Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) were fabricated using solution-based ITO (Sn-doped In2O3) nanoinks with nanorods at an annealing temperature of 200 oC. In order to optimize their transparent conducting performance, ITO nanoinks were composed of ITO nanoparticles alone and the weight ratios of the nanorods to nanoparticles in the ITO nanoinks were adjusted to 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5. As a result, compared to the other TCOs, the ITO TCOs formed by the ITO nanoinks with weight ratio of 0.1 were found to exhibit outstanding transparent conducting performance in terms of sheet resistance (~102.3 Ω/square) and optical transmittance (~80.2%) at 550 nm; these excellent properties are due to the enhanced Hall mobility induced by the interconnection of the composite nanorods with the (440) planes of the short lattice distance in the TCOs, in which the presence of the nanorods can serve as a conducting pathway for electrons. Therefore, this resulting material can be proposed as a potential candidate for solution-based TCOs for use in optoelectronic devices requiring large-scale and low-cost processes.

N-doped carbon nanofibers as catalysts for oxygen-reduction reactions are synthesized using electrospinning and carbonization. Their morphologies, structures, chemical bonding states, and electrochemical performance are characterized. The optimized N-doped carbon nanofibers exhibit graphitization of carbon nanofibers and an increased nitrogen doping as well as a uniform network structure. In particular, the optimized N-doped carbon nanofibers show outstanding catalytic activity for oxygen-reduction reactions, such as a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.43 V, kinetic limiting current density of 6.2 mA cm-2, electron reduction pathways (n = 3.1), and excellent long-term stability after 2000 cycles, resulting in a lower E1/2 potential degradation of 13 mV. The improvement in the electrochemical performance results from the synergistic effect of the graphitization of carbon nanofibers and the increased amount of nitrogen doping.

Ni nanoparticles (NPs)-graphitic carbon nanofiber (GCNF) composites were fabricated using an electrospinning method. The amounts of Ni precursor used as catalyst for the catalytic graphitization were controlled at 0, 2, 5, and 8 wt% to improve the photovoltaic performances of the nanoparticles and make them suitable for use as counter electrodes for dyesensitized solar cells (DSSCs). As a result, Ni NPs-GCNF composites that were fabricated with 8 wt% Ni precursors showed a high circuit voltage (0.73 V), high photocurrent density (14.26 mA/cm2), and superb power-conversion efficiency (6.72 %) when compared to those characteristics of other samples. These performance improvements can be attributed to the reduced charge transport resistance that results from the synergetic effect of the superior catalytic activity of Ni NPs and the efficient charge transfer due to the formation of GCNF with high electrical conductivity. Thus, Ni NPs-GCNF composites may be used as promising counter electrodes in DSSCs.

Flower-like nickel oxide (NiO) catalysts were coated on NiCrAl alloy foam using a hydrothermal method. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO catalysts coated on the NiCrAl alloy foam were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, Xray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. To obtain flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on the NiCrAl alloy foam, we prepared three different levels of pH of the hydrothermal solution: pH-7.0, pH-10.0, and pH-11.5. The NiO morphology of the pH-7.0 and pH-10.0 samples exhibited a large size plate owing to the slow reaction of the hydroxide (OH−) and nickel ions (Ni+) in lower pH than pH-11.5. Flower-like NiO catalysts (~4.7 μm-6.6 μm) were formed owing to the fast reaction of OH− and Ni2+ by increased OH− concentration at high pH. Thus, the flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on NiCrAl alloy foam depends strongly on the pH of the hydrothermal solution.

Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The morphologies, crystal structures, chemical bonding states, and electrochemical properties of the nanoparticles are investigated. The FTO nanoparticles show uniform morphology and size distribution in the range of 6-10 nm. The FTO nanoparticles exhibit excellent electrochemical performance with high discharge specific capacity and good cycling stability (620mA h g−1 capacity retention up to 50 cycles), as well as excellent high-rate performance (250 mA h g−1 at 700mAg−1) compared to that of commercial SnO2. The improved electrochemical performance can be explained by two main effects. First, the excellent cycling stability with high discharge capacity is attributed to the nano-sized FTO particles, which are related to the increased electrochemical active area between the electrode and electrolyte. Second, the superb high-rate performance and the excellent cycling stability are ascribed to the increased electrical conductivity, which results from the introduction of fluorine doping in SnO2. This noble electrode structure can provide powerful potential anode materials for high-performance lithiumion batteries.

Octahedral Co3O4/carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites are fabricated using electrospinning and hydrothermal methods. Their morphological characteristics, chemical bonding states, and electrochemical properties are used to demonstrate the improved photovoltaic properties of the samples. Octahedral Co3O4 grown on CNFs is based on metallic Co nanoparticles acting as seeds in the CNFs, which seeds are directly related to the high performance of DSSCs. The octahedral Co3O4/CNFs composites exhibit high photocurrent density (12.73 mA/m2), superb fill factor (62.1 %), and excellent power conversion efficiency (5.61 %) compared to those characteristics of commercial Co3O4, conventional CNFs, and metallic Co-seed/CNFs. These results can be described as stemmnig from the synergistic effect of the porous and graphitized matrix formed by catalytic graphitization using the metal cobalt catalyst on CNFs, which leads to an increase in the catalytic activity for the reduction of triiodide ions. Therefore, octahedral Co3O4/CNFs composites can be used as a counter electrode for Pt-free dye-sensitized solar cells.

Carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites coated with spindle-shaped Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) are fabricated by a combination of an electrospinning method and a hydrothermal method, and their morphological, structural, and chemical properties are measured by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Xray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. For comparison, CNFs and spindle-shaped Fe2O3 NPs are prepared by either an electrospinning method or a hydrothermal method, respectively. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with the composites exhibit enhanced open circuit voltage (0.70 V), short-circuit current density (12.82 mA/cm2), fill factor (61.30%), and power conversion efficiency (5.52%) compared to those of the CNFs (0.66 V, 11.61 mA/cm2, 51.96%, and 3.97%) and spindle-shaped Fe2O3 NPs (0.67 V, 11.45 mA/cm2, 50.17%, and 3.86%). This performance improvement can be attributed to a synergistic effect of a superb catalytic reaction of spindle-shaped Fe2O3 NPs and efficient charge transfer relative to the one-dimensional nanostructure of the CNFs. Therefore, spindle-shaped Fe2O3-NPcoated CNF composites may be proposed as a potential alternative material for low-cost counter electrodes in DSSCs.

Co-embedded graphitic porous carbon nanofibers(Co-GPCNFs) are synthesized by using an electrospinning method. Their morphological, structural, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties are investigated. To obtain the optimum condition of Co-GPCNFs for dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs), the amount of cobalt precursor in an electrospinning solutuion are controlled to be 0 wt%(conventional CNFs), 1 wt%(sample A), and 3 wt%(sample B). Among them, sample B exhibited a high degree of graphitization and porous structure compared to conventional CNFs and sample A, which result in the performance improvement of DSSCs. Therefore, sample B showed a high current density(JSC, 12.88 mA/cm2) and excellent power conversion efficiency(PCE, 5.33 %) than those of conventional CNFs(12.00 mA/cm2, 3.78 %). This result can be explained by combined effects of the increased contact area between the electrode and elecytolyte caused by improved porosity and the increased conductivity caused by the formation of a high degree of graphitization. Thus, the Co-GPCNFs may be used as a promising alternative of Pt-free counter electrode in DSSCs.

Perforated polygonal cobalt oxide (Co3O4) is synthesized using electrospinning and a hydrothermal methodfollowed by the removal of a carbon nanofiber (CNF) template. To investigate their formation mechanism, thermogravi-metric analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are examined. To obtain the optimum condition of perforated polygonal Co3O4, we pre-pare three different weight ratios of the Co precursor and the CNF template: sample A (Co precursor:CNF template-10:1), sample B (Co precursor:CNF template-3.2:1), and sample C (Co precursor:CNF template-2:1). Among them, sam-ple A exhibits the perforated polygonal Co3O4 with a thin carbon layer (5.7-6.2 nm) owing to the removal of CNF tem-plate. However, sample B and sample C synthesized perforated round Co3O4 and destroyed Co3O4 powders, respectively,due to a decreased amount of Co precursor. The increased amount of the CNF template prevents the formation of polygonalCo3O4. For sample A, the optimized weight ratio of the Co precursor and CNF template may be related to the suc-cessful formation of perforated polygonal Co3O4. Thus, perforated polygonal Co3O4 can be applied to electrode materialsof energy storage devices such as lithium ion batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells.

The triboelectric property of a material is important to improve an efficiency of triboelectric generator(TEG) in energy harvesting from an ambient energy. In this study, we have studied the TEG property of a semicon-ducting SnO2 which has yet to be explored so far. As a counter triboelectric material, PET and glass are used. Verticalcontact mode is utilized to evaluate the TEG efficiency. SnO2 thin film is deposited by atomic layer deposition on bareSi wafer for various thicknesses from 5.2 nm to 34.6 nm, where the TEG output is increased from 13.9V to 73.5V. Tri-boelectric series are determined by comparing the polarity of output voltage of 2 samples among SnO2, PET, and glass.In conclusion, SnO2, as an intrinsic n-type material, has the most strong tendency to be positive side to lose the electronand PET has the most strong tendency to be negative side to get the electron, and glass to be between them. Therefore,the SnO2-PET combination shows the highest TEG efficiency.

NiO catalysts/Al2O3/FeCrAl alloy foam for hydrogen production was prepared using atomic layer deposition (ALD)and subsequent dip-coating methods. FeCrAl alloy foam and Al2O3 inter-layer were used as catalyst supports. To improve thedispersion and stability of NiO catalysts, an Al2O3 inter-layer was introduced and their thickness was systematically controlledto 0, 20, 50 and 80nm using an ALD technique. The structural, chemical bonding and morphological properties (includingdispersion) of the NiO catalysts/Al2O3/FeCrAl alloy foam were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectronspectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy. Inparticular, to evaluate the stability of the NiO catalysts grown on Al2O3/FeCrAl alloy foam, chronoamperometry tests wereperformed and then the ingredient amounts of electrolytes were analyzed via inductively coupled plasma spectrometer. We foundthat the introduction of Al2O3 inter-layer improved the dispersion and stability of the NiO catalysts on the supports. Thus, whenan Al2O3 inter-layer with a 80nm thickness was grown between the FeCrAl alloy foam and the NiO catalysts, it indicatedimproved dispersion and stability of the NiO catalysts compared to the other samples. The performance improvement can beexplained by optimum thickness of Al2O3 inter-layer resulting from the role of a passivation layer.

WS2-W-WC embedded carbon nanofiber composites were fabricated by using electrospinning method for use in high-performance supercapacitors. In order to obtain optimum electrochemical properties for supercapacitors, WS2 nanoparticles were used as precursors and the amounts of WS2 precursors were controlled to 4 wt% (sample A) and 8 wt% (sample B). The morphological, structural, and chemical properties of all samples were investigated by means of field emission photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These results demonstrated that the embedded phases of samples A and B were changed from WS2 to WS2-W-WC through carbothermal reaction during carbonization process. In particular, sample B presented high specific capacitance (~119.7 F/g at 5 mV/s), good high-rate capacitance (~60.5%), and superb cycleability. The enhanced electrochemical properties of sample B were explained by the synergistic effect of the using 1-D structure supports, increase of specific surface area, and improved conductivity from formation of W and WC phases.

Sb-doped SnO2(ATO) thin films were prepared using electrospinning. To investigate the optimum properties of the electrospun ATO thin films, the deposition numbers of the ATO nanofibers(NFs) were controlled to levels of 1, 2, 4, and 6. Together with the different levels of deposition number, the structural, chemical, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of the nanofibers were investigated. As the deposition number of the ATO NFs increased, the thickness of the ATO thin films increased and the film surfaces were gradually densified, which affected the electrical properties of the ATO thin films. 6 levels of the ATO thin film exhibited superior electrical properties due to the improved carrier concentration and Hall mobility resulting from the increased thickness and surface densification. Also, the thickness of the samples had an effect on the optical properties of the ATO thin films. The ATO thin films with 6 deposited levels displayed the lowest transmittance and highest haze. Therefore, the figure of merit(FOM) considering the electrical and optical properties showed the best value for ATO thin films with 4 deposited levels.

Fluorine-doped SnO2 (FTO) thin film/Ag nanowire (NW) double layers were fabricated by means of spin coating and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. To investigate the optimum thickness of the FTO thin films when used as protection layer for Ag NWs, the deposition time of the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process was varied at 0, 1, 3, 5, or 10 min. The structural, chemical, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of the double layers were examined using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, the Hall effect measurement system, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Although pure Ag NWs formed isolated droplet-shaped Ag particles at an annealing temperature of 300 oC, Ag NWs covered by FTO thin films maintained their high-aspect-ratio morphology. As the deposition time of the FTO thin films increased, the electrical and optical properties of the double layers degraded gradually. Therefore, the double layer fabricated with FTO thin films deposited for 1 min exhibited superb sheet resistance (~14.9Ω/□), high optical transmittance (~88.6 %), the best FOM (~19.9 × 10−3 Ω−1), and excellent thermal stability at an annealing temperature of 300 oC owing to the good morphology maintenance of the Ag NWs covered by FTO thin films.

To improve the methanol electro-oxidation in direct methanol fuel cells(DMFCs), Pt electrocatalysts embedded on porous carbon nanofibers(CNFs) were synthesized by electrospinning followed by a reduction method. To fabricate the porous CNFs, we prepared three types of porous CNFs using three different amount of a styrene-co acrylonitrile(SAN) polymer: 0.2 wt%, 0.5 wt%, and 1 wt%, respectively. A SAN polymer, which provides vacant spaces in porous CNFs, was decomposed and burn out during the carbonization. The structure and morphology of the samples were examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy and their surface area were measured using the Brunauer- Emmett-Teller(BET). The crystallinities and chemical compositions of the samples were examined using X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical properties on the methanol electro oxidation were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Pt electrocatalysts embedded on porous CNFs containing 0.5 wt% SAN polymer exhibited the improved methanol oxidation and electrocatalytic stability compared to Pt/conventional CNFs and commercial Pt/ C(40 wt% Pt on Vulcan carbon, E-TEK).

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between eating habits and health among adolescents in Shanghai and Heze, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 on 2,089 adolescents; 1,089 students were from Shanghai and 999 students from Heze region. Eating habits, weight, height, and nutritional knowledge were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Eating habits score was classified into two categories: healthy eating habits and unhealthy eating habits, based on「Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey」, for statistical data analysis. Associations between eating habits, BMI, and nutritional knowledge were examined using a general linear model with adjustment of potential confounding factors such as region, gender, age, parents’ education level, and pocket money. Statistical analyses were performed using the SAS (version 9.3) program. Proportions of healthy eating habits group were 90.0% for breakfast (3-7 times/wk), 29.1% for fruit (≥once/d), 12.5% for vegetable (≥3 times/d), 7.3% for milk (≥2 times/d), 90.0% for fast food (<3 times/wk) consumption, respectively. The average BMI score was 20.1 (Shanghai 20.5 Heze 19.6), which is in the range of normal weight. Rates of obesity and overweight were 16.5% and 8.3% in Shanghai and Heze, respectively. There were significant negative correlations between intake frequencies of breakfast, fast food, biscuits, sugar, chocolate, and BMI score. Eating habits and nutritional knowledge score showed a significant positive correlation. These results showed better eating habits regarding eating regularity and consumption of fruits and soft drinks in Chinese adolescents compared with Korean adolescents, although cultural differences were not fully considered. This study demonstrated significant associations of BMI and nutritional knowledge with dietary behavior in Chinese adolescents in two regions of China. Further studies on Chinese adolescents from other regions in China should be considered.

Flake-like LiCoO2 nanopowders were fabricated using electrospinning. To investigate their formation mech-anism, field-emssion scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were carriedout. Among various parameters of electrospinning, we controlled the molar concentration of the precursor and the PVPpolymer. When the molar concentration of lithium and cobalt was 0.45 M, the morphology of LiCoO2 nanopowders wasirregular and round. For 1.27 M molar concentration, the LiCoO2 nanopowders formed with flake-like morphology. Forthe PVP polymer, the molar concentration was set to 0.011 mM, 0.026 mM, and 0.043 mM. Irregular LiCoO2 nanop-owders were formed at low concentration (0.011 mM), while flake-like LiCoO2 were formed at high concentration(0.026 mM and 0.043 mM). Thus, optimized molar concentration of the precursor and the PVP polymer may be relatedto the successful formation of flake-like LiCoO2 nanopowders. As a results, the synthesized LiCoO2 nanopowder can beused as the electrode material of Li-ion batteries.