• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.839-844
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• 2008

$TiO_2$ is an environment-friendly semiconducting material, and it has photocatalytic and hydrophilic effect. There are a lot of reports on the photocatalytic characteristics of $TiO_2$, such as organic pollutants resolving, anti-bacterial, and self-purification material. In this paper, $TiO_2$ micron-sized powders were deposited on the glass by room temperature powder spray in vacuum process, so called aerosol deposition (AD), and nano-grained $TiO_2$ photocatalytic thin films were fabricated. The thickness of the films were controlled by changing the number of deposition cycle. Morphologies and characteristics of the AD-$TiO_2$ thin films were examined by SEM, TEM, XRD, and UV-Visible Spectrophotometer. As the thickness of $TiO_2$ films increased, surface roughness increased. By this increment, the reaction area between film and pollutant was enlarged, resulting in better photocatalytic property.

• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.291-296
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• 2021

Recently, there has been increasing demand for advancing photocatalytic techniques that are capable of the efficient removal of organic pollutants in water. TiO₂, a representative photocatalytic material, has been commonly used as an effective photocatalyst, but it is rather expensive and an alternative is required that will fulfill the requirements of both high performing photocatalytic activities and cost-effectiveness. In this work, ZnO, which is more cost effective than TiO₂, was synthesized by using a microreactor-assisted nanomaterials (MAN) process. The process enabled a continuous production of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with a flower-like structure with high uniformity. In order to resolve the limited light absorption of ZnO arising from its large band gap, Ag NPs were uniformly decorated on the flower-like ZnO surface by using the MAN process. The plasmonic effect of Ag NPs led to a broadening of the absorption range toward visible wavelengths. Ag NPs also helped inhibit the electron-hole recombination by drawing electrons generated from the light absorption of the flower-like ZnO NPs. As a result, the Ag-ZnO nanocomposites showed improved photocatalytic activities compared with the flower-like ZnO NPs. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated through the degradation of methylene blue (MB) solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the successful synthesis of Ag-ZnO nanocomposites with high uniformity. Ag-ZnO nanocomposites synthesized via the MAN process offer the potential for cost-effective and scalable production of next-generation photocatalytic materials.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.2910-2916
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• 2012

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanorods were prepared by a single precursor thermal decomposition (SPTD) method. The formation of CdS nanorods and their structure, morphology and elemental composition were studied by means of FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM and EDAX analysis. Photoluminescence (PL) and lifetime measurements were recorded to study the luminescence properties of the material. The PL spectrum of the CdS nanorods showed one broad peak and four shoulders and the cause for this emission was discussed. The PL emissions from the band edge and deep trap state of the CdS nanorods were studied by lifetime measurements. Further, the synthesized CdS nanorods showed an increase in efficiency of photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB). The increase in the photocatalytic activity was attributed to the mixed phase of the CdS nanorods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.374.2-374.2
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• 2016

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere are harmful materials which influence indoor air environment and human health. Titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) is photocatalyst extensively used in degradation of organic compound. To improve the photocatalytic activity in the visible light region, doping with non-metals element or loading noble metals on the surface of $TiO_2$ is generally proposed. In this study, N- doped $TiO_2$ having photocatalytic activity in visible light region was attached noble metal such as Pt, Ag, Pd, Au by coupling method. Catalytic activities of Noble metal coupled $N-TiO_2$ powders were evaluated by the improvement of their photocatalytic activities and the degradation of VOC gas. A UV-Vis spectrophotometer was used to measure the diffuse reflectance spectra of coupled $N-TiO_2$ sample. The photocatlytic activities of as prepared samples were characterized by the decoloration of aqueous MB solution under Xenon light source (UV and visible light). To measure of decomposition VOCs, ethylbenzene was selected for target VOC material and the concentration was monitored under UVLED irradiation in a closed chamber system. Adjusting the initial concentration of 10~12 ppm, to evaluate the removal characteristics by using the coupled $N-TiO_2$.

• Carbon letters
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• v.18
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• pp.30-36
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• 2016

Well-dispersed Ag₃VO₄ nanoparticles @polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were synthesized by an easily controlled, template-free method as a photo-catalyst for the degradation of methylene blue. Their structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties have been studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with rapid energy dispersive analysis of X-ray, photoluminescence, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The characterization procedures revealed that the obtained material is PAN nanofibers decorated by Ag₃VO₄ nanoparticles. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue investigated in an aqueous solution under irradiation showed 99% degradation of the dye within 75 min. Finally, the antibacterial performance of Ag₃VO₄ nanoparticles @PAN composite nanofibers was experimentally verified by the destruction of Escherichia coli. These results suggest that the developed inexpensive and functional nanomaterials can serve as a non-precious catalyst for environmental applications.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.136-140
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• 2008

$TiO_2$ photocatalyst has been known to exhibit a notable disinfecting activity against a broad spectrum of microorganisms. A lot of commercial $TiO_2$ photocatalyst products have been developed for antimicrobial purposes. However, a standard method has not yet been proposed for use in testing antimicrobial activity. In this study, we developed a $TiO_2$ photocatalytic adhesion test method with film as the standard testing method for the evaluation of antimicrobial activity. This method was devised by modifying the previous antimicrobial products test method, which has been widely used, and considering the characteristics of $TiO_2$ photocatalytic reaction. The apparatus for testing the antimicrobial activity was composed of a Black Light Blue (BLB) lamp as UV-A light source, a Petri dish as the cover material, and a polypropylene film as the adhesion film. The standard $TiO_2$ photocatalyst sample, Degussa P25 $TiO_2$ - coated glass, could only be used once. The optimal initial concentration of the microorganism, proper light intensity, and light irradiation time were determined to be $10^6$ CFU/mL, 1.0 mW/$cm^2$, and 3 hr, respectively, for testing and evaluating antimicrobial activity on the $TiO_2$ surface.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.300-306
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• 2006

Photocatalyst deposited beads were prepared by fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition (FB-CVD) under various operating conditions of substrates, bed temperature, pressure, and oxygen concentration. Photocatalytic degradation of acetaldehyde was carried out to determine the optimum operating condition of prepared photocatalysts. They were characterized by using FE-SEM, XRD, and XPS. From the FE-SEM photographs, it was found that the surfaces of titania-coated beads were covered with crystal form, particle form, and slick form of titania on alumina, silica-gel, and glass beads, respectively. From the result of photocatalytic degradation of acetaldehyde, it was found that prepared titania/ alumina beads at $600^{\circ}C$, 5 torr showed superior performance to others, and oxygen flow rate has no significant effect.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.178-183
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• 2014

Recently, various type of nanomaterials such as nanorod, nanowire, nanotube and their core/shell nanostructures have attracted much attention in photocatalyst due to their unique properties. Among them, Type-II core/shell heterostructures have extensively studied because it has exhibited improved electrical and optical properties against their single-component nanostructure. Such structures are expected to offer high absorption efficiency and fast charge transport due to their stepwised energetic combination and large internal surface area. Thus, it has been considered as potential candidates for high efficient photocatalytic activity. In this work, we introduce a novel chemical conversion process to synthesize Type-II ZnO/ZnSe core/shell heterostructures. A plausible conversion mechanism to ZnO/ZnSe core/shell heterostructres was proposed based on SEM, XRD, TEM and XPS analysis. The ZnO/ZnSe heterostructures exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity toward the decomposition of RhB dye compared to the ZnO nanorod arrays due to enhanced light absorption and the type-II cascade band structure.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.291-296
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• 2016

Application of photocatalytic nanoparticles has been recently gaining an increased attention as air purifying material for sustainable urban development. The present work reports the photocatalytic removal of gaseous phase nitrogen oxides ($NO_x$) using $TiO_2$-coated zeolite to be applied as a filter media for the urban green infrastructure such as raingardens. The $TiO_2$-coated zeolite was synthesized by simple wet chemistry method and tested in a continuous-flow photo-reactor for its removal efficiency of $NO_x$ under different conditions of the weight percentage of $TiO_2$ coated on the zeolite, and gas retention time. The removal efficiency of $NO_x$ in general increased as the weight percentage of $TiO_2$ coated on the zeolite increased up to 15-20%. Greater than 90% of $NO_x$ was removed at a retention time of one minute using the $TiO_2$-coated zeolite ($TiO_2$ weight percentage = 20%). Overall, $TiO_2$-coated zeolite showed greater efficiency of $NO_x$ removal compared to $TiO_2$ powder probably by providing additional reaction sites from the porous structure of zeolite. It was presumed that the degradation of $NO_x$ is attributed to both the physical adsorption and photocatalytic oxidation that could simultaneously occur at the catalyst surface.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.316-318
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• 2004

In recent years, plastic waste has been recognized as a worldwide environmental issue. To solve the disposal problem of the plastic waste, alternative treatment such as the use of biodegradable plastic(polybutylene succinate: PBS) is indeed highly in demand due to its merit of PBS buried in soil decomposed into carbon dioxide and water. In the present study, for the production of further functional PBS with TiO$_2$ as photocatalyst, which shows the decomposition of detrimental organic compound and pollutant under ultraviolet irradiation, we attempted to prepare photocatalytic TiO$_2$ coatings on PBS substrate by HVOF and plasma spraying techniques under various conditions using three kinds of agglomerated powders (P200: 200nm, P30: 30nm, P7: 7nm). The microstructures of coatings were characterized with SEM and XRD analysis, and the photocatalytic efficiency of coatings was evaluated through the photo degradation of gaseous acetaldehyde. Therefore, such functional TiO$_2$-Plastic composite material is expected to considerably contribute to the reduction of aggravated environmental problem.