• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.141-145
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• 2007

Due to their excellent catalytic activity with respect to methanol oxidation on platinum at low temperature, platinum nanosized catalysts have been a topic of great interest for use in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Since pure platinum is readily poisoned by CO, a by-product of methanol electrooxidation, and is extremely expensive, a number of efforts to design and characterize Pt-based alloy nanosized catalysts or Pt nanophase-support composites have been attempted in order to reduce or relieve the CO poisoning effect. In this review paper, we summarize these efforts based upon our recent research results. The Pt-based nanocatalysts were designed by chemical synthesis and thin-film technology, and were characterized by a variety of analyses. According to bifunctional mechanism, it was concluded that good alloy formation with $2^{nd}$ metal (e.g., Ru) as well as the metallic state and optimum portion of Ru element in the anode catalyst contribute to an enhanced catalytic activity for methanol electrooxidation. In addition, we found that the modified electronic properties of platinum in Pt alloy electrodes as well as the surface and bulk structure of Pt alloys with a proper composition could be attributed to a higher catalytic activity for methanol electooxdation. Proton conducting contribution of nanosized electrocatalysts should also be considered to be excellent in methanol electrooxidation (Spillover effect). Finally, we confirmed the ensemble effect, which combined all above effects, in Pt-based nanocatalsyts especially, such as PtRuRhNi and $PtRuWO_{3}$, contribute to an enhanced catalytic activity.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.23.1-23.1
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• 2009

ZnO is of great interest for various technological applications ranging from optoelectronics to chemical sensors because of its superior emission, electronic, and chemical properties. In addition, vertically well-aligned ZnO nanorods on large areas with good optical and structural properties are of special interest for the fabrication of electronic and optical nanodevices. To date, several approaches have been proposed for the growth of one-dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructunres. Several groups have been reported the MOCVD growth of ZnO nanorods with no metal catalysts at $400^{\circ}C$, and fabricated a well-aligned ZnO nanorod array on a PLD prepared ZnO film by using a catalyst-free method. It has been suggested that the synthesis of ZnO nanowires using a template-less/surfactant-free aqueous method. However, despite being a well-established and cost-effective method of thin film deposition, the use of magnetrons puttering to grow ZnO nanorods has not been reported yet. Additionally,magnetron sputtering has the dvantage of producing highly oriented ZnO film sat a relatively low process temperature. Currently, more effort has been concentrated on the synthesis of 1D ZnO nanostructures doped with various metal elements (Al, In, Ga, etc.) to obtain nanostructures with high quality,improved emission properties, and high conductance in functional oxide semiconductors. Among these dopants, Ga-doped ZnO has demonstrated substantial advantages over Al-doped ZnO, including greater resistant to oxidation. Since the covalent bond length of Ga-O ($1.92\;{\AA}$) is nearly equal to that of Zn-O ($1.97\;{\AA}$), high electron mobility and low electrical resistivity are also expected in the Ga-doped ZnO. In this article, we report the successful growth of Ga-doped ZnO nanorods on c-Sapphire substrate without metal catalysts by magnetrons puttering and our investigations of their structural, optical, and field emission properties.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2001

The microwave plasma and catalytic reaction have been employed to investigate the activation of methane to hydrogen and higher hydrocarbons at low gas temperature. The catalytic activity of Fe, Ni, Pt Pd metal catalysts were also studied in this reaction system. With increasing plasma power at a $CH_{4}$ flow rate of 20 ml/min, C2+ products increased from 29 to $42\%$, whereas hydrogen from 60 to $65\%$. When catalysts were loaded below the plasma region, the selectivitity of ethylene md acetylene increased but the yield of C2+ products remained constant. The usage of ECR electric fie3d and Pd-Ni bimetal catalyst produced a minimum C2+ yield of $64\%$.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.89-94
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• 2012

In this study, we investigated the activity of Pd and Pt supported on acidic Fe-ZSM5 supports for selective catalytic oxidation of ammonia ($NH_3$-SCO). Among the catalysts, Pt/Fe-ZSM5 catalyst exhibited superior $NH_3$-SCO activity to Pd/Fe-ZSM5 catalyst. We also tested Pt/Fe-ZSM5 catalysts with different Fe loading using ion-exchange method to prepare Fe-ZSM5 supports, which resulted in the increased catalytic performance with smaller Fe content: $NH_3$ was oxidized completely at low temperature ($250^{\circ}C$). The physicochemical properties of Fe-ZSM5 were investigated to figure out the relationship between the characteristics of the catalysts and the catalytic activity on $NH_3$-SCO by Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emissions spectrometer (ICP-AES), $N_2$ sorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed desorption of $NH_3$ ($NH_3$-TPD) technique.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.9 no.4 s.29
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• pp.17-25
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• 2005

The dealuminated and alkali/alkaline-earth metal exchanged Y-zeolites were prepared as a catalyst. Elemental compositions and structures of the prepared catalysts were analyzed by the various spectroscopic techniques such as inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy(ICP-AES), X-ray fluorescence(XRF) and X-ray diffraction(XRD), and the desorption behaviors of adsorbed species on the catalyst surfaces were investigated via NO-TPD experiment. Comparing with the composition of the starting material of NaY zeolite, the magnitudes of Si/Al ratio in catalytic materials were increased after dealumination. The Si/Al ratio of catalytic materials after dealumination followed by Cs and Ba cation exchange were additionally decreased. Dealumination to catalysts induced a destruction of basic frame due to a detachment of aluminum, which results in reducing framework structure, while increasing non-framework structure. This phenomenon becomes more serious with increasing time of steam treatment and even more significant for the cation exchanged catalysts. In NO-TPD experiments, the desorption peaks of NO which indicates an activity point of catalysts shifted to the low temperature region after dealumination and cation exchange. The desorption peaks of the NO-TPD profiles taken after steam treatment also shifted to the low temperature region as the steam treatment time increased. In dealuminated and cation exchanged Y-zeolites, the catalytic activities were more influenced by exchanged cation and the formation of non-framework structure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.169-169
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• 2012

The high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) have attached attentions because of a high superconducting transition temperature, low surface resistance, high superconducting critical current density (Jc), and superior superconducting capability under magnetic field. Moreover, the Jc of YBCO superconductors can be enhanced by adding impurities to the YBCO films for vortex-pinning. Understanding and controlling pinning centers are key factors to realize high Jc superconductors. We synthesized vertically-aligned ZnO nanorods on SrTiO3 (STO) substrates by catalyst-free metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and subsequently, deposited YBCO films on the ZnO nanorods/STO templates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The various techniques were used to analyze the structural and interfacial properties of the YBCO/ZnO nanorods/STO hybrid structures. SEM, TEM, and XRD measurements demonstrated that YBCO films on ZnO nanorods/STO were well crystallized with the (001) orientation. EXAFS measurements from YBCO/ZnO nanorods/STO at Cu K edge demonstrated that the local structural properties around Cu atoms in YBCO were quite similar to those of YBCO/STO.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.714-722
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• 2019

Catalysts were prepared by using incipient wetness impregnation method with 17 wt% Ni on a support ($SiO_2-Y_2O_3$, $Al_2O_3$, $SiO_2-ZrO_2$, $SiO_2$, $TiO_2$, MgO) and the catalytic activity in the reductive amination of ethanol with ammonia in the presence of hydrogen was compared and evaluated. The catalysts used before and after the reaction were characterized using X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, ethanol-temperature programmed desorption (EtOH-TPD), isopropanol-temperature programmed desorption (IPA-TPD), and hydrogen chemisorption etc. In the case of preparing $ZrO_2$ and $Y_2O_3$ supports, the small amount of Si dissolution from the Pyrex reactor surface provoked the formation of mixed oxides $SiO_2-ZrO_2$ and $SiO_2-Y_2O_3$. Among the catalysts used, $Ni/SiO_2-Y_2O_3$ catalyst showed the best activity, and this good activity was closely related to the highest nickel dispersion, and low desorption temperature in EtOH-TPD and IPA-TPD. The low catalytic activity on Ni/MgO catalysts showed low activity due to the formation of NiO-MgO solid-solutions. In the case of $Ni/TiO_2$, the reactivity was low due to the low nickel metal phase due to strong metal-support interaction. In the case of using a support as $SiO_2-Y_2O_3$, $Al_2O_3$, $SiO_2-ZrO_2$, and $SiO_2$, the selectivities of ethylamines and acetonitrile were not significantly different at similar ethanol conversion.

• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.95-101
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• 2012

The Co and Ni catalysts supported on $Al_2O_3$ for partial oxidation of methane producing hydrogen were synthesized using impregnation to incipient wetness. And the promotion effects of metals such as Mg, Ce, La and Sr in partial oxidation of methane over these $Co/Al_2O_3$ and $Ni/Al_2O_3$ were investigated. Reaction activity of these catalysts for the partial oxidation of methane was investigated in the temperature range of 450~$650^{\circ}C$ at 1 atm and $CH_2/O_2$ = 2.0. The catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD and SEM/EDX. The results indicated that the catalytic performance of these catalysts was improved with the addition of 0.2 wt% metal promoter. The Mg promoted $Co/Al_2O_3$ catalyst showed the highest $CH_4$ conversion and hydrogen selectivity at higher temperature than $500^{\circ}C$. The Ce and Sr promoted Ni catalysts superior to Co-based catalysts in the low temperature range. The addition of metal promoter to $Co/Al_2O_3$ and $Ni/Al_2O_3$ catalysts increased the surface area.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.237-241
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• 2014

Benzene is a hazardous air pollutant, classified as carcinogenic to humans, that requires special management. Benzene exists both indoors and outdoors and the control measure of indoor benzene is different from that of outdoor benzene. The removal of indoor benzene needs to be accomplished at low temperatures (normally below $100^{\circ}C$), while outdoor benzene is usually removed at much higher temperature ($300-400^{\circ}C$) by using catalytic oxidation. This review paper summarizes the recent trend in catalytic treatment of airborne benzene, focusing on catalytic oxidation and catalytic ozone oxidation. Particular attention is paid to Mn-based catalysts for low-temperature oxidation of benzene, which are more economical than the other noble-metal catalysts. Various methods are used to generate more efficient Mn-based catalysts for benzene removal. Ozone oxidation is attracting particularly significant attention because it can remove benzene effectively below $100^{\circ}C$, even at room temperature.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.244-255
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• 2019

Xylose isomerase (XI; E.C. 5.3.1.5) catalyzes the isomerization of xylose to xylulose, which can be used to produce bioethanol through fermentation. Therefore, XI has recently gained attention as a key catalyst in the bioenergy industry. Here, we identified, purified, and characterized a XI (PbXI) from the psychrophilic soil microorganism, Paenibacillus sp. R4. Surprisingly, activity assay results showed that PbXI is not a cold-active enzyme, but displays optimal activity at $60^{\circ}C$. We solved the crystal structure of PbXI at $1.94-{\AA}$ resolution to investigate the origin of its thermostability. The PbXI structure shows a $({\beta}/{\alpha})_8$-barrel fold with tight tetrameric interactions and it has three divalent metal ions (CaI, CaII, and CaIII). Two metal ions (CaI and CaII) located in the active site are known to be involved in the enzymatic reaction. The third metal ion (CaIII), located near the ${\beta}4-{\alpha}6$ loop region, was newly identified and is thought to be important for the stability of PbXI. Compared with previously determined thermostable and mesophilic XI structures, the ${\beta}1-{\alpha}2$ loop structures near the substrate binding pocket of PbXI were remarkably different. Site-directed mutagenesis studies suggested that the flexible ${\beta}1-{\alpha}2$ loop region is essential for PbXI activity. Our findings provide valuable insights that can be applied in protein engineering to generate low-temperature purpose-specific XI enzymes.