• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.369-375
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• 2021

In this study, heterogeneous ZnO/CNTF composites were developed to improve the NO₂-sensing response, facilitated by the self-heating property. Highly conductive and mechanically stable CNTFs were prepared by a wet-spinning process assisted by the liquid crystal (LC) behavior of CNTs. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) of ZIF-8 were precipitated on the surface of the CNTF (ZIF-8/CNTF) via one-pot synthesis in solution. The subsequent calcination process resulted in the formation of the ZnO/CNTF composites. The calcination temperatures were controlled at 400, 500, and 600 ℃ in an N₂ atmosphere to confirm the evolution of the microstructures and NO₂-sensing properties. Gas sensor characterization was performed at 100 ℃ by applying a DC voltage to induce Joule heating through the CNTF. The results revealed that the ZnO/CNTF composite after calcination at 500 ℃ (ZnO/CNTF-500) exhibited an improved response (R_air/R_gas = 1.086) toward 20 ppm NO₂ as compared to the pristine CNTF (R_air/R_gas = 1.063). Selective NO₂-sensing properties were demonstrated with negligible responses toward interfering gas species such as H₂S, NH₃, CO, and toluene. Our approach for the synthesis of MOF-driven ZnO/CNTF composites can provide a new strategy for the fabrication of wearable gas sensors integrated with textile materials.

• Clean Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.308-313
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• 2017

In this study, we investigated the electrocatalytic effects of the N and O co-doping of Graphite Felt (GF) electrode for the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) at the cathode and the anode reaction, respectively. The electrodes were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with $NH_3-O_2$ at 773 K, and its effects were compared with an electrode prepared by an O doping treatment. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrocatalytic properties of these electrodes were characterized in a VRFB single cell comparing the efficiencies and performance of the electrodes at the cathode, anode, and single cell level. The results exhibited about 2% higher voltage and energy efficiencies on the N-O-GF than the O-GF electrode. It was found that the N and O co-doping was particularly effective in the enhancement of the reduction-oxidation reaction at the anode.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.315-321
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• 2006

Inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase(AchE), such as organophosphates and carbamates, interfere the action of AchE in nerve and may lead to a severe impairment of nerve functions or even death. Therefore, insect AchE is the biological target of predominant insecticides used in agriculture. Biosensors are sensitive and can be used as dispoisable sensors for environmental control. In recent years, the use of AchEs in biosensor technology has gained enormous attention, in particular with respect to insecticide detection. The principle of biosensors using AchE as a biological recognition element is based on the inhibition the catalytic activity by the agents to be detected. We here present a strip-type biosensor based on AchE inhibition. In this study, acetylcholinesterase and PVA-SbQ(polyvinyl alcohol functionalized with methyl pyridinium methyl sulfate) were co-immobilized on immobilone-P membranes. Immobilization of the enzymes showed a stability in 6 months without activity loss in $4^{\circ}C$ storage. Enzymes immobilized on surfaces of membrane responded to organophosphates and carbamate more sensitivitive than enzyme in solution. Organophosphates and carbamates concentrations could be detected by entrapped and surface immobilized enzymes, in 5 min. For chlorpyrifos, carbofuran, cabaryl, and methidathion, the detection limits of AChE-strip were similar to that of HPLC/GC method.

• Clean Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.166-170
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• 2008

In this study, imidazolium salt ionic liquid on amorphous silica was prepared and its catalytic performance in the cycloaddition of $CO_2$ with allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) to produce heterocyclic carbonate was investigated. The ionic liquid was generated on chloropropyl functionalized silica through the immobilization of imidazole. The prepared catalyst was characterized using a number of instrumental analysis including XRD, BET, $^{29}Si$ MAS-NMR and SEM. $^{29}Si$ MAS-NMR showed that the ionic liquid formed adduct with the chloropropyl groups attached to the silica surface. The immobilized ionic liquid showed very good catalytic activity for the cycloaddition of $CO_2$ with AGE, showing 55-61% of AGE conversion with over 85% of the carbonate selectivity at $80-120^{\circ}C$. Its AGE conversion and selectivity to the carbonate were even higher than the homogeneous analog, 1-n-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bromide (BMImBr).

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.429-434
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• 2019

A lateral flow immunoassay platform utilizing antibody functionalized water soluble CdSe/ZnS semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) was developed for the analysis of human serum amyloid A-1 (hSAA1) in a buffer solution. hSAA1 was chosen as a target protein because it is regarded as a potential biomarker associated with early diagnosis and prognosis in patients of lung cancer. The immunoassay strip on a nitrocellulose membrane was fabricated by spraying two lines composed of a test line with a monoclonal antibody against hSAA1 (10G1) (anti hSAA1) and a control line of anti-chicken IgY. While the CdSe/ZnS QDs synthesized in an organic phase were transferred to a water phase by ligand exchange using carboxylic acid modified alkane thiol. The QDs was then conjugated to monoclonal antibody against hSAA1 (14F8) [anti hSAA1 (14F8)] and used as a fluorescent detection probe. The sequential lateral flow of hSAA1 in different concentration and QDs-anti hSAA1 (14F8) complex allowed to form the surface sandwich complex of anti hSAA1 (10G1)/hSAA1/QD-anti hSAA1 (14F8), which was then analyzed using fluorescence microscope. A 100 nM concentration of hSAA1 protein can be detected by naked eyes under an optimized lateral flow buffer condition with a sensing time of 5 mins.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.405-410
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• 2011

High-performance of an electric double layer capacitance (EDLC) electrode was prepared by the amino-fluorination of activated carbon by using $NF_3$ gas. The pore structure and surface chemistry were investigated based on the specific capacitance of EDLC. The amino-fluorination of activated carbon introduced functional groups of nitrogen and fluorine which are beneficial for the specific capacitance of EDLC without the change of pore structures. The E-NF100AC electrode, which has nitrogen and fluorine functional groups less than 1 at%, showed the highly improved specific capacitance of 528 (${\pm}9$) F/g at 2 mV/s showing 122% improved value when comparing with that of non-functionalized E-RAC electrodes. Whereas, the E-NF200AC electrode, which has nitrogen and fluorine functional groups over 1 at%, showed the decreased specific capacitance because of perfluorinated introduction. So, it is concluded that the proper contents of nitrogen and fluorine groups improved the specific capacitance of EDLC.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.330-337
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• 2011

In this research, the preparation processes for making a series of $\omega$-mercapto alkylamine 1 and $\omega$-mercapto alkanoic acid 2 useful for studying of the self-assembled monolayer(SAM) are described. The preparation methods of the first goal materials, $\omega$-mercapto alkylamines 1 were carried out as follows: First, $\omega$-phthalimide alkanol 3 was synthesized from commercially available potassium phthalimide derivatives and $\omega$-bromoalkanol in DMF at $80{^{\circ}C}$ via substitution reaction. After refluxing $\omega$-phthalimide alkanol 3 with hydrazine hydrate in ethanol followed by treating with c-HCl, $\omega$-aminoalkanol 4 was obtained in 76-98% yield, accompanied with side-product 5. Bromination of hydroxyl moiety of $\omega$-aminoalkanol 4 using aqueous hydrobromic acid furnished $\omega$-bromoamine 6 in 34-97% yields. Substitution reaction 6 with thiourea in 95% ethanol gave $\omega$-aminoalkanthiuronium 7, which was treated with aqueous strong base and aqueous strong sulfuric acid gave desired products, $\omega$-mercapto alkylamines 1 through overall 5 steps. The second target material, $\omega$-mercapto alkanoic acid 2 was prepared via 2 steps. $\omega$-bromo alkanoic acid was reacted with thiourea to give $\omega$-thiourea alkanoic acid 7 in 69-85%, which was treated with aqueous strong base and strong acid to furnish $\omega$-mercapto alkanoic acid 2 in 50-98%. The fabricated long-chain alkylthiol(LCAT) can be used as linkers to immobilize protein, enzyme and various kinds of biomolecules on the surface of metallic materials(Au, Pt, Ti) by SAM, and can be useful chemical tools for the application study on the surface modification of metallic materials.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.136-142
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• 2023

In this study, TEOS was used as a silica source, and a triblock copolymer (P123) was used as a template to produce mesoporous silica with a well-ordered hexagonal mesopore array through a self-assembly method and hydrothermal process under acidic condition. (Surfactant-extracted SBA-15). Surfactant-extracted SBA-15 showed the particle shape of a short rod with a size of approximately 980 nm. The surface area and pore diameter were 730 m²g^-1 and 70.8 Å, respectively. Meanwhile, aminosilane (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, APTES) was grafted into the mesopores using a post-synthesis method. Mesoporous silica (APTES-SBA-15) modified with aminosilane had a well-ordered pore structure (p6mm) and well-maintained the particle shape of short rods. The surface area and pore diameter of APTES-SBA-15 decreased to 350 m²g^-1 and 60.7 Å, respectively. APTES-modified mesoporous silica was treated with a solution of rare earth metal ions (Eu³⁺, Tb³⁺) to synthesize a mesoporous silica material in which rare earth metal complexes were introduced into the mesopores. (Eu/APTES-SBA-15, Tb/APTES-SBA-15) These materials exhibited characteristic photoluminescence spectra by λ_ex=250 nm. (⁵D₄→⁷F₅ (543.5 nm), ⁵D₄→⁷F₄ (583.5 nm), ⁵D₄→⁷F₃ (620.2 nm) transitions for Tb/APTES-SBA-15; ⁵D₀→⁷F₀ (577.7 nm), ⁵D₀→⁷F₁ (592.0 nm), ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ (614.9 nm), ⁵D₀→⁷F₃ (650.3 nm) and ⁵D₀→⁷F₄ (698.5 nm) transitions for Eu/APTES-SBA-15)

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.55-62
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• 2018

The adsorbent used in water-adsorption cooling system utilizing low-temperature heat of below $90^{\circ}C$ is required to exhibit high water uptake capacity at a relative humidity ($P/P_0$) between 0.1 and 0.3. Mesoporous silica (MCM-41) and MOF(MIL-101) exhibit quite large water adsorption capacity under saturated water vapor at $35^{\circ}C$. However, these adsorbents show small water adsorption capacity ($0.027{g_{water}\;g_{ads}}^{-1}$, $0.074{g_{water}\;g_{ads}}^{-1}$, respectively) in the relative humidity ($P/P_0$) range of 0.1 to 0.3. In this study, the surface properties of mesoporous silica and MOF were modified by simple methods to develop an adsorbent having a higher water uptake than the conventional water adsorbents at a relative humidity ($P/P_0$) of 0.1 ~ 0.3. In the case of mesoporous silica (MCM-41) exhibiting mainly water adsorption at $P/P_0=0.5{\sim}0.7$, aluminum species was functionalized on the mesopore walls and then cations existing near the aluminum were exchanged with various cations (e.g., $Na^+$, ${NH_4}^+$, and $(C_2H_5)_4N^+$). In addition, 20 wt% (to total weight of the composites) of hygroscopic inorganic salt ($CaCl_2$) was impregnated on the MCM-41. In the case of the MIL-101 (MOF), 20 wt% of hygroscopic inorganic salt ($CaCl_2$) was impregnated on the MIL-101. The MCM-41 which was ion-exchanged with various cations has main adsorption branch around 0.5 of $P/P_0$ which was slightly shifted with low-pressure direction in comparison with pristine MCM-41. However, tiny increases were observed on the adsorption in the range of $P/P_0$ between 0.1 and 0.3. After salt impregnation on the MCM-41, the adsorption capacity under $P/P_0=0.1{\sim}0.3$ at $35^{\circ}C$ was increased from $0.027{g_{water}\;g_{ads}}^{-1}$ to $0.152{g_{water}\;g_{ads}}^{-1}$. In the case of MIL-101, the amount of water adsorption at $35^{\circ}C$ under $P/P_0=0.1{\sim}0.3$ was increased from $0.074{g_{water}\;g_{ads}}^{-1}$ to $0.330{g_{water}\;g_{ads}}^{-1}$ after the salt impregnation.