• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.290-298
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• 2019

$TiO_2$-particles containing Co grains are fabricated via thermal hydrogenation and selective oxidation of TiCo alloy. For comparison, $TiO_2$-Co composite powders are prepared by two kinds of methods which were the mechanical carbonization and oxidation process, and the conventional mixing process. The microstructural characteristics of the prepared composites are analyzed by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scattering electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the composite powders are sintered at $800^{\circ}C$ by spark plasma sintering. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the sintered samples prepared by thermal hydrogenation and mechanical carbonization are found to be higher than those of the samples prepared by the conventional mixing process. Moreover, the microstructures of sintered samples prepared by thermal hydrogenation and mechanical carbonization processes are found to be similar. The difference in the mechanical properties of sintered samples prepared by thermal hydrogenation and mechanical carbonization processes is attributed to the different sizes of metallic Co particles in the samples.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.423-428
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• 2021

Here, we report the development of a new and low-cost core-shell structure for lithium-ion battery anodes using silicon waste sludge and the Ti-ion complex. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the raw waste silicon sludge powder to be pure silicon without other metal impurities and the particle size distribution is measured to be from 200 nm to 3 ㎛ by dynamic light scattering (DLS). As a result of pulverization by a planetary mill, the size of the single crystal according to the Scherrer formula is calculated to be 12.1 nm, but the average particle size of the agglomerate is measured to be 123.6 nm. A Si/TiO₂ core-shell structure is formed using simple Ti complex ions, and the ratio of TiO₂ peaks increased with an increase in the amount of Ti ions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations revealed that TiO₂ coating on Si nanoparticles results in a Si-TiO₂ core-shell structure. This result is expected to improve the stability and cycle of lithium-ion batteries as anodes.

• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1540-1545
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• 2018

SiGe alloy is widely used thermoelectric materials for high temperature thermoelectric generator applications. However, its high thermoelectric performance has been thus far realized only in alloys synthesized employing mechanical alloying techniques, which are time-consuming and employ several materials processing steps. In the current study, for the first time, we report an enhanced thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) ~ 1.1 at $900^{\circ}C$ in ntype $Si_{80}Ge_{20}$ nano-alloys, synthesized using a facile and up-scalable methodology consisting of rapid solidification at high optimized cooling rate ${\sim}3.4{\times}10^7K/s$, employing melt spinning followed by spark plasma sintering of the resulting nano-crystalline melt-spun ribbons. This enhancement in ZT > 20% over its bulk counterpart, owes its origin to the nano-crystalline microstructure formed at high cooling rates, which results in crystallite size ~7 nm leading to high density of grain boundaries, which scatter heat-carrying phonons. This abundant scattering resulted in a very low thermal conductivity ${\sim}2.1Wm^{-1}K^{-1}$, which corresponds to ~50% reduction over its bulk counterpart and is amongst the lowest reported thus far in n-type SiGe alloys. The synthesized samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, based on which the enhancement in their thermoelectric performance has been discussed.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.80-87
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• 2022

Purpose: Proton therapy has different relative biological effectiveness (RBE) compared with X-ray treatment, which is the standard in radiation therapy, and the fixed RBE value of 1.1 is widely used. However, RBE depends on a charged particle's linear energy transfer (LET); therefore, measuring LET is important. We have developed a LET measurement method using the inefficiency characteristic of an EBT3 film on a proton beam's Bragg peak (BP) region. Methods: A Gafchromic EBT3 film was used to measure the proton beam LET. It measured the dose at a 10-cm pristine BP proton beam in water to determine the quenching factor of the EBT3 film as a reference beam condition. Monte Carlo (MC) calculations of dose-averaged LET (LET_d) were used to determine the quenching factor and validation. The dose-averaged LETs at the 12-, 16-, and 20-cm pristine BP proton beam in water were calculated with the quenching factor. Results: Using the passive scattering proton beam nozzle of the National Cancer Center in Korea, the LET_d was measured for each beam range. The quenching factor was determined to be 26.15 with 0.3% uncertainty under the reference beam condition. The dose-averaged LETs were measured for each test beam condition. Conclusions: We developed a method for measuring the proton beam LET using an EBT3 film. This study showed that the magnitude of the quenching effect can be estimated using only one beam range, and the quenching factor determined under the reference condition can be applied to any therapeutic proton beam range.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 2024

This study reports a direct growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the surface of LiCoO₂ (LCO) powders to apply as highly efficient cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIB). The CNT synthesis was performed using a thermal chemical vapor deposition apparatus with temperatures from 575 to 625 ℃. Ferritin molecules as growth catalyst of CNTs were mixed in deionized (DI) water with various concentrations from 0.05 to 1.0 mg/mL. Then, the LCO powders was dissolved in the ferritin solution at a ratio of 1g/mL. To obtain catalytic iron nanoparticles on the LCO surface, the LCO-ferritin suspension was dropped in silicon dioxide substrates and calcined under air at 550℃. Subsequently, the direct growth of CNTs on LCO powders was performed using a mixture of acetylene (10 sccm) and hydrogen (100 sccm) for 10 min. The growth behavior was characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman scattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. The optimized condition yielding high structural quality and amount of CNTs was 600 ℃ and 0.5 mg/mL. The obtained materials will be developed as cathode materials in LIB.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.399-403
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• 2024

Lecithin is one type of surfactant with amphiphilic properties, which forms spherical reverse micelles in various organic solvents. Salts with markedly low solubility in organic solvents can significantly increase their solubility through ionic interactions through the hydrophilic head of lecithin, leading to changes in the molecular morphology of lecithin. As a result, spherical reverse micelles can transform into cylindrical reverse micelles, which can cause abrupt rheological changes when these cylindrical reverse micelles form a transient network. This study precisely analyzes the formation of self-assembled structures and rheological changes by simultaneously adding two types of salts to a lecithin solution, using small-angle X-ray scattering analysis and rheometry.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.335-340
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• 1998

Colossal magnetoresistance $La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}Mn_{0.99}^{57}Fe_{0.01}O_3$ material has been produced by a metal-salt routed sol-gel process method. Magnetic properties of $La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}Mn_{0.99}^{57}Fe_{0.01}O_3$ have been studied with x-ray diffraction, Rutherford back-scattering spectroscopy(RBS), vibrating sample magnetometer, and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Crystalline $La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}Mn_{0.99}^{57}Fe_{0.01}O_3$ was perovskite cubic structure with a lattice parameter $a_0=3.868$\AA$$. And there was no appreciable change in the value of the lattice parameter when a small amount (x=0.01) of iron was added. However, Mossbauer and VSM data indicate the Curie temperature of the $La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}Mn_{0.99}^{57}Fe_{0.01}O_3$ decreased from 282 to 270 k and also the saturation magnetization from 84 to 81 emu/g at 77 K. Mossbauer spectra of $La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}Mn_{0.99}^{57}Fe_{0.01}O_3$ have been taken at various temperatures ranging form 4.2 K to room temperature. Analysis of $^{57}Fe$ Mossbauer data in terms of the local configurations of Mn atoms has permitted the influence of the magnetic hyperfine interactions to be monitored. The isomer shifts show that the charge state of all Fe ions are ferric. The magnetoresistance of $La_{0.67}Ca_{0.33}Mn_{0.99}^{57}Fe_{0.01}O_3$ was about 33 % at semiconductor-metal transition temperature $T_{SC-M}=250K$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.757-763
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• 2019

Recently, Following the recent development of flat panel detector with wide dynamic ranges, increasing numbers of healthcare providers have begun to use digital radiography. As a result, filter thickness standards should be reestablished, as current clinical practice requires the use of thicknesses recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, which are based on information, acquired using conventional analog systems. Here we investigated the possibility of minimizing dose creep and optimizing patient dose using Al filters in digital radiography. The use of thicker Al filters resulted in a maximum 19.3% reduction in the entrance skin exposure dose when medical images with similar sharpness values were compared. However, resolution, which is a critical factor in imaging, had a significant change of 1.01 lp/mm. This change in resolution is thought to be due to the increased amount of scattered rays generated from the object due to the X-ray beam hardening effect. The increase in the number of scattered rays was verified using the scattering degradation factor. However, the FPD, which has recently been developed and is widely used in various areas, has greater response to radiation than analog devices and has a wide dynamic range. Therefore, the FPD is expected to maintain an appropriate level of resolution corresponding to the increase in the scattered-ray content ratio, which depends on filter thickness. Use of the FPD is also expected to minimize dose creep by reducing the exposure dose.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.125-129
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• 1996

The energy response of HPGe detector for low energy Photons was determined by using three Monte Carlo codes. MCNP4A. EGS4, and CYLTRAN in ITS3. In this study. bare HPGe detector$(100 mm^2{\times}10mm)$ was used and a pencil beam was incident perpendicularly on the center of the detector surface. The photopeak efficiency, $K_{\alpha}$ and $K_{\beta}$ escape fractions were calculated as a function of incident X-ray energies ranging from 12 to 60 keV in 2-keV increments. Since the Compton. elastic. ana penetration fraction were negligible in this energy range. they were ignored in the calculation. Although MCNP. EGS, and CYLTRAN codes calculated slightly different energy response of HPGe detector for low energy Photons, it appears that the three Monte Carlo codes can Predict the low energy Photon scattering Processes accurately. The MCNP results, which are generally known as to be less accurate at low energy ranges than the EGS and ITS results. are comparable to the results of EGS and ITS and are applicable to the calculation of the low energy response data of a detector.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.607-617
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• 1998

Au was dosed on $TiO_2(001)$ film grown epitaxially on Mo(100) surface in about 90 ${\AA}$ thickness. The growth mode of Au, thermal behavior and stability of the Au clusters, and the binding energy shift of Au 4f with the change in the amount of Au loading were studied by Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) spectroscopy, Ion Scattering Spectroscopy (ISS), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Au grows three dimensionally on $TiO_2(001)$ film and the average size of Au clusters prepared at low temperature is smaller than those at higher temperature and the size increases with temperature irreversibly. Au clusters on $TiO_2(001)/Mo(100)$ start evaporation at 1000 K. TPD spectra of Au show very asymmetric peaks with the same leading edges irrespective of the amount of Au loading. The temperature at the peak maximum increases with the amount of Au. The desorption energy of Au obtained from the leading edge analysis of the TPD spectra is about 50 kcal/mol. The initial sticking coefficient of Au on $TiO_2(001)$ is constant in the temperature range of 200-600 K. The binding energy of Au 4f for the Au loaded on the film less than 2.0 MLE shifts to higher energy compared with the bulk Au. The shift is +0.3 eV at 0.1 MLE Au amount.