• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.6-14
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• 2015

In this study, physically and chemically stable core-crosslinked amphiphilic polymer (CCAP) nanoparticles were prepared using amphiphilic reactive precursors via soap-free emulsion process. Obtained CCAP nanoparticles were used as templates for synthesis of nanostructured $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. First, CCAP nanoparticles dispersed aqueous solutions were mixed with titanium isopropoxide to prepare stable organic-inorganic hybrid sols, and then obtained sols were spin coated onto glass substrate to prepare hybrid thin films onto glass, and then hybrid thin films were calcinated at various temperature to remove CCAP. Nanostructure of calcinated thin fims were examined by SEM. To study effect of CCAP nanoparticles on nanostructure of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles, the morphology of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles prepared using various CCAP templates was compared with that of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles prepared using conventional organic template, nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.172-176
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• 2009

The nature and morphology of titanium dioxide films play a significant role in determining the overall efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSCs). In this work, the preparation of nanostructured titania particles by sol-gel method (SG-$TiO_2$) and its characterization were investigated for the application of DSSCs. The samples were characterized by XRD, XPS, FE-SEM, BET and FT-IR analysis. The energy conversion efficiency of SG-$TiO_2$ was approximately 8.3 % under illumination with AM 1.5 (100 mW/$cm^2$) simulated sunlight. DSSCs made of SG-$TiO_2$ nanocrystalline films as photoanodes achieved better energy conversion efficiency compared to those prepared using commercially available Degussa P25.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.356-360
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• 2007

Recently, dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) composed of nanoporous $TiO_2$, light-sensitive dyes, electrolytes, and counter electrode have been received much attention. Nanostructured particles with higher surface area for the higher adsorption of Ru (II) dye are required to increase the quantity of light absorption. Also, it has been reported that the key factor to achieve high energy conversion efficiency in the photoelectrode of DSSC is the heat treatment of $TiO_2$ paste with acid addition. In this work, we investigated the influence of acid treatment of $TiO_2$ solar cell on the photovoltaic performance of DSSC. The working electrodes fabricated in this work were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM). In addition, the influence of nanostructured photoelectrode fabricated with the acid-treated paste on the energy conversion efficiency was investigated on the basis of photocurrent-potential curves. It was found that the influence of acid-treated paste on the photovoltaic efficiency was significant.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.68.2-68.2
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• 2010

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) show great promise as an inexpensive alternative to conventional p-n junction solar cells. Investigations into the various factors influencing the photovoltaic efficiency have recently been intensified. The conventional absorber electrode in DSSC is composed of compacted or sintered $TiO_2$ nanopowder that carries an anchored organic dye. The absorbance of incident light in the DSC is realized by specifically engineered dye molecules placed on the semiconductor electrode surface ($TiO_2$). The dye absorbs light at wavelengths up to about 920nm, the energy of the exited state of the molecule should be about 1.35eV above the electronic ground state corresponding to the ideal band gap of a single band gap solar cell. The dye molecules ar adhered onto the nanostrutured $TiO_2$ electrode by immersing the sintered electrode into a dye solution, typically 3mM in alcohol, for a long enough period to fully impregnate the electrode. However, the concentrations of the dye is slightly changed due to the evaporation of the alcohol. The dye is more expensive than other materials in DSSC and related to the efficiency of DSSC. Therefore, the concentrations of the dye should be carefully measured. In this study, we investigated to the dye loading on fired $TiO_2$ powder as a function of temperature by the TG-DTA and the dye solution by UV-visible spectroscopy after the impregnation process. The dye loading is related to the porosity of the nanostructured $TiO_2$ electrode.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.161-161
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• 2011

Titanium (IV) dioxide (TiO2) is one of the most attractive d-block transition metal functional oxides. Many applications of TiO2 such as dye-sensitized solar cells and photocatalyst have been widely investigated. To utilize solar energy efficiently, TiO2 should be well-aligned with a high surface area and promote the charge separation as well as electron transport. Herein, the TiO2 nanotubes were successfully fabricated by a template-directed method. The electrospun PEO(Polyethylene oxide, Molecular weight, 400k)fibers were used as a soft template for coating with titanium dioxide using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. The deposition was conducted onto a template at 50$^{\circ}C$ by using titaniumisopropoxide [Ti(OCH(CH3)2)4; TTIP] as precursors of TiO2. While the as-deposited TiO2 layers onto PEO fibers were completely amorphous with atomic layer deposition, the TiO2 layers after calcination at 500$^{\circ}C$ for 1 h were properly converted into polycrystalline nanostructured hallow TiO2 nanotube. The TiO2 nanotube with high surface area can be easily handled and reclaimed for use in future applications related to solar cell fabrications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.157.1-157.1
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• 2016

In this work, we experimentally investigated the solar absorption performance of Cu-based scalable nanostructured surfaces and compared their performance with the conventional TiNOX. We fabricated Cu-based nanostructured surfaces with a controlled chemical oxidation process applicable to a large area or complex geometry. We optimized the process parameters including the chemical compounds, dipping time and process temperature. We conducted both lab-scale and outdoor experiments to characterize the conversion efficiency of each absorber surfaces with single and double glazing setup. Lab-scale experiment was conducted with $50mm{\times}50mm$ absorber sample with 1-sun condition (1kW/m2) using a solar simulator (PEC-L01) with measuring the temperature at the absorber plate, cover glass, air gap and ambient. From the lab-scale experiment, we obtained ${\sim}91^{\circ}C$ and $94^{\circ}C$ for CuO and TiNOX surfaces after 1 hr of solar illumination at single glazing, respectively. To measure the absorber performance at actual operating condition, outdoor experiment was also conducted using $110mm{\times}110mm$ absorber sample. We measured the solar flux with thermopile detector (919P-040-50). From outdoor experiment, we observed ${\sim}123^{\circ}C$ and $131^{\circ}C$ for CuO and TiNOX with 0.6 kW/m2 insolation at double glazing, respectively. We showed that the suggested nanostructured CuO solar absorber has near-equivalent collection efficiency compared with the state-of-the-art TiNOX surfaces even with much simpler manufacturing process that does not require an expensive equipment.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.291-294
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• 2010

Recently, the design of the multi-layered $TiO_2$ electrodes has been attracted for high efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. In this study, conversion efficiency of the multi-layered $TiO_2$ electrodes was investigated by using small and large $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. Nanostructured $TiO_2$ powders were prepared by $TiCl_4$ hydrolysis. Differently sized $TiO_2$ powders of which the average diameter was 7.6 and 18 nm were obtained by controlled calcination temperature. It was confirmed that multi-layered $TiO_2$ electrodes significantly influence short-circuit current (Jsc) and also show higher conversion efficiency than dye-sensitized solar cells consisting of each particles.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.805-810
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• 2008

Using metallic Ti powder as raw materials and 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (DACH) as the trial template, two novel reduced titanophosphate open-structures were hydrothermally isolated by varying the $H_3PO_4/H_2O$ ratio to adjust the pH value. TiPO-1 crystallizes in orthorhombic Pbca space group with cell parameters a = 21.956(3) $\AA$, b = 8.6268(11) $\AA$, c = 7.2883(9) $\AA$, V = 1380.5(3) $\AA^3$, Z = 4. TiPO-2 crystallizes in triclinic space group P$\bar{1}$ with parameters a = 5.1620(10) $\AA$, b = 8.815(2) $\AA$, c = 10.655(3) $\AA$, $\alpha$ = $99.45^{\circ}$, $\beta$ = $102.94^{\circ}$, $\gamma$ = $91.06^{\circ}$, V = 465.34 $\AA^3$. TiPO-1 is constructed by infinite -Ti-O-Ti-O- linkage that is capped by $PO_4$ groups to form a chain structure with protonated DACH molecules occupying the interchain spaces. TiPO-2 represents a rare 3-D reduced titanophosphate with 12-MR channels. The structure of TiPO-2 is a neutral framework with water molecules located in the channels.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.12 no.4 s.51
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• pp.266-272
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• 2005

Transition metal ions($Ni^{2+}$, $Cr^{3+}$ and $V^{5+}$) doped $TiO_2$ nanostructured powders were synthesized by mechanical alloying(MA) to shift the adsorption threshold into the visible light region. The synthesized powders were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and BET for structural analysis, UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectrum for the optical study. Also, photocatalytic abilities were evaluated by decomposition of 4-chlorophenol(4CP) under ultraviolet and visible light irradiations. Optical studies showed that the absorption wavelength of transition metal ions doped $TiO_2$ powders moved to visible light range, which was believed to be induced by the energy level change due to the doping. Among the prepared $TiO_2$ powders, $NiO^{2+}$ doped $TiO_2$ powders, showed excellent photooxidative ability in 4CP decomposition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.669-669
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• 2013

Hierarchical N doped TiO2 nanostructured catalyst with micro, meso and macro porosity have been synthesized by a facile self-formation route using ammonia and titanium isopropoxide precursor. The samples were calcined in different calcination temperature ranging from $300^{\circ}C$ to $800^{\circ}C$ at slow heating rate ($5^{\circ}C$/min) and designated as NHPT-300 to NHPT-800. $TiO_2$ nanostructured catalyst have been characterized by physico-chemical and spectroscopy methods to explore the structural, electronic and optical properties. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra confirmed the red shift and band gap narrowing due to the doping of N species in TiO2 nanoporous catalyst. Hierarchical macro porosity with fibrous channel patterning was observed (confirmed from FESEM) and well preserved even after calcination at $800^{\circ}C$, indicating the thermal stability. BET results showed that micro and mesoporosity was lost after $500^{\circ}C$ calcination. The photocatalytic activity has been evaluated for methanol oxidation to formaldehyde in visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to combined synergetic effect of N doping for visible light absorption, micro and mesoporosity for increase of effective surface area and light harvestation, and hierarchical macroporous fibrous structure for multiple reflection and effective charge transfer.