• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.115-120
• /
• 2014

PURPOSE. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of aging on the tear strength and cytotoxicity of four soft denture lining materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Four commonly used soft denture lining materials, (Coe-Comfort$^{TM}$ GC America Inc., Alsip, IL, USA; Coe-SOFT$^{TM}$ GC America Inc., Alsip, IL, USA; Visco-gel Dentsply Caulk Milford, DE, USA; and Sofreliner Tough M Tokuyama Dental Corporation Tokyo, Japan) were selected. Sixty trouser-leg designed specimens per lining material were fabricated using a stainless steel mold for tear strength testing. The specimens were divided into non-thermocycling and 1000-, and 3000-thermocycling groups. For the cytotoxicity test, twenty-four disk shaped specimens per material were fabricated using a stainless steel mold. The specimens were soaked in normal saline solution for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Cytotoxicity was measured by XTT assay in L929 mouse fibroblasts. Data were analyzed by two way analysis of variance and Dunnett's test (P<.05). RESULTS. Before thermocycling, Sofreliner Tough M ($10.36{\pm}1.00N$) had the highest tear strength value while Coe-Comfort$^{TM}$ ($0.46{\pm}0.10N$) had the lowest. After 3000 cycles, Sofreliner Tough M ($9.65{\pm}1.66N$) presented the highest value and Coe-Comfort$^{TM}$ ($0.42{\pm}0.08N$) the lowest. Sofreliner Tough M, in all incubation periods was the least toxic with significant differences compared to all other materials (P<.05). Coe-Comfort$^{TM}$, Coe-$SOFT^{TM}$, and Sofreliner Tough M did not show any significant differences within their material group for all incubation periods. CONCLUSION. This in vitro study revealed that aging can affect both the tear strength and cytotoxicity of soft denture materials depending on the composition.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.246-251
• /
• 2010

The composite photocatalysts of a Fe-modified carbon nanotube (CNT)-$TiO_2$ were synthesized by a two-step sol-gel method at high temperature. Its chemical composition and surface properties were investigated by BET surface area, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The results showed that the BET surface area was improved by modification of Fe, which was related to the adsorption capacity for each composite. Interesting thin layer aggregates of nanosized $TiO_2$ were observed from TEM images, probably stabilized by the presence of CNT, and the surface and structural characterization of the samples was carried out. The XRD results showed that the Fe/CNT-$TiO_2$ composites contained a mix of anatase and rutile forms of $TiO_2$ particles when the precursor is $TiOSO_4{\cdot}xH_2O$ (TOS). An excellent photocatalytic activity of Fe/CNT-$TiO_2$ was obtained for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. It was considered that Fe cation could be doped into the matrix of $TiO_2$, which could hinder the recombination rate of the excited electrons/holes. The photocatalytic activity of the composites was also found to depend on the presence of CNT. The synergistic effects among the Fe, CNT and $TiO_2$ components were responsible for improving the visible light photocatalytic activity.

• Progress in Superconductivity
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.59-64
• /
• 2006

High $J_c\;YBa_2Cu_3O_x$ superconducting films were fabricated by MOD method using fluorine-free dichloroacetic acid(DCA) as chelating solvent for preparing precursor solution. Coating solutions were prepared by dissolving Y-, Ba- and Cu-acetates in DCA solvent followed by drying in rota vapor to obtain the blue gel that is diluted in methanol and 2-methoxyethanol for adjusting the cation concentration. DCA-MOD precursor solution was coated on a single crystal(001) $LaAlO_3(LAO)$ substrate by a dip coating method with a speed of 25 mm/min. Coated films were calcined at lower temperature up to $500^{\circ}C$ in flowing oxygen atmosphere with a 7.2% humidity. Conversion heat treatment was performed at various temperatures of $780{\sim}810^{\circ}C$ for 2 h in flowing Ar gas containing 1000 ppm oxygen with a humidity of 9.45%. SEM observations showed that films have very dense microstructures for the films prepared at the temperature higher than $800^{\circ}C$ regardless of diluting solvent; methanol or 2-methoxyethanol. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that YBCO grains grew with a (001) preferred orientation. A High critical current density($J_c$) of 1.28 $MA/cm^2$(@77 K and self-field) was obtained id. the YBCO film prepared using 2-methoxyethanol as a solvent.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.23 no.10
• /
• pp.543-549
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effect of a high-energy milling (HEM) process on the particle morphology and the correlation between a thermal treatment and tetragonal/monoclinic nanostructured zirconia powders obtained by a precipitation process. To eliminate chloride residue ions from hydrous zirconia, a modified washing method was used. It was found that the used washing method was effective in removing the chloride from the precipitated gel. In order to investigate the effect of a pre-milling process on the particle morphology of the precipitate, dried $Zr(OH)_4$ was milled using a HEM machine with distilled water. The particle size of the $Zr(OH)_4$ powder exposed to HEM reduced to 100~150 nm, whereas that of fresh $Zr(OH)_4$ powder without a pre-milling process had a large and irregular size of 100 nm~1.5 ${\mu}m$. Additionally, modified heat treatment process was proposed to achieve nano-sized zirconia having a pure monoclinic phase. It was evident that two-step calcining process was effective in perfectly eliminating the tetragonal phase, having a small average particle of ~100 nm with good uniformity compared to the sample calcined by a single-step process, showing a large average particle size of ~300 nm with an irregular particle shape and a broad particle size distribution. The modified method is considered to be a promising process for nano-sized zirconia having a fully monoclinic phase.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.24-30
• /
• 2013

Today, the modification of carbon foam for high performance remains a major issue in the environment and energy industries. One promising way to solve this problem is the optimization of the pore structure for desired properties as well as for efficient performance. In this study, using a sol-gel process followed by carbonization in an inert atmosphere, hollow spherical carbon foam was prepared using resorcinol and formaldehyde precursors catalyzed by 4-aminobenzoic acid; the effect of carbonization temperature and re-immersion treatment on the pore structure and characteristics of the hollow spherical carbon foam was investigated. As the carbonization temperature increased, the porosity and average pore diameter were found to decrease but the compression strength and electrical conductivity dramatically increased in the temperature range of this study ($700^{\circ}C$ to $850^{\circ}C$). The significant differences of X-ray diffraction patterns obtained from the carbon foams carbonized under different temperatures implied that the degree of crystallinity greatly affects the characteristics of the carbon form. Also, the number of re-impregnations of carbon form in the resorcinol-formaldehyde resin was varied from 1 to 10 times, followed by re-carbonization at $800^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours under argon gas flow. As the number of re-immersion treatments increased, the porosity decreased while the compression strength improved by about four times when re-impregnation was repeated 10 times. These results imply the possibility of customizing the characteristics of carbon foam by controlling the carbonization and re-immersion conditions.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.210-214
• /
• 2012

Mass production-capable $Li_2MnSiO_4$ powder was synthesized for use as cathode material in state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are main powder sources for high tech-end digital electronic equipments and electric vehicles in the near future and they must possess high specific capacity and durable charge-discharge characteristics. Amorphous silicone was quite superior to crystalline one as starting material to fabricate silicone oxide with high reactivity between precursors of sol-gel type reaction intermediates. The amorphous silicone starting material also has beneficial effect of efficiently controlling secondary phases, most notably $Li_xSiO_x$. Lastly, carbon was coated on $Li_2MnSiO_4$ powders by using sucrose to afford some improved electrical conductivity. The carbon-coated $Li_2MnSiO_4$ cathode material was further characterized using SEM, XRD, and galvanostatic charge/discharge test method for morphological and electrochemical examinations. Coin cell was subject to 1.5-4.8 V at C/20, where 74 mAh/g was observed during primary discharge cycle.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.50-56
• /
• 2010

$La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}Co_{0.2}Fe_{0.8}O_{3-\delta}$ (LSCF) powders with different particle sizes, synthesized through a citrate complexation method and a gel-casting technique, are used to fabricate porous LSCF cathodes with graded microstructures via tape casting. To create porous electrodes with desired porosity and pore structures, graphite and starch are used as pore former for different layers of the graded cathode. Examination of the microstructures of the as-prepared LSCF cathode using an SEM revealed that both grain size and porosity changed gradually from the catalytically active layer (near the electrodeelectrolyte interface) to the current collection layer (near the electrode-interconnect interface). Impedance analysis showed that a 3-layer LSCF cathode with graded microstructures exhibited much-improved performance compared to that of a single-layer LSCF cathode, corresponding to interfacial resistance of 0.053, 0.11, and 0.27 $\Omega{\cdot}cm^2$ at 800, 750, and $700^{\circ}C$ respectively.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.209-213
• /
• 2014

The anti-melanogenic substance was isolated from the root of Angelica gigas Nakai by silica gel column chromatography, preparative HPLC and TLC. As a result of the structure analysis by mass, $^1H$-NMR, and $^{13}C$-NMR spectrometry, the compound was identified as demethylsuberosin. Demethylsuberosin reduced melanin contents of B16F1 melanoma cells in a dose-dependent manner and decreased to about 74% at a concentration $5{\mu}g/ml$. Demethylsuberosin inhibited the expression in microphthalmia associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase, tyrosinase related protein-1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase related protein-2 (TRP-2) in melanocytes. These results suggest that the whitening activity of demethylsuberosin may be due to the inhibition of the melanin synthesis by down-regulation of MITF, tyrosinase, TRP-1 and TRP-2 expression. Thus, our results provide evidence that demethylsuberosin might be useful as a potential skin-whitening agent.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.385-391
• /
• 2019

In the present study, vanadium oxide($V_2O_5$) films for electrochromic(EC) application are fabricated using sol-gel spin coating method. In order to optimize the EC performance of the $V_2O_5$ films, we adjust the amounts of polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) added to the solution at 0, 5, 10, and 15 wt%. Due to the effect of added PVP on the $V_2O_5$ films, the obtained films show increases of film thickness and crystallinity. Compared to other samples, optimum weight percent(10 wt%) of PVP led to superior EC performance with transmittance modulation(45.43 %), responding speeds(6.0 s at colored state and 6.2 s at bleached state), and coloration efficiency($29.8cm^2/C$). This performance improvement can be mainly attributed to the enhanced electrical conductivity and electrochemical activity due to the increased crystallinity and thickness of the $V_2O_5$ films. Therefore, $V_2O_5$ films fabricated with optimized amount of PVP can be a promising EC material for high-performance EC devices.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.201-207
• /
• 2021

Ni-Cr-Al metal-foam-supported catalysts for steam methane reforming (SMR) are manufactured by applying a catalytic Ni/Al₂O₃ sol-gel coating to powder alloyed metallic foam. The structure, microstructure, mechanical stability, and hydrogen yield efficiency of the obtained catalysts are evaluated. The structural and microstructural characteristics show that the catalyst is well coated on the open-pore Ni-Cr-Al foam without cracks or spallation. The measured compressive yield strengths are 2-3 MPa at room temperature and 1.5-2.2 MPa at 750℃ regardless of sample size. The specimens exhibit a weight loss of up to 9-10% at elevated temperature owing to the spallation of the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. However, the metal-foam-supported catalyst appears to have higher mechanical stability than ceramic pellet catalysts. In SMR simulations tests, a methane conversion ratio of up to 96% is obtained with a high hydrogen yield efficiency of 82%.