• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1256-1266
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• 2004

2-Bromooctanoic acid (2-BrOA) is known to block the formation of polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (PHA) in Pseudomonasfluorescens BM07 without any influence on the cell growth when grown on fructose, but it inhibits the cell growth when grown on octanoate (OA) (Lee et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 4963- 4974, 2001). We investigated the role of 2-BrOA in the PHA synthesis of the bacterium grown with mixtures of fructose and fatty acids. OA, 11­phenoxyundecanoic acid (1 1-POU), and 5-phenylvaleric acid (5-PV) were selected as model substrates. When supplemented with 50 mM fructose, all these carboxylic acids suppressed the formation of PHA from fructose, however, the ~-oxidation coenzyme A monomers derived from the carboxylic acids were efficiently polymerized, but the conversion yield [(mol of carboxylate substrate converted into PHA)/(mol of carboxylate substrate in the feed)] was low (e.g., maximally $\~53\%$ for 5 mM 11-POU). Addition of 2-BrOA (up to 5 mM) to the mixed carbon sources raised the conversion yield sensitively and effectively only at low levels of the acid substrates (e.g., 2 mM 1 1-POU or 5 mM OA): For instance, $100\%$ of 2 mM ll-POU were converted into PHA in the presence of 5 mM 2-BrOA, whereas only $\~10\%$ of the 1 1-POU were converted in the absence of 2-BrOA. However, at highly saturated suppressing levels (e.g., 5 mM ll-POU), 2-BrOA inhibitor showed no significant additional effect on the conversion ($60- 70\%$ conversion irrespective of 2-BrOA level). The existence of competitive and compensative relationship between 2­BrOA and all the carboxylic acid substrates used may indicate 'Present address: Section on Brain Physiology and Metabolism, Bldg. 10, Rm. 6N202, National Institute on Agmg, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, U.S.A. that all the acid substrate-derived inhibiting species bind to the same site as the 2-BrOA inhibiting species does. We, therefore, suggest that 2-BrOA can be used for efficiently increasing the yield of conversion of expensive substituted fatty acids into PHA and then substituted 3-hydroxyacids by hydrolyzing it.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.103-108
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• 2011

$Li_2MnSiO_4$/C was synthesized by solid state reaction and solution synthesis with sucrose for carbon source. The X-ray diffraction patterns of solid state reaction indicates small amount of impurities. By FE-SEM and HR-TEM, solution synthesis comprised several tens of nanometer comparing to 500~600 nm of $Li_2MnSiO_4$/C prepared by solid state reaction. The $Li_2MnSiO_4$/C prepared by solution synthesis show better electrochemical performance than solid state reaction. The first charge-discharge capacity are 236, 189 mAh/g respectively by solution synthesis. But its cycle performance was poor as yet and its capacity retention was 62% after 10 cycles.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.315-320
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• 1994

Li-GICs as a high performance energy storager were synthesized as a function of the Li content by the admixture and add-pressure method. The characteristics of these prepared compounds have been determined from the studies by X-ray diffraction, UV-VIS spectrometry and CHN analysis. It follows from the results of X-ray diffraction that the lower-stage intercalation compounds are formed as the Li contents increase, however the mixed stages in these compounds are also observed. In the case of the $Li_{40wt%}$, the compound with the structure of stage 1 has been predominently, but the structure of only stage 1 is not obtained. The $d_{001}$ value of stage 1 was determined to be ca. $3.70{\AA}$. An analysis of spectrometric data shows that each of the compounds gives distingushible energy state spectra. It is seen from the spectra that the positions of $R_{min}$ values, with increase in the Li contents, are shifted in the region of higher energy state. Such a result can be attributed to the formation of stable stages. The results of CHN analysis allow us to find the mixing state related to chemical compositions of the intercalated compounds and the superiority to admixture and add-pressure method. From the results determined, it reveals that $Li_{10wt%}$-GIC and $Li_{20wt%}$-GIC can be utilized for an anode of rechargable battery.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.3597-3601
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• 2013

In this study, a wet cleaning process, P II, using aqua-regia and sulfuric acid mixture with oxidant agent ($K_2S_2O_8$, $P_2O_5$, $KMnO_4$, $H_2O_2$ etc) is proposed to remove the metastable phase of graphite such as graphene and DLC for high quality synthetic diamonds. The process employed the conventional acid cleaning process (P I) as well as P I+P II to remove the graphite related impurities from the 200um-diamond powders synthesized at 7GPa-$1500^{\circ}C$-5minutes. The degree of cleaning after P I and P I+P II has been observed by naked-eye, optical microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and TGA-DTA. After P I+P II, the color of diamond became more vividly yellow with enhanced saturation with naked eye and optical microscopy analysis. Moreover, the disappearance of diamond-like-carbon (DLC) peak ($1440cm^{-1}$) observed by Raman spectroscopy confirmed the decrease in amount of remaining impurities. TGA-DTA results showed that the graphite impurities first started to dissolve at $770.91^{\circ}C$ after PI process. However, the pyrolysis started at $892.18^{\circ}C$ after P I+P II process because of the dissolution of pure diamonds. This result proved the effective dissolution of the metastable phase of graphite. We expect that the proposed P II process may enhance the quality of diamonds through effective removal of surface impurities.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2009

Carbon-coated lithium iron phosphate ($LiFePO_4/C$) composites are synthesized by the modified mechanical activation method (modified MA process) and studied by the Rietveld structural refinement. Rietveld indices of $LiFePO_4/C$ indicate good fitting with $R_p=8.14%,\;R_{wp}=11.1%,\;R_{exp}=9.09%,\;R_B=3.88%$, and S (GofF, Goodness of fit) = 1.2, respectively. $LiFePO_4/C$ with a space group Pnma shows a = 10.3229(3)${\AA}$, b = 6.0052(2) ${\AA}$, c = 4.6939(1) ${\AA}$, and V = 290.98(1) ${\AA}^3$ in dimension, indicating good agreements with those of previous works. Synthetic powders are nano-sized ($65{\sim}90nm$) homogeneous particles with high purity. Thus the modified MA method will be an efficient process to get a high quality cathode material for commercial lithium batteries.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.200-207
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• 2017

A new approach to the solubilization of waste activated sludge (WAS) using alginate-quaternary ammonium complex beads was investigated under controlled mild alkaline conditions. The complex beads were prepared by the reaction of sodium alginate (SA) with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl-octadecyldimethylammonium chloride (TSA) in acid solution, followed by crosslinking with $CaCl_2$. Treatment of WAS with SA-TSA complex beads was effective for enhancing the efficacy of WAS solubilization. The highest value of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) concentration (3,900 mg/L) was achieved after 10 days of treatment with 30% (v/v) SA-TSA complex beads. The WAS solubilization efficacy of the complex beads was also evaluated by estimating the concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The maximum value of VFAs was 2,961 mg/L, and the overall proportions of VFAs were more than 75% of SCOD. The main components of VFAs were acetic, propionic, iso-butyric, and butyric acids. These results suggest that SA-TSA complex beads might be useful for enhancing the solubilization of WAS. The potential use of VFAs as the external carbon substrate for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) by a mixed microbial culture (MMC) was also examined. The enrichment of PHA-accumulating MMC could be achieved by periodic feeding of VFAs generated from WAS in a sequencing batch reactor. The composition of PHA synthesized from VFAs mainly consisted of 3-hydroxybutyrate. The maximum PHA content accounted for 25.9% of dry cell weight. PHA production by this process is considered to be promising since it has a doubly beneficial effect on the environment by reducing the amount of WAS and concomitantly producing an eco-friendly biopolymer.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.181-189
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• 2012

We developed a new high-yield synthesis method of free-standing germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) by means of the gas-phase photolysis of tetramethyl germanium in a closed reactor using an Nd-YAG pulsed laser. Size control (5-100 nm) can be simply achieved using a quenching gas. The $Ge_{1-x}Si_x$ NCs were synthesized by the photolysis of a tetramethyl silicon gas mixture and their composition was controlled by the partial pressure of precursors. The as-grown NCs are sheathed with thin (1-2 nm) carbon layers, and well dispersed to form a stable colloidal solution. Both Ge NC and Ge-RGO hybrids exhibit excellent cycling performance and high capacity of the lithium ion battery (800 and 1100 mAh/g after 50 cycles, respectively) as promising anode materials for the development of high-performance lithium batteries. This novel synthesis method of Ge NCs is expected to contribute to expand their applications in high-performance energy conversion systems.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.27-34
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• 2012

$Li_3V_2(PO_4)_3$/carbon composite materials are synthesized from a sucrose-containing precursor. Amorphous $Li_3V_2(PO_4)_3/C$ (a-LVP/C) and crystalline $Li_3V_2(PO_4)_3/C$ (c-LVP/C) are obtained by calcining at $600^{\circ}C$ and $800^{\circ}C$, respectrively, and electrochemical performance as the negative electrode for lithium secondary batteries is compared for two samples. The a-LVP electrode shows much larger reversible capacity than c-LVP, which is ascribed to the spatial $Li^+$ channels and flexible structure of amorphous material. In addition, this electrode shows an excellent rate capability, which can be accounted for by the facilitated $Li^+$ diffusion through the defect sites. The sloping voltage profile is another advantageous feature for easy SOC (state of charge) estimation.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.268-272
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• 2008

$LiFePO_4$ material was synthesized by electrospinning method to obtain optimal particle size($50{\sim}100\;nm$) without carbon coating or ball milling. This material showed an orthorthombic structure with Pnma space group without any impurities, such as FeP or $Fe_2P$, in the XRD pattern. The particle morphology and particle shape were observed by SEM analysis. Li/$LiFePO_4$ cell showed a high initial discharge capacity of 135 mAh/g, at current density of $0.1\;mA/cm^2$ with a cut-off voltage of 2.8 to 4.0V. This cell exhibited a perfect cycle performance over 99.9% cycle retention rate up to 50 cycles.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.194-202
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• 2016

A graphene film, two-dimensional carbon sheet, is a promising material for future electronic devices and so on. In graphene applications, the effect of substrate on the atomic/electronic structures of graphene is significant, so we studied an interaction between graphene film and substrate. To study the effect, we investigated the graphene films grown on Ni substrate with two crystal face of (111) and (100) by Raman spectroscopy, comparing with graphene films transferred on $SiO_2/Si$ substrate. In our study, the doping effect caused by charge transfer from Ni or $SiO_2/Si$ substrate to graphene was not observed. The bonding force between graphene and Ni substrate is stronger than that between graphene and $SiO_2/Si$. The graphene films grown on Ni substrate showed compressive strain and the growth of graphene films is incommensurate with Ni (100) lattice. The position of 2D band of graphene synthesized on Ni (111) and (100) substrate was different, and this result will be studied in the near future.