• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2018

We used differential scanning calorimetry and a thermogravimetric analysis to investigate the effect of being confined in mesoporous MCM-41 on the decomposition of lithium borohydride and magnesium borohydride when heated. The confinement did not cause a phase transition of the metal borohydrides inside MCM-41, but did lower their decomposition temperature. With the exception of a lowering of the temperature, the decomposition reaction mechanism of the metal borohydrides was nearly the same for both the bulk and confined samples.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.159-167
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• 2012

Hydrogen is in the spotlight as an alternative next generation energy source for the replacement of fossil fuels because it has high specific energy density and emits almost no pollution, with zero $CO_2$ emission. In order to use hydrogen safely, reliable storage and transportation methods are required. Recently, solid hydrogen storage systems using metal hydrides have been under extensive development for application to fuel cell vehicles and fuel cells of MCFC and SOFC. For the practical use of hydrogen on a commercial basis, hydrogen storage materials should satisfy several requirements such as 1) hydrogen storage capacity of more than 6.5wt.% $H_2$, moderate hydrogen release temperature below $100^{\circ}C$, 3) cyclic reversibility of hydrogen absorption/desorption, 4) non toxicity and low price. Among the candidate materials, Li based metal hydrides are known to be promising materials with high practical potential in view of the above requirements. This paper reviews the characteristics and recent R&D trends of Li based complex hydrides, Li-alanates, Li-borohydrides, and Li-amides/imides.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.563-568
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• 2005

The Pt/C and Pd/C catalysts were prepared from conventional chloride precursors by adsorption or precipitation-deposition methods. Their activities for hydrogenation reactions of cyclohexene and acetophenone were compared with those of commercial catalysts. The Pt/C and Pd/C catalysts obtained from the adsorption procedure reveal higher hydrogenation activity than commercial catalysts and the catalysts prepared by the precipitation-deposition method. Their improved performances are attributed to the decreased metal crystallite sizes of Pt or Pd formed on the active carbon support upon the adsorption of the precursors probably due to the same negative charges of the chloride precursor and the carbon support. Under the preparation conditions studied, the reduction of the supported catalysts using borohydrides in liquid phase is superior to a gas phase reduction by using hydrogen in the viewpoint of particle size, hydrogenation activity and convenience.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.244-250
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• 2017

Reduction of (${\pm}$)-3-ketoproline ethyl ester (1) by $NaBH_4$ in the presence of $CaCl_2$ and $MgCl_2$ as the chelating agents gave selective products cis-3(R/S)-alcohols, while reduction by $NaBH_4$ alone or chelated with $NiCl_2$ and $AlBr_3$ gave mixtures of cis- and trans-alcohols. The reduction of (${\pm}$)-1 by various vegetables however, gave exclusively the cis-alcohol as the major and trans-alcohol as the minor. On the contrary, reduction of (${\pm}$)-1 by carrot afforded a mixture of cis- and trans-alcohols, in which the trans-alcohol exists as the major product. In addition, we found that this biocatalyst selectively converted S-enantiomer of (${\pm}$)-1 to the cis-alcohol, and R-enantiomer to a mixture of cis- and trans-alcohols with cis-alcohol as the major product. This fact prompted us to use various fresh plant tissues for stereoselective reduction of diverse types of pyrrolidinones, as its stereoselectivity towards racemic mixtures is higher compared to that using chemical reducing agents.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2614-2624
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• 2022

Monte Carlo simulations were used to model a portable Neutron backscattering (NBT) sensor suitable for detecting plastic anti-personnel mines (APMs) buried in dry and moist soils. The model consists of a 100 MBq ²⁵²Cf source encapsulated in a neutron reflector/shield assembly and centered between two ³He detectors. Multi-parameter optimization was performed to investigate the efficiency of Be/Zr(BH₄)₄ and Be/Be(BH₄)₂ assemblies in terms of increasing the signal-to-background (S/B) ratio and reducing the total dose equivalent rate. The MCNP results showed that 2 cm Be/3 cm Zr(BH₄)₄ and 2 cm Be/3 cm Be(BH₄)₂ are the optimal configurations. However, due to portability requirements and abundance of Be, the ²⁵²Cf-2 cm Be/3 cm Be(BH₄)₂ NBT model was selected to scan the center of APM buried 3 cm deep in dry and moist soils. The selected NBT model has positively identified the APM with a S/B ratio of 886 for dry soils of 1 wt% hydrogen content and with S/B ratios of 615, 398, 86, and 12 for the moist soils containing 4, 6, 10, and 14 wt% hydrogen, respectively. The total dose equivalent rate reached 0.0031 mSv/h, suggesting a work load of 8 h/day for 806 days within the permissible annual dose limit of 20 mSv.