• Journal of Institute of Convergence Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2022

Polyacrylonitrile was synthesized through suspension polymerization and then sieved to obtain spherical beads with a size of 200~510 ㎛. PAN was copolymerized with 2 mol% MMA monomer which is known to promote cyclization and crosslinking of nitrile group. The resonance cyclization reaction of the nitrile group in the synthesized PAN beads was observed near 170℃ with thermal analysis and FT-IR. The reaction conversion of the nitrile group in spherical beads was 23% during heat treatment, which was lower than that of the well-oriented PAN fiber used as a precursor of carbon fiber. This is because the stereo-regularity of molecular chains in the form of a random coil (spherical bead) is much lower than that of PAN fiber. It was confirmed that the compressive strength of the spherical PAN bead was greatly improved through the resonance cyclization and shrinkage according to the heat treatment, and it was also observed that the pores in PAN beads were formed after the heat treatment.

• Journal of Institute of Convergence Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2013

Spherical active carbon materials have been used for the removal of pollutants in the area of food processing, water treatment, air purification, oral administration. Moreover, they are now expected to make an epoch in the areas of electronics, life science, environmental technology, and so on due to their superior physical properties. Carbon particles should be requested for the edgeless spherical shapes in order to minimize the loss due to the abrasion during the process and/or practical use, but the carbon particles manufactured from petroleum-based pitch do not meet these needs. Nowadays, thus, the spherical active carbon particles carbonized from various spherical polymer beads are studied with thermoplastic and/or thermosetting polymers. In this paper, the synthesis of spherical phenolic beads and furan beads, which are thermosetting polymers, and their carbonization techniques are examined.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.618-623
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• 2020

Spherical phenolic resin beads were synthesized by suspension polymerization at 98 ℃ from phenol, ortho-cresol, formaldehyde, with triethylamine as a basic catalyst, and spherical phenol-cresol copolymer resin beads with relatively low crosslinking density as well. Phenol reacts with formaldehyde at two ortho- and one para- positions to form a crosslinked structure, but ortho-cresol instead of phenol reduces the crosslinking density during copolymerization due to the methyl group at a ortho- position. As a result, spherical phenol-cresol copolymer beads showed more shrinkage with decreasing apparent density compared to the spherical phenol beads when carbonized at 700 ℃ under nitrogen. As the molecular weight of the cresol oligomer increases, the pore radius of the carbonized copolymer beads decreases, which is consistent with the density and shrinkage results. It was confirmed that the characteristics such as density decrease, shrinkage, yield and so on during carbonization can be controlled by controlling the degree of crosslinking of the spherical phenolic resin particles with cresol.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.277-281
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• 2006

Spherical micro silica sol-gel immobilized enzyme beads were prepared in an emulsion system using cyclohexanone and Triton-X 114. The beads were used for the in situ immobilization of transaminase, trypsin, and lipase. Immobilization during the sol to gel phase transition was investigated to determine the effect of the emulsifying solvents, surfactants, and mixing process on the formation of spherical micro sol-gel enzyme beads and their catalytic activity. The different combinations of sol-gel precursors affected both activity and the stability of the enzymes, which suggests that each enzyme has a unique preference for the silica gel matrix dependent upon the characteristics of the precursors. The resulting enzyme-entrapped micronsized beads were characterized and utilized for several enzyme reaction cycles. These results indicated improved stability compared to the conventional crushed form silica sol-gel immobilized enzyme systems.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.280-285
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• 1996

The sustained release dosage form which delivers melatonin (MT) in a circadian fashion over 8 h is of clinical value for those who have disordered circadian rhythms because of its short halflife. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the gelling properties and release characteristics of alginate beads varying multivalent cationic species $(Al^{+++}, \; Ba^{++}, \; Ca^{++}, \; Mg^{++}, \; Fe^{+++}, \; Zn^{++})$. The surface morphologies of Ca- and Ba-alginate beads were also studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM). MT, an indole amide pineal hormone was used as a model drug. The $Ca^{++}, \; Ba^{++}, \; Zn^{++}, \; Al^{++}\; and\; Fe^{+++}\; ions\; except\; Mg^{++}$ induced gelling of sodium alginate. The strength of multivalent cationic alginate beads was as follows: $Al^{+++}\llFe^{+++} the induced hydrogel beads were very fragile and less spherical. Fe-alginate beads were also fragile but stronger compared to Al-alginate beads. Ba-alginate beads had a similar gelling strength but was less spherical when compared to Ca-alginate beads. Zn-alginate beads were weaker than Ca- and Ba-alginate beads. Very crude and rough crystals of Ba- and Ca-alginate beads at higher magnifications were observed. However, the type and shape of rough crystals of Ba- and Ca-alginate beads were quite different. No significant differences in release profiles from MT-loaded multivalent cationic alginate beads were observed in the gastric fluid. Most drugs were continuously released upto 80% for 5 h, mainly governed by the passive diffusion without swelling and disintegrating the alginate beads. In the intestinal fluid, there was a significant difference iq the release profiles of MT-loaded multivalent cationic alginate beads. The release rate of Ca-alginate beads was faster when compared to other multivalent cationic alginate beads and was completed for 3 h. Ba-alginate beads had a very long lag time (7 h) and then rapidly released thereafter. MT was continuously released from Feand Zn-alginate beads with initial burstout release. It is assumed that the different release rofiles of multivalent cationic alginate beads resulted from forces of swelling and disintegration of alginate beads in addition to passive diffusion, depending on types of multivalent ions, gelling strength and drug solubility. It was estimated that 0.2M $CaCl_2$ concentration was optimal in terms of trapping efficiency of MT and gelling strength of Ca-alginate beads. In the gastric fluid, Ca-alginate beads gelled at 0.2 M $CaCl_2$ concentration had higher bead strength, resulting in the most retarded release when compared to other concentrations. In the intestinal fluid, the decreased release of Ca-alginate beads prepared at 0.2 M $CaCl_2$ concentration was also observed. However, release profiles of Ca-alginate beads were quite similar regardless of $CaCl_2$ concentration. Either too low or high $CaCl_2$ concentrations may not be useful for gelling and curing of alginate beads. Optimal $CaCl_2$ concentrations must be decided in terms of trapping efficiency and release and profiles of drug followed by curing time and gelling strength of alginate beads.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.415-422
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• 2019

Retroreflection of vehicle headlights, as induced by spherical glass beads, is a key optical phenomenon that provides road-surface markings with greatly enhanced visibility, thus better securing a driver's safety in the nighttime as well as in unclear daytime. Retroreflectance of glass beads is a quite sensitive function of their refractive index, so that measurement of the refractive index of glass specifically in the shape of spherical beads needs to be performed within a reasonable uncertainty that is tolerable for road-marking applications. The Becke line method has been applied in assessing refractive index of such glass beads as e.g. an industrial standard in the Republic of Korea; however, the reference refractive-index liquids are not commercially available these days for refractive index greater than 1.80 due to the toxicity of the constituent materials. As such, high-refractive-index glass beads require an alternate method, and in this regard we propose a practically serviceable technique with uncertainty tantamount to that of the Becke line method: Based on comparison of calculated and measured retroreflectance values of commercial glass beads, we discover that their refractive index can be determined with reasonable precision via the retroreflectance measurement. Specifically, in this study the normalized retroreflectance originating from a single glass sphere is computed as a function of refractive index using the Fresnel equations, which is then validated as coinciding well with retroreflectance values measured from actual specimens, i.e. glass-bead aggregates. The uncertainties involved are delineated in connection with radius and imperfections of the glass beads.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.216-222
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• 2019

In this study, permeation experiments were conducted using naturally circulating spherical beads, backwashable plate membrane and the air supplied from the bottom of the MBR. The activated sludge solution was maintained at 8,000 mg/L of MLSS and compared transmembrane pressure (TMP) with respect to FR (filtration and relaxation), FR/BW (filtration and relaxation/backwashing), SFCO (sinusoidal filtration continuous operation) and SFCO/BW (sinusoidal filtration continuous operation/backwashing). As the backwashing flux decreased from 47 to $14L/m^2{\cdot}hr$, the TMP increased generally, but the TMP of FR system increased significantly comparing with SFCO. In addition, the backwashing method reduced more TMP comparing to the cleaning method using spherical beads, and it was confirmed that the operation method using the spherical beads and the backwashing simultaneously is more effective than each method.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.279-284
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• 2013

The phenolic beads in macrosize range were obtained by suspension polymerization at $98^{\circ}C$ from phenol and formaldehyde in the presence of basic catalyst with a phenol to formaldehyde (P/F) range of 1:1~1:4, and they were carbonized to spherical carbon beads under nitrogen at $700^{\circ}C$. Thermal analysis on spherical phenolic beads obtained by suspension polymerization showed that the postcuring process is essential. In order to optimize the suspension polymerization, the effects of the P/F molar ratio, the pH of catalyst, and the molecular weight of stabilizer on the size distribution and yield of spherical phenol beads were examined separatively. The particle size was increased whereas the yield was decreased with P/F molar ratio. The increasing basicity of catalyst made the particle size to increase, while the molecular weight of stabilizer had more effect on the yield rather than on the particle size distribution. The thermal stability of the spherical phenolic beads obtained through postcure was also examined by TGA. The phenol beads of high P/F ratio still showed the weight loss at $220^{\circ}C$ even after postcure due to the high possibility of dibenzyl ether, while those of low P/F ratio showed the steady decrease in weight during $220^{\circ}C$ to $400^{\circ}C$, which showed that the optimal P/F ratio was 1:2.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.285-290
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• 2007

Ag nanoparticles were distributed onto polystyrene nanoparticle (PS-Ag) beads using two synthetic methodologies. In the first methodology, polystyrene (PS) beads were prepared via emulsion polymerization, with Ag nanoparticles subsequently loaded onto the surface of the PS beads. The polymerization of styrene was radiolytically induced in an ethanol (EtOH)/water medium, generating PS beads. Subsequently, Ag nanoparticles were loaded onto the PS beads via the reduction of Ag ions. The results from the morphological studies, using field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), reveal the PS particles were spherical and nanosized, and the average size of the PS spherical particles decreased with increasing volume % of water in the polymerization medium. The size of the PS spherical particles increases with increasing radiation dose for the polymerization. Also, the amount of Ag nanoparticle loading could be increased by increasing the irradiation dose for the reduction of the Ag ions. In the second methodology, the polymerization of styrene and reduction of Ag ions were simultaneously performed by irradiating a solution containing styrene and Ag ions in an EtOH/water medium. Interestingly, the Ag nanoparticles were preferentially homogeneously distributed within the PS particles (not on the surface of the PS particles). Thus, Ag nanoparticles were distributed onto the surface of the PS particles using the first approach, but into the PS clusters of the particles via the second. The antimicrobial efficiency of a cloth coated with the Ag-PS composite nanoparticles was tested against bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniase, for 100 water washing cycles.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.320-324
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• 2016

Porous SiC beads were prepared by freeze-drying a polycarbosilane (PCS) emulsion. The water-in-oil (w/o) emulsion, which was composed of water, PCS dissolved p-xylene, and sodium xylenesulfonate (SXS) as an emulsifier, was frozen by dropping it onto a liquid $N_2$ bath; this process resulted in 1~2 mm sized beads. Beads were cured at $200^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in air and heat-treated at $800^{\circ}C$ and $1400^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in an Ar gas flow. Two types of pores, lamella-shaped and spherical pores, were observed. Lamellar-shaped pores were found to develop during the freezing of the xylene solvent. Water droplets in the w/o emulsion were changed into spherical pores under freeze-drying. At $1400^{\circ}C$ of heat-treatment, porous SiC was synthesized with a low level of impurities.