• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.241-250
• /
• 2009

During the past few years, titanium salts were investigated as alternative coagulants for the removal of organic matter of different molecular sizes in contaminated water. The flocculation efficiency of Ti-salt was comparable to those of $FeCl_3$ and $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ salts, commonly used coagulants. Incinerated sludge-$TiO_2$ showed higher surface area and photocatalytic activity than commercially available $TiO_2$. Metal-doped forms were produced by adding coagulant aids such as iron (Fe-), aluminium (Al-) and (Ca-) calcium salts during Ti-salt flocculation to increase pH. Ca- and Al- doped $TiO_2$ showed very high photocatalytic activity compared to Fe-doped $TiO_2$. When tested in a pilot scale plant for treatment of dye wastewater to check practical feasibility of the novel process, the removal ratio of the chemical oxygen demand was comparable to those of commonly used coagulants but the settling of sludge was faster. The $TiO_2$ generated after sludge incineration showed a high photocatalytic activity for degradation of volatile organic compounds and increased the rate of hydrogen production by water photosplitting. $TiCl_4$ coagulant and $TiO_2$ produced from different water sources with different concentrations had low acute toxicity compared to heavy metals and commercial $TiO_2$ when examined based on D. Magna mortality. This paper presents the production, characterisation and the photoactivity of $TiO_2$ produced from Ti-salt flocculated sludge. Different case studies are discussed to highlighted recent advances in this field.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.257-262
• /
• 2013

As the regulation of total phosphorus (T-P) concentration in biologically treated sewage effluent is reduced to 0.2~2 mg/L, flocculation process is recommended to remove T-P. In this study, the performance of Ti-salt coagulant was investigated in terms of dosage and pH in removing phosphorus and the collected sludge after Ti-salt flocculation was calcined to produce titania for effective sludge recycling. The flocculation performance was carried out using two methods: sedimentation and air floatation. Both methods were feasible to apply for Ti-salt flocculation. Ti-salt flocculation was effective in reducing phosphorus concentration in sewage effluent, which showed similar performance of alum ($Al_2(SO_4)_3$). The calcined sludge was recycled to titania which is the widely used metal oxide. Titania produed from Ti-salt sludge indicated similar characteristics of commercially-available P-25 in regard to photocatalytic activity and surface area. Therefore, this can be easily adopted to titania application by replacing P-25.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.46 no.6
• /
• pp.1029-1038
• /
• 2008

Transition-metal-oxide-incorporated hydrotalcites were prepared by hydrothermal reaction of their synthetic mixtures containing precursors of transition metal oxides and their properties of nitrogen dioxide adsorption was investigated. The dispersion of transition metal oxides on the hydrotalcites and the amount and the state of nitrogen dioxide adsorbed on them were examined by using XRD, SEM, XPS, nitrogen adsorption, a gravimetric adsorption system, FT-IR spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption techniques. Transition metal oxides were mainly incorporated on their surface and the incorporation of iron and nickel oxides to the hydrotalcites increased their adsorption amounts of nitrogen dioxide. The dispersion of iron oxide on the hydrotalcites was effective in increasing the amount of nitrogen dioxide adsorption, while too much amount of iron oxide incorporation reduced the amount of nitrogen dioxide adsorption due to masking of surface basic sites by agglomerated iron oxide. Although the incorporation of iron oxide to the hydrotalcites lowered the adsorption strength of nitrogen dioxide, the incorporation of it with a proper amount enhanced the amount of nitrogen dioxide adsorption and the stability against the hydrothermal treatment.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.69-76
• /
• 2008

Common methods for large scale hydrogen production, such as steam reforming and coal gasification, also involve production of carbonaceous gases. It is therefore necessary to handle process gas streams involving various mixtures of hydrocarbons, $H_2$, $H_2O$, CO and $CO_2$ at moderate to high temperatures. These gases pose a variety of corrosion threats to the alloys used in plant construction. Carbon is a particularly aggressive corrodent, leading to carburisation and, at high carbon activities, to metal dusting. The behaviour of commercial heat resisting alloys 602CA and 800, together with that of 304 stainless steel, was studied during thermal cycling in $CO/CO_2$ at $650-750^{\circ}C$, and also in $CO/H_2/H_2O$ at $680^{\circ}C$. Thermal cycling caused repeated scale separation, which accelerated chromium depletion from the alloy subsurface regions. The $CO/H_2/H_2O$ gas, with $a_C=2.9$ and $p(O_2)=5\times10^{-23}$ atm, caused relatively rapid metal dusting, accompanied by some internal carburisation. In contrast, the $CO/CO_2$ gas, with $a_C=7$ and $p(O_2)=10^{-23}-10^{-24}$ atm caused internal precipitation in all three alloys, but no dusting. Inward diffusion of oxygen led to in situ oxidation of internal carbides. The very different reaction morphologies produced by the two gas mixtures are discussed in terms of competing gas-alloy reaction steps.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2011.05a
• /
• pp.10.2-10.2
• /
• 2011

The design and synthesis of protein-like polymers is a fundamental challenge in materials science. A biomimetic approach is to explore the impact of monomer sequence on non-natural polymer structure and function. We present the aqueous self-assembly of two peptoid polymers into extremely thin two-dimensional (2D) crystalline sheets directed by periodic amphiphilicity, electrostatic recognition and aromatic interactions. Peptoids are sequence-specific, oligo-N-substituted glycine polymers designed to mimic the structure and functionality of proteins. Mixing a 1:1 ratio of two oppositely charged peptoid 36 mers of a specific sequence in aqueous solution results in the formation of giant, free-floating sheets with only 2.7 nm thickness. Direct visualization of aligned individual peptoid chains in the sheet structure was achieved using aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Specific binding of a protein to ligand-functionalized sheets was also demonstrated. The synthetic flexibility and biocompatibility of peptoids provide a flexible and robust platform for integrating functionality into defined 2D nanostructures. In the later part of my talk, we describe the use of metal ions to construct two-dimensional hybrid films that have the ability to self-heal. Incubation of biomimetic peptoid polymers with specific divalent metal ions results in the spontaneous formation of uniform multilayers at the air-water interface. We anticipate that ease of synthesis and transfer of these two-dimensional materials may have many potential applications in catalysis, gas storage and sensing, optics, nanomaterial synthesis, and environmentally responsive scaffolds.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.08a
• /
• pp.112-112
• /
• 2011

The interaction of water molecules with solid surfaces has been a subject of considerable interests, due to its importance in the fields from atmospheric and environmental phenomena to biology, catalysis and electrochemistry [1,2]. Among various kinds of surfaces, a lot of theoretical and experimental studies have been performed regarding water on MgO(100), however, to date, there has been no direct observation of water molecules on MgO by scanning tunneling microscope (STM) as compared with those on metal surface. Here, we will present the direct observation and manipulation of single water molecules on ultrathin MgO(100) films using low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope (LT-STM) [3]. Our results rationalize the previous theoretical predictions of isolated water molecules on MgO including the optimum adsorption sites and non-dissociative adsorption of water. Moreover, we were able to dissociate a water molecule by exciting the vibrational mode of water, which is unattainable on metal surfaces. The enhanced residual time of tunneling electrons in molecules on the insulating film is responsible for this unique pathway toward dissociation of water.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.239-247
• /
• 1995

The physico-chemical stability of aucubin, a hepatoprotective iridoid glucoside, in buffered aqueous solutions was studied using a stability-indicating reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The degradation of aucubin followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. In strong acidic regions, aucubin was rapidly degraded by the specific acid catalysis, forming dark brown precipitates. From the rate-pH profiles, it was found that aucubin was most stable at the pH of about 10. From the temperature dependence of degradation, activation energies for aucubin at pH 2.1 and 4.9 were calculated to be 22.0 and 24.3 kcal/mole, respectively. The shelf-life $(t_{90%})$ for aucubin at pH 9.07 and $20^{\circ}C$ was predicted to be about 603 days. A higher ionic strength accelerated the degradation of aucubin at pH 4.01. The effect of metal ions on the degradation rate of aucubin at pH 7.16 was in the rank order of $Cu^{2+}\;>\;Fe^{3+}\;>\;Co^{2+}\;>\;Fe^{2+}\;>\;Mg^{2+}$. On the other hand, $Mn^{2+}\;and\;Ba^{2+}$ slowed the degradation rate.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.2-7
• /
• 2005

A series of ethylene polymerization catalysts based on tridentate bis-imine ligands coordinated to iron and cobalt was reported. The ligands were prepared through the condensation of sterically bulky anilines with allyloxy-and benzyloxy-substituted 2,6-acetylpyridines. The pre-catalyst complexes were penta-coordinate species of the general formula $\{[(ArN=C(Me))_2(4-RO-C_5H_3N)]MCl_2\}$ (Ar=ortho dialkyl-substituted aryl ring; R=allyl, benzyl; M=Fe, Co). In the presence of ethylene and methyl alumoxane cocatalysts, these complexes were active for the polymerization of ethylene, with activities lower than those of metal complexes of the general formula $\{[(2-ArN=C(Me)_2C_5H_3N]MCl_2\}$ (Ar=ortho dialkyl-substituted aryl ring; M=Co, Fe), containing no substituents in 2,6-acetylpyridine ring. The effects of the catalyst structure and temperature on the polymerization activity, thermal properties, and molecular weight were discussed.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2010

This is an overview paper reporting our most recent work on processing and microstructure of nano-structured oxides and their photoluminescence and photo-catalysis properties. Zinc oxide and related transition metal oxides such as vanadium pentoxide and titanium dioxide were produced by a combination of magnetron sputtering, hydrothermal growth and atmosphere controlled heat treatment. Special morphology and microstructure were created including nanorods arrays, core-brushes, nano-lollipops and multilayers with very large surface area. These structures showed special properties such as much enhanced photoluminescence and chemical reactivity. The photo-catalytic properties have also been promoted significantly. It is believed that two factors contributed to the high reactivity: the large surface area and the interaction between different oxides. The transition metal oxides with different band gaps have much enhanced photoluminescence under laser stimulation. Use of these complex oxide structures as electrodes can also improve the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells. The mixed oxide complex may provide a promising way to high-efficiency photo emitting materials and photo-catalysts.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.477-483
• /
• 2020

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are of significant interest because of their high porosity, which facilitates their utilization in gas storage and catalysis. To enhance their current properties in these applications, it is necessary to elucidate the interactions between molecules in a confined environment that differ from those in bulk conditions. Herein, we study the confined molecular interaction by investigating the solvent-dependent photophysical properties of two different-sized molecules inside MOF-5. Ruthenium tris-bipyridine (Rubpy) and coumarin 153 (C153) are encapsulated in MOF-5. Rubpy with MOF-5 (Rubpy@MOF) is prepared by building MOF-5 around it, resulting in limited space for solvent molecules in the pores. The smaller C153 is encapsulated in the preformed MOF-5 (C153@MOF) by simply soaking the MOF in a concentrated C153 solution. C153@MOF permits more space for solvent molecules in the pore. Their characteristic absorption and emission spectra are examined to elucidate the confined molecular interactions. Rubpy@MOF and C153@MOF exhibit different spectral shifts compared to the guest molecules under bulk conditions. This discrepancy is attributed to the different micro-environments inside the pores, derived from confined host-guest interactions in the interplay of solvent molecules.