super-high cycle life, and safe operation. We herein report a synthesis of graphene-based flexible films by kneading method. Thus, a device can be readily made by sandwiching a polymer membrane included ionic liquid electrolytes between two identical graphene-based flexible films. Devices made with these electrodes exhibit ultrahigh energy density values while maintaining the high power density and excellent cycle stability of ECs. Moreover, these ECs maintain excellent electrochemical attributes under high mechanical stress and thus hold promise for high-energy, flexible electronics.