• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.509-513
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• 2019

The Beer-Lambert law states that absorbance is proportional to the concentration of a solute in a solution at a given wavelength. This linearity works for an ideal or a 'sufficiently diluted' solution, so this linearity is often used as a criterion for the fidelity of the absorbance value measured. In this study, we used a chlorophyll (Chl) solution, isolated from rice leaves with 80% acetone to test the use of the Chl a/b ratio as an additional criterion for checking the fidelity of measured values using four different absorption spectrophotometers: Cary4E, UV-1650PC, Versamax (a microplate reader), and NanoDrop 1,000(which can handle a $4{\mu}l$ aliquot). We used Chl solutions of varying concentrations from $0.2{\mu}g/ml$ to $200{\mu}g/ml$ to measure absorbance values at 645 nm and 663 nm and checked the linearity first. The results indicated that the range of Chl concentrations that we can rely on based on the linearity was similar to the range in which the calculated Chl concentrations based on the measured absorbance values agreed with the known concentrations. However, some border cases or cases with very low Chl concentrations inside the fidelity range of Chl concentrations did not agree with the criterion that the Chl a/b ratio should not change after dilution of the Chl in the solution. These results suggest that the Chl a/b ratio is a better criterion for the reliability of the absorbance values measured for the determination of chlorophyll concentration than the criterion based on the linearity suggested by the Beer-Lambert law.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.23-27
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• 2023

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has been used as effective photocatalyst for degradation of antibiotics under visible light irradiation. However, the fast recombination of hole-electron pair may limit their photocatalytic efficiency. In our study, Ag was grafted on g-C₃N₄/g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunction by a microwave-assisted decomposition method. The structure and physical properties of heterojunction photocatalyst were characterized through X-ray diffraction, UV-DRS, FT-IR, and Photoluminescence analyses. Ag decorated g-C₃N₄/g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunction exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity for degradation of sulfamethoxazole under irradiation under visible light irradiation within 210 min, which is higher than g-C₃N₄/g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunction and bulk g-C₃N₄. The addition of Ag may broaden the visible light absorption and restrict the recombination of hole-electron pair because of the surface plasmons resonance, resulting in the improving the photocatalytic activity.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.529-533
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• 2023

The fundamental electrochemical properties and adsorption capabilities of the carbonized product derived from coffee grounds, a prevalent form of lignocellulose abundantly generated in our daily lives, have been extensively investigated. The structure and morphology of the resultant carbonized product, obtained through a carbonization process conducted at a relatively low temperature of 600 ℃, were meticulously examined using a scanning electron microscope. Raman spectroscopy measurements yielded a relative crystallinity (D/G ratio) of the carbon product of 0.64. Electrical measurements revealed a linear ohmic relationship within the carbonized product. Furthermore, the viability of utilizing this carbonized material as an anode in lithium-ion batteries was evaluated through half-cell charge/discharge experiments, demonstrating an initial specific capacity of 520 mAh/g. Additionally, the adsorption performance of the carbon material towards a representative dye molecule was assessed via UV spectroscopy analyses. Supplementary experiments corroborated the material's ability to adsorb a distinct model molecule characterized by differing surface polarity, achieved through surface modification. This article presents pivotal findings that hold substantial implications for forthcoming research endeavors centered around the recycling of lignocellulose waste.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.296-302
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• 2024

An ionic conjugated polymer-iron (III) chloride composite was prepared via in-situ quaternization polymerization of 2-ethynylpyridine (2EP) using iron (III) chloride. Various instrumental methods revealed that the chemical structure of the resulting conjugated polymer (P2EP)-iron (III) chloride composite has the conjugated backbone system having the designed pyridinium ferric chloride complexes. The polymerization mechanism was assumed to be that the activated triple bond of 2-ethynylpyridinium salt, formed at the first reaction step, is easily susceptible to the step-wise polymerization, followed by the same propagation step that contains the propagating macroanion and monomeric 2-ethynylpyridinium salts. The electro-optical and electrochemical properties of the P2EP-FeCl₃ composite were studied. In the UV-visible spectra of P2EP-FeCl₃ composite, the absorption maximum values were 480 nm and 533 nm, and the PL maximum value was 598 nm. The cyclic voltammograms of the P2EP-FeCl₃ composite exhibited irreversible electrochemical behavior between the oxidation and reduction peaks. The kinetics of the redox process of composites were found to be very close to a diffusion-controlled process from the plot of the oxidation current density versus the scan rate.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.214-220
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• 1997

A thin film optical waveguide sensor has been developed to measure and analyze quantitatively some inherent optical properties of biochemical substances. In this paper, two different kinds of thickness of thin film waveguide were prepared by RF sputtering of Corning-7059 glass(n = 1.588 at ${\lambda}=\;514nm$, Ar laser) on Pyrex glass substrates. We made a sensing membrane coated on the thin film waveguide with the poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol) (91 : 3 : 6) copolymer membrane based on $H^{+}$-selective chromoionophore and $K^{+}$-selective neutral ionophore and then proposed the thin film opptical waveguide ion sensor which can select a potassium ion. This sensor based ell the absorbance change by utilizing chromoionophore and neutral ionophore, which changes their absorption spectrum in the UV-vis region upon complexation of the corresponding ionic species, have been reported. The sensitivity dependence of the proposed sensor on interaction length, waveguide thickness, and content of a chromoionophore was investigated. This sensor has the measurement range of $10^{-6}M{\sim}1M$ for $K^{+}$ concentration and 90% response time of duration within 1 min. Also, our thin film optical waveguide sensor using the evanescent field was investigated as compared with conventional transmission sensor or optode sensor by the optical fiber. The sensitivity of thin-film waveguide $K^{+}$ sensor is higher than that of the conventional transmission sensor. The proposed sensor is expected to be useful to biochemical, medical, environmental inspection and so on.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 1996

Humic substances of 17 organic fertilizers available on the market were the objects of study. The list of ingredients for formulation of them comprised fish meal. bone meal, oil-cakes, brewer's grains, peat, sawdust, wood bark, zeolite, soil conditioner, live-stock droppings, amino acid fermentation byproduct, chaff, limestone and others. Humic and fulvic acids were isolated from those substances and given chemical and spectroscopic analyses. Nutritional values of the organic fertilizers showed big diversity. Humification of organic matter was incomplete for some of the fertilizers as indicated by a high C/N ratio. Extractable humic acid percentage was higher, in general, than that of fulvic acid. Also the relative content of humin increased with advanced humification. Total acidity was closely related to phenolic hydroxyl groups. Relationships between carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. and carboxyl and alcoholic hydroxyl groups were very significant. Ultraviolet and visible light absorption spectra of humic and fulvic acids were substantially similar. The types of humic acids were B. P, and Rp. Two humic acids of the 17 samples belonged to B type. 3 to P type and all the rest to Rp type.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.417-423
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• 2011

A series of new quinoxaline-based thiophene copolymers (PQx2T, PQx4T, and PQx6T) was synthesized via Yamamoto and Stille coupling reactions. The $M_ws$ of PQx2T, PQx4T, and PQx6T were found to be 20,000, 12,000, and 29,000, with polydispersity indices of 2.0, 1.2, and 1.1, respectively. The UV-visible absorption spectra of the polymers showed two distinct absorption peaks in the ranges 350 - 460 nm and 560 - 600 nm, which arose from the ${\pi}-{\pi}^*$ transition of oligothiophene units and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) between a quinoxaline acceptor and thiophene donor. The HOMO levels of the polymer ranged from -5.37 to -5.17 eV and the LUMO levels ranged from -3.67 to -3.45 eV. The electrochemical bandgaps of PQx2T, PQx4T, and PQx6T were 1.70, 1.71, and 1.72 eV, respectively, thus yielding low bandgap behavior. PQx2T, PQx4T, and PQx6T had open circuit voltages of 0.58, 0.42, and 0.47 V, and short circuit current densities of 2.9, 5.29 and 9.05 mA/$cm^2$, respectively, when $PC_{71}BM$ was used as an acceptor. For the solar cells with PQx2T-PQx6T:$PC_{71}BM$ (1:3) blends, an increase in performance was observed in going from PQx2T to PQx6T. The power conversion efficiencies of PQx2T, PQx4T, and PQx6T devices were found to be 0.69%, 0.73%, and 1.80% under AM 1.5 G (100 mW/$cm^2$) illumination.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1013-1016
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• 1995

The color stability of betacyanins and effects of antioxidants from Opuntia dillenii Haw were determined in the fruit juice at temperature up to $90^{\circ}C$. The absorption maxima of betacyanins occurred between 536 nm and 538 nm. When fruit juice was heated at $90^{\circ}C$ for various times, the red color gradually diminished and the absorption maxima slightly shifted toward uv region. The kinetic analysis of the data obtained indicated that the discoloration for betacyanins obeyed first order reaction pattern, when the thermal stability test was performed at $50{\sim}90^{\circ}C$. And the rate constant increased from $1.56{\times}10^{-3}/min\;to\;71.91{\times}10^{-3}/min$ with the half-life decreasing from 444.23 min to 9.64 min. The results also indicated that the thermal stability of pigment decreased with increasing temperature. The energy of activation was 10.94 kcal/mole for the pigment. N-propyl gallate, L-cysteine, and ascorbic acid were added to cactus fruit juice at concentrations of $0.01{\sim}0.3%$ at different temperatures. Npropyl gallate and L-cysteine had a little antioxidant effect on betacyanins stability at $50^{\circ}C\;and\;70^{\circ}C$, whereas ascorbic acid had a great antioxidant effect with the half-life value of 2 to 10 times to that of the control.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.282-291
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• 2018

The pristine fluorine-doped $SnO_2$ (abbreviated as FTO) inverse opal (IO) was developed using a 410 nm polystyrene bead template. The nanolayered copper tungsten oxide ($CuWO_4$) was decorated on the FTO IO film using a facile electrochemical deposition, subsequently followed by annealing at $500^{\circ}C$ for 90 min. The morphologies, crystalline structure, optical properties and photoelectrochemical characteristics of the FTO and $CuWO_4$-decorated FTO (briefly denoted as $FTO/CuWO_4$) IO film were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, showing FTO IO in the hexagonally closed-pack arrangement with a pore diameter and wall thickness of about 300 nm and 20 nm, respectively. Above this film, the $CuWO_4$ was electrodeposited by controlling the cycling number in cyclic voltammetry, suggesting that the $CuWO_4$ formed during 4 cycles (abbreviated as $CuWO_4$(4 cycles)) on FTO IO film exhibited partial distribution of $CuWO_4$ nanoparticles. Additional distribution of $CuWO_4$ nanoparticles was observed in the case of $FTO/CuWO_4$(8 cycles) IO film. The $CuWO_4$ layer exhibits triclinic structure with an indirect band gap of approximately 2.5 eV and shows the enhanced visible light absorption. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) behavior was evaluated in the 0.5 M $Na_2SO_4$ solution under solar illumination, suggesting that the $FTO/CuWO_4$(4 cycles) IO films exhibit a photocurrent density ($J_{sc}$) of $0.42mA/cm^2$ at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE, denoted as $V_{RHE}$), while the FTO IO and $FTO/CuWO_4$(8 cycles) IO films exhibited a $J_{sc}$ of 0.14 and $0.24mA/cm^2$ at $1.23V_{RHE}$, respectively. This difference can be explained by the increased visible light absorption by the $CuWO_4$ layer and the favorable charge separation/transfer event in the cascading band alignment between FTO and $CuWO_4$ layer, enhancing the overall PEC performance.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.196-201
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• 2003

The object of this study was to characterize Bacillus strains GB-017 and GB-0356, which produce antifungal substances, especially for plant pathogens. In addition, this study was undertaken to characterize the culture conditions required for the production of antifungal substances and to document some of the properties of the antifungal substance produced by these soil-isolated strains. Strains GB-0365 and GB-017 were found to be bacillus-shaped, gram-positive and motile, and to inhibit Botrytis cineria, Fusarium sp., Pythium sp., and Rhizoctonia solani. Antagonistic activity was maintained up to pH 9.0, and the antifungal activity was stable to heat at 80$^{\circ}C$ for 1 h. Antifungal substances were separated and purified using ion exchange and adsorption columns including WK-I0(H$\^$＋) (pH 7.0), HP20 column (pH 3.0) and IPA (pH 3.0). and IPA. Its UV absorption spectrum showed major peaks at 231 and 259 nm, corresponding to polyene and lactone. A fast atom bombardment mass spectrum (FAB MS) showed a highest peak at 441 m/z and major peaks at 192, 205, and 370 m/z.