• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.833-837
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• 2015

Li-air batteries have a promising future for because of their high energy density, which could theoretically be equal to that of gasoline. However, substantial Li-air cell performance limitations exist, which are related to the air cathode. The cell discharge products are deposited on the surfaces of the porous carbon materials in the air electrode, which blocks oxygen from diffusing to the reaction sites. Hence, the real capacity of a Li-air battery is determined by the carbon air electrode, especially by the pore volume available for the deposition of the discharged products. In this study, a simple and fast method is reported for the large-scale synthesis of carbon nanoballs (CNBs) consisting of a highly mesoporous structure for Li-air battery cathodes. The CNBs were synthesized by the solution plasma process from benzene solution, without the need for a graphite electrode for carbon growth. The CNBs so formed were then annealed to improve their electrical conductivity. Structural characterization revealed that the CNBs exhibited both an pore structure and high conductivity.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 2007

A new characterization method using a porous plug model was proposed to determine the degree of sulfonation (DS) of ionomer binder with respect to the membrane used in membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) and to analyze the fraction of proton pathways through ionomer-catalyst combined electrodes in MEAs for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) was prepared to use a polymeric electrolyte and laboratory-made SPEEK solution (5wt.%, DMAc based) was added to catalyst slurry to form catalyst layers. In case of the SPEEK-based MEAs in this study, DS of ionomer binder for catalyst layers should be the same or higher than that of the SPEEK membrane used in the MEAs. The porous plug model suggested that most of protons were via the ionomer binder (${\sim}92.5%$) bridging the catalyst surface to the polymeric electrolyte, compared with the pathways through the alternative between the interstitial water on the surface of ionomer binder or catalyst and the ionomer binder (${\sim}7.3%$) and through only the interstitial water on the surface of ionomer or catalyst (${\sim}0.2%$) in the electrode of the MEA comprising of the sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membrane and the 5wt.% SPEEK ionomer binder. As a result, it was believed that the majority of proton at both electrodeds moves through ionomer binder until reaching to electrolyte membrane. The porous plug model of the electrodes of MEAs reemphasized the importance of well-optimized structure of ionomer binder and catalyst for fuel cells.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.421-424
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• 2000

Cartilage injuries are frequent nowadays. The previous surgical treatment of cartilage defect was limited. Another approach in the treatment of cartilage injuries is the use of reconstitute cartilage consisting of chondrocytes cultured in suitable biodegradable scaffolds. Current studies have demonstrated the compatibility of chondrocytes with different biomaterials and the chondrogenesis in various types of porous scaffolds. The cell ingrowth into the porous scaffolds is modulated by initial cell loading efficiency. Therefore, well-interconnected pore structure and even pore distribution of the scaffolds are essential for efficient cell seeding. According to our previous work, well-interconnected macroporous scaffolds can be prepared by gas-foaming/salt-leaching method using ammonium bicarbonate salt as porogen additives. In this work, primary chondrocytes were cultured in PLGA 65/35 scaffolds fabricated by using our method. Cells seeded in the scaffolds showed well distribution by agitated seeding method. Histochemical staining of proteoglycans present in the scaffolds was used to visualize the chondrocyte ingrowth in the scaffolds. At 3 weeks, the population of chondrocytes was increased for the most part of the scaffolds, and extra cellular matrix (ECM) secretion was increased as culture periods progressed.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.117-120
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• 2010

Materials used as fuel cell electrode should be light, high conductive, high surface area for reaction, catalytic surface and uniformity of porous structure. Nickel is widely used in electrode materials because it itself has catalytic properties. When used as electrode materials, nickel of only a few im on the surface may be sufficient to conduct the catalytic role. To manufacture the nickel with porous structure, Electroless nickel plating on carbon fiber be conducted. Because electroless nickel plating is possible to do uniform coating on the surface of substrate with complex shape. Acidic bath and alkaline bathe were used in electroless nickel plating bath, and pH and temperature of bath were controlled. The rate of electroless plating in alkaline bath was faster than that in acidic bath. As increasing pH and temperature, the rate of electrolee plating was increased. The content of phosphorous in nickel deposit was higher in acidic bath than that in alkaline bath. As a result, the uniform nickel deposit on porous carbon fiber was conducted.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.85-88
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• 2012

DSCs are based on a dye-adsorbed porous $TiO_2$ layer as a photo electrode [1]. Under the illumination, dye molecules are excited and electrons are produced. The injected electrons in the conduction band of $TiO_2$ may recombine with the electrolyte. To obtain high performance DSCs, it is essential to retard the recombination. The charge recombination can be reduced by forming core-shell structure. In this work, we investigated the core-shell structure with $Al_2O_3$ and MgO coating layer on the porous $TiO_2$ layer. We confirmed the photovoltaic properties by I-V characteristics. The current and the efficiency was improved. In addition to, Through decrease in the width of EIS arc, which is the sum of the interfacial charge transfer resistances of both electrodes, we can be indicated that the block effect.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.44 no.10
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• pp.574-579
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• 2007

Porous $Al_2O_3$ ceramics were prepared by the gelcasting foams method (a slurry foaming process) with acrylamide monomer. The foaming and gelation behavior was investigated with the parameters such as the type and concentration of surfactant, solid loading of slurry, and the concentrations of initiator and catalyst. Density, porosity, microstructure, and strength of the green and sintered samples were characterized. Of the four kinds of surfactants tested, Triton X-114 showed the highest foaming ability for the solid loading of 55-30 vol%. The gelation condition giving the idle time off min was found to set the foamed structure without significant bubble enlargement and liquid lamella thinning. The green samples were fairly strong and machinable and showed maximum strength of 2.4 MPa in diametral compression. The sintered samples showed densities of 10-36% theoretical (i.e. porosity 90-64%) with a highly interconnected network of spherical pores with sizes ranging from 30 to $600{\mu}m$. The pore size and connectivity increased but the cell strut thickness decreased with decreasing the solid loading. Flexural strength of 37.8-1.7 MPa was obtained for the sintered samples.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.218-227
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• 2016

The light harvesting efficiency is counted as an important factor in the power conversion efficiency of DSSCs. There are two measures to improve this parameter, including enhancing the dye-loading capacity and increasing the light trapping in the photoanode structure. In this paper, these tasks are addressed by introducing a macro-porous silicon (PSi) substrate as photoanode. The effects of the novel photoanode structure on the DSSC performance have been investigated by using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, photocurrent-voltage, UV-visible spectroscopy, reflectance spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results indicated that bigger porosity percentage of the PSi structure improved the both anti-reflective/light-trapping and dye-loading capacity properties. PSi based DSSCs own higher power conversion efficiency due to its remarkable higher photocurrent, open circuit voltage, and fill factor. Percent porosity of 64%, PSi(III), resulted in nearly 50 percent increment in power conversion efficiency compared with conventional DSSC. This paper showed that PSi can be a good candidate for the improvement of light harvesting efficiency in DSSCs. Furthermore, this study can be considered a valuable reference for more investigations in the design of multifunctional devices which will profit from integrated on-chip solar power.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.646-652
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• 2018

During a long-term operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs), the fuel cell performance may degrade due to severe agglomeration and dissolution of metal nanoparticles in the cathode. To enhance the electrochemical durability of metal catalysts and to prevent the particle agglomeration in PEMFC operation, this paper proposes a hybrid catalyst structure composed of PtCo alloy nanoparticles encapsulated by porous carbon layers. In the hybrid catalyst structure, the dissolution and migration of PtCo nanoparticles can be effectively prevented by protective carbon shells. In addition, $O_2$ can properly penetrate the porous carbon layers and react on the active Pt surface, which ensures high catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction. Although the hybrid catalyst has a much smaller active surface area due to the carbon encapsulation compared to a commercial Pt catalyst without a carbon layer, it has a much higher specific activity and significantly improved durability than the Pt catalyst. Therefore, it is expected that the designed hybrid catalyst concept will provide an interesting strategy for development of high-performance fuel cell catalysts.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.701-709
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• 2002

Aluminium foam material is highly porous material, which has the complicated cellular structure defined by randomly distributed pores in metallic matrix. This structure gives the characteristic properties which cannot be achieved by any other conventional processes. As the properties of aluminium foam material significantly depend on its porosity, a desired profile of properties can be tailored by changing the foam density. But various defects lead to undesirable effects on the mechanical properties. Mechanical properties are dependent on cell sizes and aspect ratios. Therefore, this paper presents the effects of various processing parameters of various parameters on the mechanical properties. For the sake of this, combined stirring was used to fabricate aluminum foam materials by the parameters. Compression and bending tests were performed to investigate the effects of cell sizes and aspect ratios on the mechanical properties.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.474-482
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• 2016

A Kelvin foam plate - widely used in the energy and transport industries as a lightweight structural material - was examined to estimate its Young's modulus using ultrasound. An isotropic tetrakaidecahedron foam structure was designed in SolidWorks and printed using 3D printer with an ABS plastic material. The 3D printed foam structure was used to build a foam plate with a 14 mm thickness ($50mm{\times}100mm$ in size) for the ultrasonic test. The Kelvin foam plate, a significantly porous medium, was completely filled with paraffin wax to enable the ultrasound to penetrate through the porous medium. The acoustic wave velocity of the wax-filled Kelvin foam was measured using the time of flight (TOF) method. Furthermore, the elastic modulus of the Kelvin foam was estimated based on an elastic structural model developed in this study. The Young's modulus of the produced Kelvin foam was observed to be approximately 3.4% of the bulk value of the constituent material (ABS plastic). This finding is consistent with experimental and theoretical results reported by previous studies.