• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.20 no.9
• /
• pp.472-477
• /
• 2010

$Al_2O_3$ has received wide attention with established use as a catalyst and growing application in structural or functional ceramic materials. On the other hand, the boehmite (AlO(OH)) obtained by sol-gel process has exhibited a decrease in surface area during phase transformation due to a decline in surface active site at high temperature. In this work, $Al_2O_3$-CuO/ZnO (ACZ) and $Al_2O_3$-CuO/CeO (ACC) composite materials were synthesized with aluminum isopropoxide, copper (II) nitrate hemi (pentahydrate), and cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate or zinc (II) nitrate hexahydrate. Moreover, the Span 80 as the template block copolymer was added to the ACZ/ACC composition to make nano size particles and to keep increasing the surface area. The ACZ/ACC synthesized powders were characterized by Thermogravimetry-Differential Thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Field-Emmision Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Bruner-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface analysis and thermal electrical conductivity (ZEM-2:M8/L). An enhancement of surface area with the addition to Span 80 surfactant was observed in the ACZ powders from 105 $m^2$/g to 142 $m^2$/g, and the ACC powders from 103 $m^2$/g to 140 $m^2$/g, respectively.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.327-332
• /
• 2013

Space- and time-resolved in-situ optical and fluorescence microspectroscopy techniques have been applied to investigate the coke formation during aromatization of C5 paraffin and olefin over H-ZSM-5 crystal. In-situ UV/vis absorption measurement offers space- and time-resolved information for the coke formation. Different coking trends have been observed with respect to the location of a crystal as well as the reactant types. From in-situ confocal fluorescence microspectroscopy study, it is revealed that the concentration of certain species photo-excited at 488 nm becomes high at the central region, whereas the compounds emitting fluorescence by 561 nm laser move towards the boundary region of the crystal. The different fluorescence patterns obtained varying excitation lasers suggest the existence of distinct fluorescence emitting species having different degree of coke growth.

• Ceramist
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.200-210
• /
• 2020

Supported catalysts are at the heart of manufacturing essential chemical, agricultural and pharmaceutical products. While the longevity of such systems is critically hinged on the durability of metal nanoparticles, the conventional deposition/dispersion techniques are difficult to enhance the stability of the metal nanoparticles due to the lack of control over the interaction between metal-support. Regarding this matter, ex-solution has begun to be recognized as one of the most promising methodologies to develop thermally and chemically robust nanoparticles. By dissolving desired catalysts as a cation form into a parent oxide, fine and uniformly distributed metal nano-catalysts can be subsequently grown in situ under reductive heat treatment, which is referred to ex-solution. Over the several years, ex-solved analog has resulted in tremendous progress in the chemical-electrochemical applications due to the exceptional robustness coupled with ease synthesis. Herein, we describe the ex-solution process in detail which therein introducing the unique characteristics of ex-solved particles that distinguish them from conventionally dispersed nanoparticles. We then go through the history of science regarding the ex-solution phenomena and summarize several major research achievements which embrace the ex-solved nanoparticles to markedly promote the catalytic performances. In conclusion, we address the remaining challenges and the future perspectives of this rapidly growing field.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.08a
• /
• pp.304-304
• /
• 2010

The study on the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) using the noble metals has long been the interest subject and the recent progress in nanoscience provides the opportunity to develop new model systems of catalysts in this field. Of the noble metal catalysts, we selected ruthenium (Ru) as metal catalyst due to its unusual catalytic behavior. The size of colloid Ru NPs was controlled by the concentration of Ru precursor and the final reduction temperatures. For catalytic activity of CO oxidation, it was found that the trend is dependent on the size of Ru NPs. In order to explain this trend, the surface oxide layer surrounding the metal core has been suggested as the catalytically active species through several studies. In this poster, we show the influence of surface oxide on Ru NPs on the catalytic activity of CO oxidation using chemical treatments including oxidation, reduction and UV-Ozone surface treatment. The changes occurring to UV-Ozone surface treatment will be characterized with XPS and SEM. The catalytic activity before and after the chemical modification were measured. We discuss the trend of catalytic activity in light of the formation of core-shell type oxide on nanoparticles surfaces.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.243-247
• /
• 2012

A ruthenium (Ru) catalytic layer and a conventional Pt layer were assessed as counter electrodes (CE) for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Ru films with different thicknesses of 34, 46, and 90 nm were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Pt layers with the same thicknesses were prepared by sputtering. $0.45cm^2$ DSSCs were prepared and their properties were characterized by FE-SEM, cyclic voltammetry (CV), impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and current-voltage (I-V). FE-SEM revealed that the crystallized Ru films and Pt films had been deposited quite conformally. CV showed that the catalytic activity of Pt was much greater than that of Ru. In addition, although the catalytic activity of Pt did not depend on the thickness, that of Ru showed an increase with increasing thickness. Impedance analysis revealed high charge transfer resistance at the Ru interface and a decrease with increasing Ru thickness, whereas Pt showed low resistance with no thickness dependence. Despite the relatively small catalytic activity of Ru, the I-V result revealed the average energy conversion efficiency of Ru and Pt to be 2.98% and 6.57%, respectively. These results suggest that Ru can be used as counter electrodes in DSSCs due to its extremely low temperature process compatibility.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.204-211
• /
• 2008

A platinum-catalyzed polyelectrolyte porous membrane was prepared by solid-state compression of electrospun polystyrene (PS) fibers and in-situ metallization of counter-balanced ionic metal sources on the polymer surface. Using this ion-exchange metal-polymer composite system, fiber entangled pores were formed in the interstitial space of the fibers, which were surrounded by sulfonic acid sites ($SO_3^-$) to give a cation-selective polyelectrolyte porous bed with an ion exchange capacity ($I_{EC}$) of 3.0 meq/g and an ionic conductivity of 0.09 S/cm. The Pt loading was estimated to be 16.32 wt% from the $SO_3^-$ ions on the surface of the sulfonated PS fibers, which interact with the cationic platinum complex, $Pt(NH_3)_4^{2+}$, at a ratio of 3:1 based on steric hindrance and the arrangement of interacting ions. This is in good agreement with the Pt loading of 15.82 wt% measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The Pt-loaded sulfonated PS media showed an ionic conductivity of 0.32 S/cm. The in-situ metallized platinum provided a nano-sized and strongly-bound catalyst in robust porous media, which highlights its potential use in various electrochemical and catalytic systems.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.41-52
• /
• 2024

In this study, rare-earth orthoferrites LnFeO₃ were synthesized using a facile hydrothermal reaction and their visible-light-induced photo-Fenton degradation of organics was optimized through Ln variation (Ln = La, Pr, or Gd). The morphological, structural, and chemical characteristics of as-prepared samples were examined in detail by using different methods, including XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, etc. On the other side, under visible light illumination, the photo-Fenton-like catalytic activities of LnFeO₃ were assessed in terms of the removal of selected organic models, i.e., pharmaceuticals (ketoprofen and tetracycline) and dyes (rhodamine B and methyl orange). As compared with PrFeO₃ or GdFeO₃, the sample of LaFeO₃ displayed more structural distortion, larger specific surface area, and narrower band gap, resulting in its higher photo-Fenton-like catalytic activity toward the degradation of organics. In organic-containing solution, in which the initial solution pH = 5, catalyst dosage = 1 g/L and H₂O₂ concentration = 10 mM, 98.2% of rhodamine B, 31.1% of methyl orange, 67.7% of ketoprofen, or 96.4% of tetracycline was removed after 90-min exposure to simulated visible light. Our findings revealed that variation of Ln site on rare-earth orthoferrites was an effective strategy for optimizing their organic removal via visible-light-induced photo-Fenton reaction.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.178-184
• /
• 2012

Carbon coils could be synthesized on nickel catalyst layer-deposited silicon oxide substrate using $C_2H_2$ and $H_2$ as source gases and $SF_6$ as an additive gas under thermal chemical vapor deposition system. The characteristics (formation density and morphology) of as-grown carbon coils were investigated as functions of additive gas flow rate and the cycling on/off modulation of $C_2H_2/SF_6$ flows. Even in the lowest $SF_6$ flow rate (5 sccm) in this work, the cycling on/off modulation injection of $SF_6$ flow for 2 minutes could give rise to the formation of nanosized carbon coils, whereas the continuous injection of $SF_6$ flow for 5 minutes could not give rise to the carbon coils formation. With increasing $SF_6$ flow rates from 5 to 30 sccm, the cycling on/off modulation injection of $SF_6$ flow confines the geometry for the carbon coils to the nanosized ones. Fluorine's role of $SF_6$ during the reaction was regarded as the main cause for the confinement of carbon coils geometries to the nano-sized ones.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.34 no.8
• /
• pp.755-760
• /
• 2010

In this study, we mainly focused on the PM (Particulate Matter) emission characteristics of a diesel engine. To analyze particle behavior in the tail-pipe, particle emission was measured on the engine-out (downstream of turbocharger), each upstream and downstream both of DOC (Diesel Oxidation Catalyst) and DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter). Moreover, particle emission contours on each sampling point were constructed. The reduction efficiency of particle number concentration and mass through the DOC and DPF was studied. Parameters such as EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) and the main injection timing were varied in part load conditions and evaluated using the engine-out emissions. The DMS500 (Differential Mobility Spectrometer) was used as a particle measurement instrument that can measure particle concentrations from 5 nm to 1000 nm. Nano-particles of sizes less than 30 nm were reduced by oxidation or coagulated with solid particles in the tail-pipe and DOC. The DPF has a very high filtration efficiency over all operating conditions except during natural regeneration of DPF.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.418-425
• /
• 2013

The catalytic conversion of ethanol to aromatic compounds ETA was studied over ZSM-5 heterogeneous catalysts. The effect of reaction temperature, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), and addition of water and methanol, which are the potential impurities of bio-ethanol, on the catalytic performance was investigated in a fixed bed reactor. Commercial ZSM-5 catalysts having different Si/$Al_2$ ratios of 23 to 280 and modified ZSM-5 catalysts by addition of metal (Zn, La, Cu, and Ga) were used for the activity and stability tests in ETA reaction. The catalysts were characterized with ammonia temperature programmed desorption ($NH_3$-TPD) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques. The results of catalytic performance revealed that the optimal Si/$Al_2$ ratio of ZSM-5 is about 50~80 and the selectivity to aromatic compounds decreases in the order of Zn/La > Zn > La > Cu > Ga for the modified ZSM-5 catalysts. Among these catalysts from the ETA reaction, Zn-La/ZSM-5 showed the best catalytic performance for the ETA reaction. The selectivity to aromatic compounds was 72% initially and 56% after 30 h over the catalysts at reaction temperature of $437^{\circ}C$ and WHSV of $0.8h^{-1}$.