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2022-04-22
Prof. Jeong Min Baik’s research group develops high-performing SCR catalysts for tackling air pollution - Low-temperature SCR catalyst developed impregnating highly-dispersed CuO–CeO2 nano-heterostructures - Published in Chemical Engineering Journal on Feb, 2022 Prof. Jeong Min Baik’s research group in tandem with Dr. Hong-Dae Kim (KITECH) and Prof. Hyesung Park (UNIST) developed nitrogen oxides (NOx) removal catalyst exhibiting superior catalytic performance at the low temperature (180oC~220oC). Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), is a widely-used industrial technique that converses the NOx—the leading cause of the air pollution—into N2 or H2O by using ammonia as a reducing agent. However, widely-used VO2/TiO2 catalysts have fatal setbacks such as causing catalytic deactivation owing to agglomeration with its limited performance at high operation temperature (250℃ or higher), not to mention its high maintenance costs. Therefore, developing a low-temperature catalyst showing high activation at about 200℃ increasingly gained importance, though, deactivation owing to SO2 and water used to be a challenge. To cope with, the research team fabricated ultra-small (<5 nm in size) CuO–CeO2 heterostructures with atomically well-defined interface followed by impregnation to V2O5–WO3-CeO2/TiO2 (2V-10Ce-1W/Ti) catalysts, achieving 44% higher Nox removal efficiency than the conventional catalysts. Also, they succeeded in raising K-factor (K16h/K0) from 0.60 to 0.83 under SO2 atmosphere, as well as the resistance towards the water. “We are soon going to check its industrial applicability through conducting empirical experiments. Through follow-up research, we will develop catalysts with a longer operation at below 200°C." Prof. Baik stated. In this regard, the research team has already applied for two patents. The experts expect that the cost for reducing NOx emissions from industrial sites such as factories and steel mills will be drastically reduced. This work was supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, South Korea (MOTIE, 20005721), by the Mid-Career Researcher Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (NRF-2019R1A2C2009822), and by National R&D Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) funded by Ministry of Science and ICT (2021M3C1C309). ※ Paper : Cu- and Ce- promoted nano-heterostructures on vanadate catalysts for low-temperature NH3-SCR activity with improved SO2 and water resistance ※ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.135427
Professor Jung selected as SKKU Fellowship Professor
2022-02-232021 SKKU-Fellowship Professor Sungkyunkwan University selected the ‘2021 SKKU-Fellowship’ professors. The list of professors starts with D. Normandin Shawn (English Language and Literature), Doo Jin Ryu (Economics), Hoon Seok Choi (Phychology), Donghun Lee (Education), Jae Seong Lee (Biological Sciences), Junsin Yi (Electronic and Electrical Engineering), Jun Yeob Lee (Chemical Engineering), Hyun Suk Jung (Advanced Materials Sciences and Engineering), Sang Won Seo (Medicine), Seung Ho Ryu (Medicine), Yoon Suk Jung (Medicine). The SKKU-Fellowship system has been awarded by Sungkyunkwan University since 2004 and is a system that grants exceptional research support and honor by selecting the best professor whose level of research capability has settled on global standards. The purpose of this scheme is to improve the research environment, which allows professors with the highest level of research to demonstrate world-class research capabilities more qualitatively than quantitative growth by minimizing lecturing duties.
Dr. Seong in Hong employed as an assistant professor at Gachon University
2022-02-15Dr. Seong in Hong employed as an assistant professor at Gachon University Dr. Seong in Hong from Nano/Bio AI Electronics Lab (NBAIEL) is starting his career as an assistant professor at the department of physics, Gachon University in coming March. Dr. Hong was honored Ph.D. degree with his study, “Thin film field-effect phototransistors” and served as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Hong, under Prof. Sunkook Kim’s guidance, is highly engaged in developing next-generation semiconductor materials. His findings were published in a total of 28 distinguished SCI journals such as Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, and ACS Nano. Moreover, while he was a Ph.D. candidate, he was selected for national research projects such as [NRF] ROK-CANADA Global Research Program (GRA), [NRF] Creative-challenge Research Project, [BK] Global Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (GPF). Dr. Hong also had a few challenges to this end, due to lab relocation, pandemic-related research frustration, and so on. However, with support and encouragement from the advisor, Prof. Sunkook Kim, he has managed difficult situations into opportunities. According to Dr. Hong, transfer to AMSE broaden his horizons as a researcher and drove his resolution to remain in the field to extend his research and foster experts. Dr. Hong managed this pandemic crisis by devoting his time to innovative studies as a post-doctor in Prof. Kim’s lab. He said, “As a result, I was able to expand my research capability during my time at AMSE, with its superior research infrastructure and support.” Currently, Dr. Hong is leading ‘Overwhelming Nano Electronics Laboratory’ after being appointed at Gachon University. He is committed to grow cutting-edge semiconductor materials to develop devices with top-notch performance.
2022-02-03Prof. Sang-Woo Kim’s research team develops world’s first ultrasound-mediated Fully Biodegradable and Implantable Triboelectric Nanogenerator - Promising solution for eliminating the need for secondary surgery to remove the implantable medical devices (IMD) after the clinical timelines [Image] Prof. Sang-Woo Kim, Ph.D. Candidate Dong-Min Lee, and Najaf Rubab (from the left) The research team led by Prof. Sang-Woo Kim developed the world’s first ultrasound-mediated Fully Biodegradable and Implantable Triboelectric Nanogenerator (FBI-TENG). By mediating the ultrasound intensity, the FBI-TENG can be fully dissolved in the body in a short period of time at any specific moment with eliminating the need for secondary surgery to remove IMDs. Implantable electroceuticals, a class of technology that cures diseases (e.g., pain, and depression) in a short time (generally within 6 months), are of great interest in areas throughout medicine, and biomedical implants. However, they require the secondary surgery to remove the implants, which causes physical and psychological burden to patients. Many researches have been reported to develop implantable electroceuticals that equip biodegradable functions, but they encountered critical challenge, full biodegradation in a controlled manner within several minutes. Conventional transient materials were limited to exploit passive degradation, relying on their own thickness and material properties. In addition, they require at least several weeks to months for themselves to be fully degraded inside the body, which their residues can induce severe toxicity or negative health conditions. [Figure 1] Schematic of an Ultrasound-mediated in vivo biodegradable triboelectric nanogenerator Herein, the research team suggested a promising solution for minimizing the potential negative factors to health conditions, by developing the technology that dissolve the device within 30 minutes in a controlled manner using medically available ultrasound. [Figure 2] Theoretical and experimental studies of transient performances for FBI-TENG under ultrasound stimulation. The research team demonstrated that the FBI-TENG generates electricity without power degradation under the low-intensity ultrasound (1.0 W cm-2) and performs transient processes at the programmed time under high-intensity ultrasound (3.0 W cm-2). [Figure 3] Ex vivo demonstration of ultrasound triggered biodegradation FBI-TENG. The research team inserted the FBI-TENG into porcine tissue, a comparable anatomical structure to human, to conduct ex-vivo experiments. They found that the high-intensity ultrasound (3.0 W cm-2) can dissolve the device within few minutes inside the tissue. [Figure 4] Evaluation of Energy Generation of FBI-TENG The research team confirmed stable power generation (0.34 V and 3.20 μA) and complete biodegradation of the FBI-TENG, inserted at the 0.5 cm depth from the porcine epidermis, in 40 minutes by mediating ultrasound intensity. Prof. Sang-Woo Kim said, “it is an outstanding development that the FBI-TENG is the world’s first biodegradable and implantable TENG that can be fully biodegraded in a short time just by mediating the ultrasound intensity”. He added, “we expect the findings can be a promising approach for the next-generation medical device industries.” This work was financially supported by Nano Material Technology Development Program (2020M3H4A1A03084600) and Basic Science Research Program (2021R1A2C2010990) through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea grant. This research was published in Science Advances on January 7, an international academic journal published by the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) Paper: Ultrasound-mediated triboelectric nanogenerator for powering on-demand transient electronics