Although thin-film nanocomposite membranes (TFNs) have paved the way to develop high-performance reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, scale-up production of TFNs is still challenging issue. Herein, we introduced a novel preparation method for TFNs using spray-assisted nanofiller pre-deposition (Spray method) to circumvent the limitations in conventional method. The precise control of nanofiller (ZIF-8) loading was possible by simply varying the spraying ZIF-8 concentration. Most importantly, TFNs prepared by both Spray and conventional method showed similar RO performances, while Spray method only requires ~100 times minimized amount of ZIF-8 with an unprecedentedly short deposition time (< 1 min) ever reported. Our results revealed that Spray method would be promising for the scale-up of TFNs in terms of cost, time, and controllability.

Copper oxide thin films are deposited using an ultrasonic-assisted spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) system. To investigate the effect of substrate temperature and incorporation of a chelating agent on the growth of copper oxide thin films, the structural and optical properites of the copper oxide thin films are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emssion scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. At a temperature of less than 350 ℃, threedimensional structures consisting of cube-shaped Cu2O are formed, while spherical small particles of the CuO phase are formed at a temperature higher than 400 ℃ due to a Volmer-Weber growth mode on the silicon substrate. As a chelating agent was added to the source solutions, two-dimensional Cu2O thin films are preferentially deposited at a temperature less than 300 ℃, and the CuO thin film is formed even at a temperature less than 350 ℃. Therefore the structure and crystalline phase of the copper oxide is shown to be controllable.

The microstructure and mechanical characteristics of SUS630 specimens fabricated using the direct energy deposition (DED) process are investigated. In DED, several process parameters such as laser scan speed, chamber gas flow, powder carrier gas flow, and powder feed rate are kept fixed; the laser power is changed as 150 W, 180 W, and 210 W. As the laser power increases, the surface becomes smooth, the thickness uniformity improves, and the size and number of pores decreases. With the increase in laser power, the hardness deviation decreases and the average hardness increases. The microstructure of the material is columnar; pores are formed preferentially along the columnar interface. The lath-martensite phase governs the overall microstructure. The volumetric fraction of the retained austenite phase is measured to increase with the increase of laser input power.

Hydraulic and drainage properties play an important role in the serviceability of a permeable block pavement system. A serious impediment to its performance is the accumulation of sediments over time. The deposition of these particles in block pavement joints reduces infiltration rate and drainage capacity, which, in the long run, decreases the system’s life span. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted in order to investigate the influence of particle deposition on the hydraulic conductivity of a type of block pavement system, permeable stone paver, without maintenance or cleaning. Coefficients of permeability before and after addition of fine particles were evaluated using a developed permeability equipment with constant head frame. Three gradations of silica sand were used to simulate road clogging particles. An equivalent of eight years of sediment loading was applied to three identical permeable pavement samples. Laboratory test results showed an average of 77% reduction on the permeability due to particle accumulation.

TaNx film is grown by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) using t-butylimido tris(dimethylamido) tantalum as a metalorganic source with various reactive gas species, such as N2+H2 mixed gas, NH3, and H2. Although the pulse sequence and duration are the same, aspects of the film growth rate, microstructure, crystallinity, and electrical resistivity are quite different according to the reactive gas. Crystallized and relatively conductive film with a higher growth rate is acquired using NH3 as a reactive gas while amorphous and resistive film with a lower growth rate is achieved using N2+H2 mixed gas. To examine the relationship between the chemical properties and resistivity of the film, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is conducted on the ALD-grown TaNx film with N2+H2 mixed gas, NH3, and H2. For a comparison, reactive sputter-grown TaNx film with N2 is also studied. The results reveal that ALD-grown TaNx films with NH3 and H2 include a metallic Ta-N bond, which results in the film’s higher conductivity. Meanwhile, ALD-grown TaNx film with a N2+H2 mixed gas or sputtergrown TaNx film with N2 gas mainly contains a semiconducting Ta3N5 bond. Such a different portion of Ta-N and Ta3N5 bond determins the resistivity of the film. Reaction mechanisms are considered by means of the chemistry of the Ta precursor and reactive gas species.

Li-incorporated ZnO thin films were deposited by using ultrasonic-assisted spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) system. To investigate the effect of Li-incorporation on the performance of ZnO thin films, the structural, electrical, and optical properites of the ZnO thin films were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emssion scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Hall effect measurement, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry with variation of the Li concentraion in the ZnO sources. Without incorporation of Li element, the ZnO surface showed large spiral domains. As the Li content increases, the size of spiral domains decreased gradually, and finally formed mixed small grain and one-dimensional nanorod-like structures on the surface. This morphological evolution was explained based on an anti-surfactant effect of Li atoms on the ZnO growth surface. In addition, the Li-incorporation changed the optical and electrical properties of the ZnO thin films by modifying the crystalline defect structures by doping effects.

The design and fabrication of photoelectrochemical (PEC) electrodes for efficient water splitting is important for developing a sustainable hydrogen evolution system. Among various development approaches for PEC electrodes, the chemical vapor deposition method of atomic layer deposition (ALD), based on self-limiting surface reactions, has attracted attention because it allows precise thickness and composition control as well as conformal coating on various substrates. In this study, recent research progress in improving PEC performance using ALD coating methods is discussed, including 3D and heterojunction-structured PEC electrodes, ALD coatings of noble metals, and the use of sulfide materials as co-catalysts. The enhanced long-term stability of PEC cells by ALD-deposited protecting layers is also reviewed. ALD provides multiple routes to develop improved hydrogen evolution PEC cells.

Carbon nanofibers (CNF) are widely used as active agents for electrodes in Li-ion secondary battery cells, supercapacitors, and fuel cells. Nanoscale coatings on CNF electrodes can increase the output and lifespan of battery devices. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) can control the coating thickness at the nanoscale regardless of the shape, suitable for coating CNFs. However, because the CNF surface comprises stable C–C bonds, initiating homogeneous nuclear formation is difficult because of the lack of initial nucleation sites. This study introduces uniform nucleation site formation on CNF surfaces to promote a uniform SnO2 layer. We pretreat the CNF surface by introducing H2O or Al2O3 (trimethylaluminum + H2O) before the SnO2 ALD process to form active sites on the CNF surface. Transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy both identify the SnO2 layer morphology on the CNF. The Al2O3-pretreated sample shows a uniform SnO2 layer, while island-type SnOx layers grow sparsely on the H2Opretreated or untreated CNF.

SiC-based composite materials with light weight, high durability, and high-temperature stability have been actively studied for use in aerospace and defense applications. Moreover, environmental barrier coating (EBC) technologies using oxide-based ceramic materials have been studied to prevent chemical deterioration at a high temperature of 1300℃ or higher. In this study, an ytterbium silicate material, which has recently been actively studied as an environmental barrier coating because of its high-temperature chemical stability, is fabricated on a sintered SiC substrate. Yb2O3 and SiO2 are used as the raw starting materials to form ytterbium disilicate (Yb2Si2O7). Suspension plasma spraying is applied as the coating method. The effect of the mixing method on the particle size and distribution, which affect the coating formation behavior, is investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. It is found that the originally designed compounds are not effectively formed because of the refinement and vaporization of the raw material particles, i.e., SiO2, and the formation of a porous coating structure. By changing the coating parameters such as the deposition distance, it is found that a denser coating structure can be formed at a closer deposition distance.

We investigated a Leidenfrost effect in the growth of ZnO nanostructures on silicon substrates by ultrasonic-assisted spray pyrolysis deposition(SPD). Structural and optical properties of the ZnO nanostructures grown by varying the growth parameters, such as substrate temperature, source concentration, and suction rate of the mist in the chambers, were investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence spectrum analysis. Structural investigations of the ZnO nanostructures showed abnormal evolution of the morphologies with variation of the substrate temperatures. The shape of the ZnO nanostructures transformed from nanoplate, nanorod, nanopencil, and nanoprism shapes with increasing of the substrate temperature from 250 to 450 °C; these shapes were significantly different from those seen for the conventional growth mechanisms in SPD. The observed growth behavior showed that a Leidenfrost effect dominantly affected the growth mechanism of the ZnO nanostructures.

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with two different (L/D) aspect ratios (7±2 μm/140±30 nm and 0.5–2 μm/8–15 nm) were surface treated using nitric acid (HNO3) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) prior to their deposition on carbon fibers (CF). Before the hierarchical reinforcement with CF-MWCNT, the CFs were treated with 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, a coupling agent (Z6040) and with poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) a dendrimer containing an ethylenediamine core and amine surface groups. The MWCNT were deposited on the CF using two methods, by electrostatic attraction and by chemical reactions. The changes in the CF surface morphology after the MWCNT deposition were analyzed using SEM, which revealed a higher density and uniform coverage for the PAMAM-treated CF and the short MWCNTs. The interfacial adhesion of the composite materials was evaluated using the single fiber fragmentation technique. The results indicated an improvement in the interfacial shear strength with the addition of the short-MWCNTs treated with acid solutions and grafted onto the surface of the CF fiber using electrostatic attraction.

We investigated the effect of ZnO buffer layer on the formation of ZnO thin film by ultrasonic assisted spray pyrolysis deposition. ZnO buffer layer was formed by wet solution method, which was repeated several times. Structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films deposited on the ZnO buffer layers with various cycles and at various temperatures were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence spectrum analysis. The structural investigations showed that three-dimensional island shaped ZnO was formed on the bare Si substrate without buffer layers, while two-dimensional ZnO thin film was deposited on the ZnO buffer layers. In addition, structural and optical investigations showed that the crystalline quality of ZnO thin film was improved by introducing the buffer layers. This improvement was attributed to the modulation of the surface energy of the Si surface by the ZnO buffer layer, which finally resulted in a modification of the growth mode from three to two-dimensional.

In this study, we investigate the effect of the diffusion barrier and substrate temperature on the length of carbon nanotubes. For synthesizing vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, thermal chemical vapor deposition is used and a substrate with a catalytic layer and a buffer layer is prepared using an e-beam evaporator. The length of the carbon nanotubes synthesized on the catalytic layer/diffusion barrier on the silicon substrate is longer than that without a diffusion barrier because the diffusion barrier prevents generation of silicon carbide from the diffusion of carbon atoms into the silicon substrate. The deposition temperature of the catalyst and alumina are varied from room temperature to 150°C, 200°C, and 250°C. On increasing the substrate temperature on depositing the buffer layer on the silicon substrate, shorter carbon nanotubes are obtained owing to the increased bonding force between the buffer layer and silicon substrate. The reason why different lengths of carbon nanotubes are obtained is that the higher bonding force between the buffer layer and the substrate layer prevents uniformity of catalytic islands for synthesizing carbon nanotubes.

We performed temperature dependent current-voltage (I-V) measurements to characterize the electrical properties of Au/Al2O3/n-Ge metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) diodes prepared with and without H2O prepulse treatment by atomic layer deposition (ALD). By considering the thickness of the Al2O3 interlayer, the barrier height for the treated sample was found to be 0.61 eV, similar to those of Au/n-Ge Schottky diodes. The thermionic emission (TE) model with barrier inhomogeneity explained the final state of the treated sample well. Compared to the untreated sample, the treated sample was found to have improved diode characteristics for both forward and reverse bias conditions. These results were associated with the reduction of charge trapping and interface states near the Ge/Al2O3 interface.

Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated NiCrAl alloy foam is fabricated using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition (USPD). To confirm the influence of the FTO layer on the NiCrAl alloy foam, we investigated the structural, chemical, and morphological properties and chemical resistance by using USPD to adjust the FTO coating time (12, 18, and 24 min). As a result, when an FTO layer was coated for 24 min on NiCrAl alloy foam, it was found to have an enhanced chemical resistance compared to those of the other samples. This improvement in the chemical resistance of using USPD NiAlCr alloy foam can be the result of the existence of an FTO layer, which can act as a protection layer between the NiAlCr alloy foam and the electrolyte and also the result of the increased thickness of the FTO layer, which enhances the diffusion length of the metal ion.

Aluminum-oxide(Al2O3) thin films were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition at room temperature using trimethylaluminum(TMA) as the Al source and O2 plasma as the oxidant. In order to compare our results with those obtained using the conventional thermal ALD method, Al2O3 films were also deposited with TMA and H2O as reactants at 280 oC. The chemical composition and microstructure of the as-deposited Al2O3 films were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photo-electric spectroscopy(XPS), atomic force microscopy(AFM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Optical properties of the Al2O3 films were characterized using UV-vis and ellipsometry measurements. Electrical properties were characterized by capacitance-frequency and current-voltage measurements. Using the ECR method, a growth rate of 0.18 nm/cycle was achieved, which is much higher than the growth rate of 0.14 nm/cycle obtained using thermal ALD. Excellent dielectric and insulating properties were demonstrated for both Al2O3 films.