Natural and expandable graphites were chemically treated in acidic aqueous solutions such as acetic acid or mixtures of acetic acid and nitric acid. Structures and thermal conductivities of the as-treated graphites were characterized in detail. Both graphites were significantly oxidized in the mixed acidic solution of H2SO4 and HNO3, which condition was generally used for the oxidation of carbon nanotubes. This considerable oxidation of graphites caused a depression of their thermal conductivity. The structural characteristics, obtained by XRD and XPS, show that the graphites treated in the relatively weak acidic conditions (acetic acid or mixture of acetic acid and nitric acid) were quite similar to the untreated graphites. However, the thermal conductivities of both acidic-treated graphites were remarkably increased.

In order to understand the formation of polymeric membranes or microcellular foams, phase separation phenomena in polymer solutions should be understood. The present review examines the progress made in the understanding of these phenomena, with emphasis on selected polymer-solvent systems. In the case of polymer-solvent systems, coarsening is of particular importance as it may come to dominate or overshadow spinodal decomposition effects within the first minute or few minutes of phase separation. In this article, some of the most important theoretical models of late stage of phase separation are reviewed, and recent experimental studies on coarsening in polymer-solvent systems are studied.

폴리스티렌과 싸이클로헥산 용액으로부터 제조된 멤브레인의 미세구조 형성에 미치는 coarsening의 효과를 주사전자현미경(SEM)을 이용하여 연구하였다. 고분자 용액의 열 분석은 DSC를 이용하여 행하여졌으며 demixing peak의 개시 온도로부터 binodal 곡선이 결정되었다. 열적으로 유도된 상 분리(TIPS) 공정과 freeze drying 기법을 이용하여 제조된 고분자 막의 미세 구조는 coarsening 시간과 quench 경로에 의해 큰 영향을 받음이 확인되었다. Spinodal decomposition이 상 분리 기구인 경우에는 멤브레인의 미세구조가 서로 잘 연결되고 거의 일정한 cell 크기를 갖게 되며, 용매를 제거하기 이전에 상 분리 시간을 증가시킴으로써 멤브레인의 pore 크기를 증가시킬 수 있음이 판명되었다. 또한 멤브레인의 cell 또는 pore 크기 증가는 coarsening time과 quench depth에 크게 의존함이 확인되었다. 본 연구에서는 특히 고분자 용액의 농도가 이로부터 제조되는 고분자 막의 구조에 미치는 역할을 규명하였다.