• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.559-564
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• 2019

Hierarchical $ZnCo_2O_4$ hollow nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and subsequent heat-treatment process. The spinning solution containing polystyrene (PS) nanobeads was electrospun to nanofibers. During heat-treatment process, PS nanobeads in the composite were decomposed and therefore generated numerous pores uniformly in the structure, which facilitated the heat transfer and gas penetration into the structure. The resulting hierarchical $ZnCo_2O_4$ hollow nanofibers were applied as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The discharge capacity of the nanofibers was $815mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ ($646mA\;h\;cm^{-3}$) after the 300th cycle at a high current density of $1.0A\;g^{-1}$. However, $ZnCo_2O_4$ nanopowders showed the discharge capacity of $487mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ ($450mA\;h\;cm^{-3}$) after 300th cycle. The excellent lithium ion storage property of the hierarchical $ZnCo_2O_4$ hollow nanofibers was attributed to the synergetic effects of the hollow nanofiber structure and the $ZnCo_2O_4$ nanocrystals composing the shell. The hierarchical hollow nanofiber structure introduced in this study can be extended to various metal oxides for various applications, including energy storage.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.191-195
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• 2017

The microstructures of nonwoven fabric with and without nanofibers used as a filter for air purification type mask were investigated using scanning electron microscope. Moreover, we proposed a new mask design which is effective in the improvement of the fine dust blocking property. When comparing to nonwoven fabrics of which an average diameter was $25{\mu}m$, the nanofibers formed by the electrospinning process had a tight mesh structure arranged irregularly with a relatively large specific surface area, which could be associated with their much smaller diameter ranging from 25 to 120 nm. Such a prominent structural feature at nanofibers led to mechanical adsorption of fine particles, resulting in enhancement of filtering behavior maintaining high permeability. In addition to the excellent performance of the mask filter, wearing the mask properly is expected to maximize the blocking property of fine dust. To meet such a requirement, a new mask design that can be closely attached to the face in order to effectively block fine dust entering the gap between the face and the mask.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.307-312
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• 2009

The fabrication of PHBV nanofibers containing various plant polyphenols by electrospinning has been examined. It has been found that the average diameters of fibers increased by the adding of polyphenols. The resulting fibers exhibited a uniform diameter ranging from 340 to 450 nm. As the concentration of polyphenols increased, the diameter of fibers increased due to the hydrogen bonding interaction between the ester groups of PHBV and hydroxyl groups of polyphenols. The interaction between PHBV and polyphenols, which forms a complex together in solution, was verifed by UV measurement. ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed the existence of the hydrogen bonding interaction. The semicrystalline structure of the PHBV nanofiber was observed from XRD pattern. The crystallinity of PHBV nanofibers was increased by the adding of polyphenols. PHBV nanofibers containing polyphenols showed superior antimicrobial activities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1297-1308
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• 2011

This research investigates the application of ZnO (zinc oxide) nanoparticles and $TiO_2$ (titanium dioxide) nanoparticles to polypropylene nonwoven fabrics via an electrospinning technique for the development of textile materials that can decompose harmful gases. To fabricate uniform ZnO nanocomposite fibers, two types of ZnO nanoparticles were applied. Colloidal $TiO_2$ nanoparticles were chosen to fabricate $TiO_2$ nano- composite fibers. ZnO/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and $TiO_2$/PVA nanocomposite fibers were electrospun under a variety of conditions that include various feed rates, electric voltages, and capillary diameters. The morphology of electrospun nanocomposite fibers was examined with a field-emission scanning electron micro- scope and a transmission electron microscope. Decomposition efficiency of gaseous materials (formaldehyde, ammonia, toluene, benzene, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide) by nanocomposite fiber webs with 3wt% nano-particles (ZnO or $TiO_2$) and 7$g/m^2$ web area density was assessed. This study shows that ZnO nanoparticles in colloid were more suitable for fabricating nanocomposite fibers in which nanoparticles are evenly dispersed than in powder. A heat treatment was applied to water-soluble PVA nanofiber webs in order to stabilize the electrospun nanocomposite fibrous structure against dissolution in water. ZnO/PVA and $TiO_2$/PVA nanofiber webs exhibited a range of degradation efficiency for different types of gases. For nitrogen dioxide, the degradation efficiency was 92.2% for ZnO nanocomposite fiber web and 87% for $TiO_2$ nanocomposite fiber web after 20 hours of UV light irradiation. The results indicate that ZnO/PVA and $TiO_2$/PVA nano- composite fiber webs have possible uses in functional textiles that can decompose harmful gases.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.458-464
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• 2008

A successful scaffold should have a highly porous structure and good mechanical stability. High porosity and appropriate pore size provide structural matrix for initial cell attachment and proliferation enabling the exchange of nutrients between the scaffold and environment. In this paper the highly porous scaffold of poly(${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) electrospun nanofibers could be manufactured with an auxiliary electrode and chemical blowing agent (BA) under several processing conditions, such as the concentration of PCL solution, weight percent of a chemical blowing agent, and decomposition time of a chemical blowing agent. To attain stable electrospinnability and blown nanofiber mats having high microporosity and large pore, a processing condition, 8wt% of PCL solution and 0.5wt% of a chemical blowing agent under $100^{\circ}C$ and decomposition time of $2{\sim}3\;s$, was used. The growth characteristic of human dermal fibroblasts cells cultured in the mats showed the good adhesion and proliferation on the blown mat compared to a normal electrospun mat.

• Electronic Materials Letters
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• v.18
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• pp.198-204
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• 2022

The design of the material synthesis process is important because this process can be applied to a variety of materials and used in different applications. Herein, we selectively oxidized two types of metals in a carbon nanofiber (CNF) support and then left only one type of metal on a porous support using selective etching. Ni and MgO were formed in the CNFs through annealing, and then MgO was etched with an HCl etchant. In the selective oxidation process, two types of metal were selected by considering the oxidation tendency between the metal and C. Ni was selected as an oxidant of C, and Mg was selected as a reductant of C. The two metals with significantly different oxidation tendencies were predicted to have different reactivity with the etchant, making them suitable for selective etching. The effectiveness of selective etching was verified by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In EDS, the atomic concentration of Mg was selectively reduced. In TEM, the formation of a porous structure was confirmed.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.495-498
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• 2008

Photocatalytic water splitting into $H_2$ and $O_2$ using semiconductors has received much attention, especially for its potential application to direct production of $H_2$ for clean energy from water utilizing solar light energy. Since the report of Fujishima and Honda on the water splitting by photoelectrochemical cells, numerous different semiconducting materials have been used as photocatalysts for hydrogen generation from water. Among them, platinized titania significantly accelerates hydrogen production from water. For geometrical improvement of $TiO_2$ particle, porous $TiO_2$ structure was proposed and studied such as nanofiber, nanorod and nototubes. This research focuses on finding out the optimum temperature and electrolyte to produce $H_2$ by solar water splitting.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.1.1-1.1
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• 2011

Electrospinning has known to be very effective tool for production of versatile one-dimensional (1D) nanostructured materials such as nanofibers, nanorod, and nanotubes and for easily assembly to two-, three-dimensional(2D, 3D) nanostructures such as thin film, membrane, and nonwoven web, etc. We have studied on the electrospinning technology for novel energy storage and conversion materials such as advanced separator, dye sensitized solar cell, supercapacitor, etc. High heat-resistive nanofibrous membrane as a new separator for future lithium ion polymer battery was prepared by electrospinning of PVdF based composite solution. The novel nanofibrous composite nonwovens have tensile strength of above 50 MPa and modulus of above 1.3 GPa. The internal structure of the electrospun composite nanofiber with a diameter of few hundreds nanometer were composed of core-shell nanostructure. And also electrospun $TiO_2$ nanorod/nanosphere based dye-sensitized solar cells with high efficiency are successfully prepared. Some battery performance will be introduced.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.255-266
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• 2008

In tissue engineering, scaffolds play an important role in the growth of cells to 3-D organs or tissues. For the success of tissue engineering, they should be mimicked to meet the requirements of natural extracellular matrix (ECM) in the body, such as mechanical properties, adhesiveness, porosity, biodegradability, and growth factor release, etc. Contrary to other materials, polymeric materials are adequate to engineer scaffolds for tissue engineering because controlling the structure and the ratio of components and designing various shapes and size are possible. In this review, the importance, major characteristics, processes, and recent examples of polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering applications are discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.84-87
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• 2003

Carbon-nitrogen (CN) nanofibers have been produced using a water cooled hot isostatic pressure (HIP) apparatus. The CN nanofibers were grown in random with the diameter of about 100-150nm and length over $10{\mu}m$. Emission properties of CN nanofibers were investigated for spacing, between anode and cathode, variation. Then turn-on fields about $1.4V/{\mu}m$. The time reliability and light emission test were carried out for above 100 hours. We suggest that CN nanofibers can be possibly applied to high brightness flat lamp because of low turn-on field and time reliability.