• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.132-141
• /
• 2015

Objectives: With recent advances in nanoparticle manufacturing and applications, potential exposure to nanoparticles in various settings is becoming increasing likely. No investigation has yet been performed to assess whether respiratory tract exposure to cerium oxide ($CeO_2$) nanoparticles is associated with alterations in protein signaling, inflammation, and apoptosis in rat lungs. Methods: Specific-pathogen-free male Sprague-Dawley rats were instilled with either vehicle (saline) or $CeO_2$ nanoparticles at a dosage of 7.0 mg/kg and euthanized 1, 3, 14, 28, 56, or 90 days after exposure. Lung tissues were collected and evaluated for the expression of proteins associated with inflammation and cellular apoptosis. Results: No change in lung weight was detected over the course of the study; however, cerium accumulation in the lungs, gross histological changes, an increased Bax to Bcl-2 ratio, elevated cleaved caspase-3 protein levels, increased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, and diminished phosphorylation of ERK-1/2-MAPK were detected after $CeO_2$ instillation (p<0.05). Conclusions: Taken together, these data suggest that high-dose respiratory exposure to $CeO_2$ nanoparticles is associated with lung inflammation, the activation of signaling protein kinases, and cellular apoptosis, which may be indicative of a long-term localized inflammatory response.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2014.02a
• /
• pp.278.1-278.1
• /
• 2014

Organic materials have been explored as the gate dielectric layers in thin film transistors (TFTs) of backplane devices for flexible display because of their inherent mechanical flexibility. However, those materials possess some disadvantages like low dielectric constant and thermal resistance, which might lead to high power consumption and instability. On the other hand, inorganic gate dielectrics show high dielectric constant despite their brittle property. In order to maintain advantages of both materials, it is essential to develop the alternative materials. In this work, we manufactured nanocomposite gate dielectrics composed of organic material and inorganic nanoparticle and integrated them into organic TFTs. For synthesis of nanocomposite gate dielectrics, polyimide (PI) was explored as the organic materials due to its superior thermal stability. Candidate nanoprticles (NPs) of halfnium oxide, titanium oxide and aluminium oxide were considered. In order to realize NP concentration dependent electrical characteristics, furthermore, we have synthesized the different types of nanocomposite gate dielectrics with varying ratio of each inorganic NPs. To analyze gate dielectric properties like the capacitance, metal-Insulator-metal (MIM) structures were prepared together with organic TFTs. The output and transfer characteristics of organic TFTs were monitored by using the semiconductor parameter analyzer (HP4145B), and capacitance and leakage current of MIM structures were measured by the LCR meter (B1500, Agilent). Effects of mechanical cyclic bending of 200,000 times and thermally heating at $400^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour were investigated to analyze mechanical and thermal stability of nanocomposite gate dielectrics. The results will be discussed in detail.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.267-271
• /
• 2020

Cerium oxide (ceria, CeO₂) is one of the most wide-spread oxide supporting materials for the precious metal nanoparticle class of heterogeneous catalysts. Because ceria can store and release oxygen ions, it is an essential catalytic component for various oxidation reactions such as CO oxidation (2CO + O₂ 2CO₂). Moreover, reduced ceria is known to be reactive for water activation, which is a critical step for activation of water-gas shift reaction (CO + H₂O → H₂ + CO₂). Here, we apply van der Waals-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with U correction to study the mechanism of water chemisorption on CeO₂(111) surfaces. A stoichiometric CeO₂(111) and a defected CeO₂(111) surface showed different water adsorption chemistry, suggesting that defected CeO₂ surfaces with oxygen vacancies are responsible for water binding and activation. An appropriate level of water-ceria chemisorption energy is deduced by vdW-corrected non-local correlation coupled with the optB86b exchange functional, whereas the conventional PBE functional describes weaker water-ceria interactions, which are insufficient to stabilize (chemisorb) water on the ceria surfaces.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.203-209
• /
• 2023

Cobalt sulfide nanocomposites were synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method as anode materials for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). In this work, a cobalt sulfide nanoparticle (CoS-NF) and a cobalt sulfide nanocomposite integrated with reduced graphene oxide (CoS@G-NC) were fabricated for electrochemical energy storage performance of battery. The as-prepared CoS@G-NC electrode exhibited reversible and stable cycle performance (62 % after 30 cycles at current density of 200 mA g^-1). The improved electrochemical property was attributed to the small grain growth and uniform distribution of cobalt sulfide during synthesis, which maximized the diffusion pathway for sodium ions and effectively suppressed the delamination and volume expansion of cobalt sulfide during the conversion reaction. The results provide promising anode materials for next-generation SIBs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2012.08a
• /
• pp.188-188
• /
• 2012

Graphene, with its unique physical and structural properties, has recently become a proving ground for various physical phenomena, and is a promising candidate for a variety of electronic device and flexible display applications. Compared to indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes, which have a typical sheet resistance of ${\sim}60{\Omega}$/sq and ~85% transmittance in the visible range, the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesized graphene electrodes have a higher transmittance in the visible to IR region and are more robust under bending. Nevertheless, the lowest sheet resistance of the currently available CVD graphene electrodes is higher than that of ITO. In this study, we report a creative strategy, irradiation of microwave at room temperature under vacuum, for obtaining size-homogeneous gold nano-particle doping on graphene. The gold nano-particlization promoted by microwave irradiation was investigated by transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy elemental mapping. These results clearly revealed that gold nanoparticle with ${\geq}30$ nm in mean size were decorated along the surface of the graphene after microwave irradiation. The fabrication high-performance transparent conducting film with optimized doping condition showed a sheet resistance of ${\geq}100{\Omega}$/sq. at ~90% transmittance. This approach advances the numerous applications of graphene films as transparent conducting electrodes.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2013

The present work has been devoted to the catalytic reduction of $N_2O$ by $H_2$ with $Pt/SiO_2$ catalysts at very low temperatures, such as $110^{\circ}C$, and their nanoparticle sizes have been determined by using $H_2-N_2O$ titration, X-ray diffraction(XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM) measurements. A sample of 1.72% $Pt/SiO_2$, which had been prepared by an ion exchange method, consisted of almost atomic levels of Pt nanoparticles with 1.16 nm that are very consistent with the HRTEM measurements, while a $Pt/SiO_2$ catalyst possessing the same Pt amount via an incipient wetness technique did 13.5 nm particles as determined by the XRD measurements. These two catalysts showed a noticeable difference in the on-stream $deN_2O$ activity maintenance profiles at $110^{\circ}C$. This discrepancy was associated with the nanoparticle sizes, i.e., the $Pt/SiO_2$ catalyst with the smaller particle size was much more active for the $N_2O$ reduction. When repeated measurements of the $N_2O$ reduction with the 1.16 nm Pt catalyst at $110^{\circ}C$ were allowed, the catalyst deactivation occurred, depending somewhat on regeneration excursions.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.110-115
• /
• 2011

The effect of $TiO_2$ nanotube (TNT) and nanoparticle (TNP) composite photoelectrode and the role of TNT to enhance the photo conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) have investigated in this study. Results demonstrated that the increase of the TNT content (1-15 %) into the electron collecting TNP film increases the open-circuit potential ($V_{oc}$) and short circuit current density ($J_{sc}$). Based on the impedance analysis, the increased $V_{oc}$ was attributed to the suppressed recombination between electrode and electrolyte or dye. Photochemical analysis revealed that the increased Jsc with the increased TNT content was due to the scattering effect and the reduced electron diffusion path of TNT. The highest $J_{sc}$ (12.6 mA/$cm^2$), Voc (711 mV) and conversion efficiency (5.9%) were obtained in the composite photoelectrode with 15% TNT. However, $J_{sc}$ and $V_{oc}$ was decreased for the case of 20% TNT, which results from the significant reduction of adsorbed dye amount and the poor attachment of the film on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO). Therefore, application of this composite photoelectrode is expected to be a promising approach to improve the energy conversion efficiency of DSSC.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.35 no.7
• /
• pp.1973-1978
• /
• 2014

Here, we present a facile method to synthesize Pt nanoparticles (NPs) and graphene composite materials (Pt/G) via vacuum filtration. Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates were used to separate Pt/G composite and liquid phase. This method can be used to easily tune the mass ratio of Pt NPs and graphene. Pt NPs, graphene, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as building blocks were characterized by a variety of techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. We compared the electrocatalytic activities of Pt/G with Pt NP and CNT films (Pt/CNT) by cyclic voltammetry (CV), CO oxidation, and methanol oxidation. Pt/G was much more stable than pure Pt films. Also, Pt/G had better electrochemical activity, CO tolerance and methanol oxidation than Pt/CNT loaded with the same amount of Pt NPs due to the better dispersion of Pt NPs on graphene flakes without aggregation. We further synthesized Au@Pt disk/G and Pt nanorods/G to determine if our synthetic method can be applied to other NP shapes such as nanodisks and nanorods, for further electrocatalysis studies.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.309-314
• /
• 2020

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is concerned with promoting oral infection due to its low antibacterial activity. To overcome this, the nanoparticles of Ag-MSN, nGO, and CNP were mixed with MMA liquid in a weight ratio of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0% compared to resin powder using Orthocryl from Dentarum, a calibration resin, and then instructed by the manufacturer. Accordingly, a specimen for calibration was prepared by mixing PMMA: MMA (1.2: 1) ratio, and physical properties of the calibration resin, antifungal experiments, and statistical analysis were performed. As a result of antibacterial experiments, the antibacterial properties of Ag-MSN increased. In nGO, the antibacterial adhesive effect increased hydrophilicity, not a change in surface roughness. The higher the CNP concentration, the higher the antibacterial activity. This suggests its potential usefulness as an antibacterial dental material for orthodontic devices and temporary restorations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2007.06a
• /
• pp.20-20
• /
• 2007

Nanowire-based field-effect transistors (FETs) decorated with nanoparticles have been greatly paid attention as nonvolatile memory devices of next generation due to their excellent transportation ability of charge carriers in the channel and outstanding capability of charge trapping in the floating gate. In this work, top-gate single ZnO nanowire-based FETs with and without Au nanoparticles were fabricated and their memory effects were characterized. Using thermal evaporation and rapid thermal annealing processes, Au nanoparticles were formed on an $Al_2O_3$ layer which was semi cylindrically coated on a single ZnO nanowire. The family of $I_{DS}-V_{GS}$ curves for the double sweep of the gate voltage at $V_{DS}$ = 1 V was obtained. The device decorated with nanoparticles shows giant hysterisis loops with ${\Delta}V_{th}$ = 2 V, indicating a significant charge storage effect. Note that the hysterisis loops are clockwise which result from the tunneling of the charge carriers from the nanowire into the nanoparticles. On the other hand, the device without nanoparticles shows a negligible countclockwise hysterisis loop which reveals that the influence of oxide trap charges or mobile ions is negligible. Therefore, the charge storage effect mainly comes from the nanoparticles decorated on the nanowire, which obviously demonstrates that the top-gate single ZnO nanowire-based FETs decorated with Au nanoparticles are the good candidate for the application in the nonvolatile memory devices of next generation.