• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.429-429
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• 2016

Organolead halide perovskite have attracted much attention over the past three years as the third generation photovoltaic due to simple fabrication process via solution process and their great photovoltaic properties. Many structures such as mesoporous scaffold, planar heterojunction or 1-D TiO2 or ZnO nanorod array structures have been studied to enhance performances. And the photovoltaic performances and carrier transport properties were studied depending on the cell structures and shape of perovskite film. For example, the perovskite cell based on TiO2/ZnO nanorod electron transport materials showed higher electron mobility than the mesoporous structured semiconductor layer due to 1-D direct pathway for electron transport. However, the reason for enhanced performance was not fully understood whether either the shape of perovskite or the structure of TiO2/ZnO nanorod scaffold play a dominant role. In this regard, for a clear understanding of the shape/structure of perovskite layer, we applied anodized aluminum oxide material which is good candidate as the inactive scaffold that does not influence the charge transport. We fabricated vertical one dimensional (1-D) nanostructured methylammonium lead mixed halide perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3-xClx) solar cell by infiltrating perovskite in the pore of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO). AAO template, one of the common nanostructured materials with one dimensional pore and controllable pore diameters, was successfully fabricated by anodizing and widening of the thermally evaporated Al film on the compact TiO2 layer. Using AAO as a scaffold for perovskite, we obtained 1-D shaped perovskite absorber, and over 15% photo conversion efficiency was obtained. I-V measurement, photoluminescence, impedance, and time-limited current collection were performed to determine vertically arrayed 1-D perovskite solar cells shaped in comparison with planar heterojunction and mesoporous alumina structured solar cells. Our findings lead to reveal the influence of the shape of perovskite layer on photoelectrical properties.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.359-366
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• 2012

Zn-Air energy storage cell is an attractive type of batteries due to its theoretical gravimetric energy density, cost-effective structure and environmental-friendly characteristics. The chargeability is the most critical in various industrial applications such as smart portable device, electric vehicle, and power storage system. Thus, it is necessary to reduce large overpotential of oxygen reduction/evolution reaction, the irreversibility of Zn anode, and carbonation in alkaline electrolyte. In this review, we try to introduce recent studies and developments of bi-functional air cathode, enhanced charge efficiency via modification of Zn anode structure, and blocking side reactions applying hybrid organic-aqueous electrolyte for high power density rechargeable Zn-Air energy storage cells.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.291-294
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• 2010

Recently, the design of the multi-layered $TiO_2$ electrodes has been attracted for high efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. In this study, conversion efficiency of the multi-layered $TiO_2$ electrodes was investigated by using small and large $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. Nanostructured $TiO_2$ powders were prepared by $TiCl_4$ hydrolysis. Differently sized $TiO_2$ powders of which the average diameter was 7.6 and 18 nm were obtained by controlled calcination temperature. It was confirmed that multi-layered $TiO_2$ electrodes significantly influence short-circuit current (Jsc) and also show higher conversion efficiency than dye-sensitized solar cells consisting of each particles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.1-1
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• 2011

We developed a new generalized synthetic procedure, called as "heat-up process," to produce uniform-sized nanocrystals of many transition metals and oxides without a size selection process. We were able to synthesize uniform magnetite nanocrystals as much as 1 kilogram-scale from the thermolysis of Fe-oleate complex. Clever combination of different nanoscale materials will lead to the development of multifunctional nano-biomedical platforms for simultaneous targeted delivery, fast diagnosis, and efficient therapy. In this presentation, I would like to present some of our group's recent results on the designed fabrication of multifunctional nanostructured materials based on uniform-sized magnetite nanoparticles and their medical applications. Uniform ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles of <3 nm were synthesized by thermal decomposition of iron-oleate complex in the presence of oleyl alcohol. These ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles exhibited good T1 contrast effect. In in vivo T1 weighted blood pool magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), iron oxide nanoparticles showed longer circulation time than commercial gadolinium complex, enabling high resolution imaging. We used 80 nm-sized ferrimagnetic iron oxide nanocrystals for T2 MRI contrast agent for tracking transplanted pancreatic islet cells and single-cell MR imaging. We reported on the fabrication of monodisperse magnetite nanoparticles immobilized with uniform pore-sized mesoporous silica spheres for simultaneous MRI, fluorescence imaging, and drug delivery. We synthesized hollow magnetite nanocapsules and used them for both the MRI contrast agent and magnetic guided drug delivery vehicle.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.3272-3278
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• 2010

Synthesis and structural characterization of peripherally ferrocene-substituted zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc-Fc) were carried out for efficient far-red/near-IR performance in dye-sensitized nanostructured $TiO_2$ solar cells. Incorporating ferrocene into phthalocyanine strongly improved the dye solubility in polar organic solvents, and reduced surface aggregation due to the steric effect of bulky ferrocene substituents. The involvement of electron transfer reaction pathways between ferrocene and phthalocyanine in ZnPc-Fc was evidenced by completely quenched fluorescence from S1 state (< 0.08% vs ZnPc). Strong absorption bands at 542 and 682 nm were observed in the transient absorption spectroscopy of ZnPc-Fc in DMSO, which was excited at a 670 nm laser pulse with a 15 ps full width at half maximum. Also, the excited state absorption signals at 450 - 600 and 750 - 850 nm appeared from the formation of charge separated state of phthalocyanine's anion. The lifetime of the charge separate state in ZnPc-Fc was determined to be $170{\pm}8$ ps, which was almost 17 times shorter than that of the ZnPc.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.277-285
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• 2016

There is a growing demand for simple, cost-effective, and accurate analytical tools to determine the concentrations of biological and environmental compounds. In this study, a stable electroactive thin film of cobalt hexacyanoferrate (Cohcf) was prepared as an in situ chemical precipitant using electrostatic adsorption of $Co^{2+}$ on a silicate sol-gel matrix (SSG)-modified indium tin oxide electrode pre-adsorbed with $[Fe(CN)_6]^{3-}$ ions. The modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical techniques. Electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine on the modified electrode was studied. An electrochemical sensor for hydrazine was constructed on the SSG-Cohcf-modified electrode. The oxidation peak currents showed a linear relationship with the hydrazine concentration. This study provides insight into the in situ growth and stability behavior of Cohcf nanostructures and has implications for the design and development of advanced electrode materials for fuel cells and sensor applications.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.50
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• pp.17.1-17.9
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• 2020

Recent advances in fabrication have enabled radial-junction architectures for cost-effective and high-performance optoelectronic devices. Unlike a planar PN junction, a radial-junction geometry maximizes the optical interaction in the three-dimensional (3D) structures, while effectively extracting the generated carriers via the conformal PN junction. In this paper, we report characterizations of radial PN junctions that consist of p-type Si micropillars created by deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) and an n-type layer formed by phosphorus gas diffusion. We use electron-beam induced current (EBIC) microscopy to access the 3D junction profile from the sidewall of the pillars. Our EBIC images reveal uniform PN junctions conformally constructed on the 3D pillar array. Based on Monte-Carlo simulations and EBIC modeling, we estimate local carrier separation/collection efficiency that reflects the quality of the PN junction. We find the EBIC efficiency of the pillar array increases with the incident electron beam energy, consistent with the EBIC behaviors observed in a high-quality planar PN junction. The magnitude of the EBIC efficiency of our pillar array is about 70% at 10 kV, slightly lower than that of the planar device (≈ 81%). We suggest that this reduction could be attributed to the unpassivated pillar surface and the unintended recombination centers in the pillar cores introduced during the DRIE processes. Our results support that the depth-dependent EBIC approach is ideally suitable for evaluating PN junctions formed on micro/nanostructured semiconductors with various geometry.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.345-350
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• 2018

Nanomaterials have considerable potential to solve several key challenges in various electrochemical devices, such as fuel cells. However, the use of nanoparticles in high-temperature devices like solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is considered problematic because the nanostructured surface typically prepared by deposition techniques may easily coarsen and thus deactivate, especially when used in high-temperature redox conditions. Herein we report the synthesis of a self-regenerated Pd metal nanoparticle on the perovskite oxide anode surface for SOFCs that exhibit self-recovery from their degradation in redox cycle and $CH_4$ fuel running. Using Pd-doped perovskite, $La(Sr)Fe(Mn,Pd)O_3$, as an anode, fairly high maximum power densities of 0.5 and $0.2cm^{-2}$ were achieved at 1,073 K in $H_2$ and $CH_4$ respectively, despite using thick electrolyte support-type cell. Long-term stability was also examined in $CH_4$ and the redox cycle, when the anode is exposed to air. The cell with Pd-doped perovskite anode had high tolerance against re-oxidation and recovered the behavior of anodic performance from catalytic degradation. This recovery of power density can be explained by the surface segregation of Pd nanoparticles, which are self-recovered via re-oxidation and reduction. In addition, self-recovery of the anode by oxidation treatment was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.244-260
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• 2018

Issues in the electrical characterization of semiconducting photoanodes in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell, such as the cell geometry dependence, scan rate dependence in DC measurements, and the frequency dependence in AC measurements, are addressed, using the example of a $TiO_2$ photoanode. Contrary to conventional constant phase element (CPE) modeling, the capacitive behavior associated with Mott-Schottky (MS) response was successfully modeled by a Havriliak-Negami (HN) capacitance function-which allowed the determination of frequency-independent Schottky capacitance parameters to be explained by a trapping mechanism. Additional polarization can be successfully described by the parallel connection of a Bisquert transmission line (TL) model for the diffusion-recombination process in the nanostructured $TiO_2$ electrode. Instead of shunt CPEs generally employed for the non-ideal TL feature, TL models with ideal shunt capacitors can describe the experimental data in the presence of an infinite-length Warburg element as internal interfacial impedance - a characteristic suggested to be a generic feature of many electrochemical cells. Fully parametrized impedance spectra finally allow in-depth physicochemical interpretations.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.311-347
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• 2012

Infections are caused due to the infiltration of tissue or organ space by infectious bacterial agents, among which Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are clinically most relevant. While current treatment modalities are in general quite effective, several bacterial strains exhibit high resistance to them, leading to complications and additional surgeries, thereby increasing the patient morbidity rates. Titanium dioxide is a celebrated photoactive material and has been utilized extensively in antibacterial functions, making it a leading infection mitigating agent. In view of the property amelioration in materials via nanofication, free-standing titania nanofibers (pure and nominally doped) and nanocoatings (on Ti and Ti6Al4V implants) were fabricated and evaluated to assess their efficacy to mitigate the viability and growth of S. aureus upon brief (30 s) activation by a portable hand-held infrared laser. In order to gauge the effect of exposure and its correlation with the antibacterial activities, both isolated (only titania substrate) and simultaneous (substrate submerged in the bacterial suspension) activations were performed. The bactericidal efficacy of the IR-activated $TiO_2$ nanocoatings was also tested against E. coli biofilms. Toxicity study was conducted to assess any potential harm to the tissue cells in the presence of photoactivated materials. These investigations showed that the photoactivated titania nanofibers caused greater than 97% bacterial necrosis of S. aureus. In the case of titania-coated Ti-implant surrogates, the bactericidal efficacy exceeded 90% in the case of pre-activation and was 100% in the case of simultaneous-activation. In addition to their high bactericidal efficacy against S. aureus, the benignity of titania nanofibers and nanocoatings towards tissue cells during in-vivo exposure was also demonstrated, making them safe for use in implant devices.