• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2016

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) using the electrolytes containing various vanadium ions in sulfuric acid as supporting solution are one of the energy storage devices in alternatively charging and discharging operation modes. The positive electrolyte contains $V^{5+}/V^{4+}$ and the negative electrolyte $V^{2+}/V^{3+}$ depending on the operation mode. To prevent the mixing of two solutions, proton exchange membranes are mainly used in VRFBs. Nafion 117 could be the most promising candidate due to the strong oxidative property of $V^{5+}$ ion, but causes high crossover of electroactive species to result in a decrease in coulombic efficiency. In this study, the composite membranes using Nafion ionomer and porous polyethylene substrate were prepared to keep good chemical stability and to decrease the cost of membranes, and were compared to the properties and performance of the commercially available electrolyte membrane, Nafion 117. As a result, the water uptake and ionic conductivity of the composite membranes increased as the thickness of the composite membranes increased, but those of Nafion 117 slightly decreased. The permeability of vanadium ions for the composite membranes significantly decreased compared to that for Nafion 117. In a single cell test for the composite membranes, the voltage efficiency decreased and the coulombic efficiency increased, finally resulting in the similar energy efficiency. In conclusion, the less cost of the composite membranes by decreasing 6.4 wt.% of the amount of perfluorinated sulfonic acid polymer due to the introduction of porous substrate and lower vanadium ion permeability to decrease self-discharge were achieved than Nafion 117.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.295-302
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• 1995

Menadione-ghitathione conjugate (MEN-SG), a metabolite of menadione, is known to be a redoxcycler in rat hepatocyte subcellular fraction. Therefore, it was assumed that MEN-SG could exert cytotoxlclty to ral platelets, another target tissue of menadione. We first synthesized MEN-SG, the identity of which was verified by mass, $^1{H}$-NMR and UV-visible spectra. In addition, the stability of MEN-SG was investigated in biological assay system. MEN-SG was degraded in a time-dependent manner in DMSO which had been used as a vehicle and thus, tris-HCl buffer was used as a vehicle of MEN-SG despite the low solubility in it. Perchloric acid as well as platelets itself did not affect the stability of MEN-SG. Our next attempt was the evaluation of cytotoxicity of MEN-SG in rat platelets. MEN-SG did not induce cytotoxicity to rat platelets measured by two different methods, LDH release and turbidity changes. The extents of oxygen consumption by MEN-SG in intact platelets were significantly lower than those by menadione, though it had been observed that oxygen consumptions by menadione and MENSG were similar in subcellular fractioas of platelets. These results suggest that MEN-SG is not toxic to rat platelets despite its redox cycling capacity and glutathione conjugation reaction of menadione could be regarded as a detoxification process.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.470-477
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• 2021

Energy storage systems should address issues such as power fluctuations and rapid charge-discharge; to meet this requirement, CoFe₂O₄ (CFO) spinel nanoparticles with a suitable electrical conductivity and various redox states are synthesized and used as electrode materials for supercapacitors. In particular, CFO electrodes combined with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) can provide long-term cycling stability by fabricating binder-free three-dimensional electrodes. In this study, CFO-decorated CNFs are prepared by electrospinning and a low-cost hydrothermal method. The effects of heat treatment, such as the activation of CNFs (ACNFs) and calcination of CFO-decorated CNFs (C-CFO/ACNFs), are investigated. The C-CFO/ACNF electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 142.9 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/s and superior rate capability of 77.6% capacitance retention at a high scan rate of 500 mV/s. This electrode also achieves the lowest charge transfer resistance of 0.0063 Ω and excellent cycling stability (93.5% retention after 5,000 cycles) because of the improved ion conductivity by pathway formation and structural stability. The results of our work are expected to open a new route for manufacturing hybrid capacitor electrodes containing the C-CFO/ACNF electrode that can be easily prepared with a low-cost and simple process with enhanced electrochemical performance.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.138-143
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• 2013

Recently, ZnO nanoparticles have been studied in various application fields due to their physico-chemical properties. In this study, we have researched on the ZnO photocatalytic activity by redox reaction. ZnO nanoparticles have low photocatalytic activity in comparison with $TiO_2$ nanoparticles because it has the disadvantage that the formation of $Zn(OH)_2$ in water solvent. Therefore, we were synthesized ZnO nanoparticles by spray-pyrolysis method, and then studied on stability in water solvent. At the results, the water treated-ZnO nanoparticles showed higher photocatalytic activity than non-treated ZnO nanoparticles because molecular $H_2O$ was increased onto the ZnO surface under the water treatment. Also, we confirmed that the ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by spray-pyrolysis method is very stable in the water solvent.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2014

A Pt nanoparticle-decorated multiwall carbon nanotube (Pt-MWNT) electrode was prepared on Nafion by a hot-pressing at relatively low temperature. This electrode exhibited an intricate entangled, nanoporous structure as a result of gathering highly anisotropic Pt-MWNTs. Individual Pt nanoparticles were confirmed to have a polycrystalline face-centered cubic structure with an average crystal size of around 3.5 nm. From the cyclic voltammograms for hydrogen redox reactions, the Pt-MWNT electrode was found to have a similar electrochemical behavior to polycrystalline Pt, and a specific electrochemical surface area of $2170cm^2mg^{-1}$. Upon exposure to hydrogen analyte, the Pt-MWNT/Nafion electrode demon-strated a very high sensitivity of $3.60{\mu}A\;ppm^{-1}$ and an excellent linear response over the concentration range of 100-1000 ppm. Moreover, this electrode was also evaluated in terms of response and recovery times, reproducibility, and long-term stability. Obtained results revealed good sensing performance in hydrogen detection.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.406-410
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• 2016

Carbon-coated sodium iron pyrophosphate ($Na_2FeP_2O_7$) was prepared by a simple and low-cost pyro-synthesis route for further use as the cathode for Na-ion batteries. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the sample annealed at $650^{\circ}C$ confirmed the pure triclinic phase of $Na_2FeP_2O_7$. Electron microscopy studies revealed a cross linked plate shape morphology of the $Na_2FeP_2O_7$ sample. When tested for application in Na-ion battery, the $Na_2FeP_2O_7$ cathode showed two redox pairs in the potential window of 2.0-4.0 V. The cathode registered initial discharge and charge capacities of 80.85 and 90 mAh/g, respectively, with good cycling performance.

• Carbon letters
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• v.19
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• pp.66-71
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• 2016

The development of nanostructured functional materials derived from biomass and/or waste is of growing importance for creating sustainable energy-storage systems. In this study, nanoporous carbonaceous materials containing numerous heteroatoms were fabricated from waste coffee grounds using a top-down process via simple heating with KOH. The nanoporous carbon nanosheets exhibited notable material properties such as high specific surface area (1960.1 m² g⁻¹), numerous redox-active heteroatoms (16.1 at% oxygen, 2.7 at% nitrogen, and 1.6 at% sulfur), and high aspect ratios (>100). These unique properties led to good electrochemical performance as supercapacitor electrodes. A specific capacitance of ~438.5 F g⁻¹ was achieved at a scan rate of 2 mV s⁻¹, and a capacitance of 176 F g⁻¹ was maintained at a fast scan rate of 100 mV s⁻¹. Furthermore, cyclic stability was achieved for over 2000 cycles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.133-133
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• 2013

For both oxygen reduction (ORR) and hydrogen oxidation reactions (HOR) of proton electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), alloying Pt with another transition metal usually results in a higher activity relative to pure Pt, mainly due to electronic modification of Pt and bifunctional behaviour of alloy surface for ORR and HOR, respectively. However, activity and stability are closely related to the preparation of alloy nanoparticles. Preparation conditions of alloy nanoparticles have strong influence on surface composition, oxidation state, nanoparticle size, shape, and contamination, which result from a large difference in redox priority of metal precursors, intrinsic properties of metals, increasedreactivity of nanocrystallites, and interactions with constituents for the synthesis such as solvent, stabilizer, and reducing agent, etc. Carbon-supported Pt-Ni alloy nanoparticles were prepared by the borohydride reduction method in anhydrous solvent. Pt-Ru alloy nanoparticles supported on carbon black were also prepared by the similar synthetic method to that of Pt-Ni. Since electrocatalytic reactions are strongly dependent on the surface structure of metal catalysts, the atom-leveled design of the surface structure plays a significant role in a high catalytic activity and the utilization of electrocatalysts. Therefore, surface-modified electrocatalysts have attracted much attention due to their unique structure and new electronic and electrocatalytic properties. The carbon-supported Au and Pd nanoparticles were adapted as the substrate and the successive reduction process was used for depositing Pt and PtM (M=Ru, Pd, and Rh) bimetallic elements on the surface of Au and Pd nanoparticles. Distinct features of the overlayers for electrocatalytic activities including methanol oxidation, formic acid oxidation, and oxygen reduction were investigated.

• 연구논문집
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• s.28
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• pp.161-172
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• 1998

In the recycling industry, the recuperation of zinc from Electric Arc Furnace dust by the Waelz process generates important quantities of slag. This slag presents good mechanical properties, and for the most siliceous slag. a high stability which would enable its use by total or partial substitution of certain granulates in civil engineering Our study (within the framwork of a European programme cofunded by the European Commission-DGXII) concerns the physico-chemical and mineralogical characterization and leaching behaviour of several types of Waelz slag. The leaching tests are regulatory tests and specific characterization tests of leaching behaviour. They take into account the influence of several main parameters of the valorization scenarios envisaged for the slag(e.g. pH, Redox potential, chemical nature of the leachant, type of contact-liquid/ solid etc.).

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.295-295
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• 2013

Supercapacitors with higher energy and power density are attracting growing attention for their wide range of potential applications such as portable electronic equipments, hybrid vehicle and cellular devices. In various classes of materials for supercapacitors, the redox pseudocapacitive materials such as conducting polymers and metal oxides have been most widely studied recently. The nanostructuring of the electrode surface has also been focused on since it can provide large surface area and consequently easy diffusion of ions in the capacitors. Among the active materials, in this work, we have used polyaniline (PANi) and manganese oxide ($MnO_2$). PANi is one of the promising electrode and active materials due to its desirable properties such as high electrochemical activity, high doping level and stability. $MnO_2$ is also widely studied material for supercapacitors since it is relatively cheap and environmentally friendly. In this work, we fabricated PANi hollow nanospheres by polymerizing aniline monomers on the polystyrene (PS) nanospheres and then dissolving the inner PS spheres. This nanostructuring of the PANi surface can provide large surface area and hence easy diffusion of electrolyte ions. We also incorporated $MnO_2$ nanoparticles into the PANi hollow nanospheres and investigated its electrochemical properties. It is expected that the combination of these two active materials with slightly different working potential windows show synergetic effects such as broader working potential range and enhanced specific capacitance.