Copper hexacyanoferrate (Cu-HCF), which is a type of Prussian Blue analogue (PBA), possesses a specific lattice structure that allows it to selectively and effectively adsorb cesium with a high capacity. However, its powdery form presents difficulties in terms of recovery when introduced into aqueous environments, and its dispersion in water has the potential to impede sunlight penetration, possibly affecting aquatic ecosystems. To address this, sponge-type aluminum oxide, referred to as alumina foam (AF), was employed as a supporting material. The synthesis was achieved through a dip-coating method, involving the coating of aluminum oxide foam with copper oxide, followed by a reaction with potassium hexacyanoferrate (KHCF), resulting in the in-situ formation of Cu-HCF. Notably, Copper oxide remained chemically stable, which led to the application of 1, 3, 5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H3BTC) to facilitate its conversion into Cu-HCF. This was necessary to ensure the proper transformation of copper oxide into Cu-HCF on the AF in the presence of KHCF. The synthesis of Cu-HCF from copper oxide using H3BTC was verified through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The manufactured adsorbent material, referred to as AF@CuHCF, was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). These analyses revealed the presence of the characteristic C≡N bond at 2,100 cm-1, confirming the existence of Cu-HCF within the AF@CuHCF, accounting for approximately 3.24% of its composition. AF@CuHCF exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 34.74 mg/g and demonstrated selective cesium adsorption even in the presence of competing ions such as Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. Consequently, AF@CuHCF effectively validated its capabilities to selectively and efficiently adsorb cesium from Cs-contaminating wastewater.

Porous Cu with a dispersion of nanoscale Al2O3 particles is fabricated by freeze-drying CuO-Al2O3/camphene slurry and sintering. Camphene slurries with CuO-Al2O3 contents of 5 and 10 vol% are unidirectionally frozen at -30oC, and pores are generated in the frozen specimens by camphene sublimation during air drying. The green bodies are sintered for 1 h at 700oC and 800oC in H2 atmosphere. The sintered samples show large pores of 100 μm in average size aligned parallel to the camphene growth direction. The internal walls of the large pores feature relatively small pores of ~10 μm in size. The size of the large pores decreases with increasing CuO-Al2O3 content by the changing degree of powder rearrangement in the slurry. The size of the small pores decreases with increasing sintering temperature. Microstructural analysis reveals that 100-nm Al2O3 particles are homogeneously dispersed in the Cu matrix. These results suggest that a porous composite body with aligned large pores could be fabricated by a freeze-drying and H2 reducing process.

Porous thick film of alumina which is fabricated by freeze tape casting using a camphene-camphor-acrylate vehicle. Alumina slurry is mixed above the melting point of the camphene-camphor solvent. Upon cooling, the camphene- camphor crystallizes from the solution as particle-free dendrites, with the Al2O3 powder and acrylate liquid in the interdendritic spaces. Subsequently, the acrylate liquid is solidified by photopolymerization to offer mechanical properties for handling. The microstructure of the porous alumina film is characterized for systems with different cooling rate around the melting temperature of camphor-camphene. The structure of the dendritic porosity is compared as a function of ratio of camphene-camphor solvent and acrylate content, and Al2O3 powder volume fraction in acrylate in terms of the dendrite arm width.

In order to fabricate the porous Al₂O₃ with dispersion of nano-sized Cu particles, freeze-drying of cam-phene/Al₂O₃ slurry and solution chemistry process using Cu-nitrate are introduced. Camphene slurries with 10vol% Al₂O₃ was frozen at -25˚C. Pores were generated by sublimation of the camphene during drying in air. The sinteredsamples at 1400 and 1500oC showed the same size of large pores which were aligned parallel to the sublimable vehiclesgrowth direction. However, the size of fine pores in the internal walls of large pores decreased with increase in sinteringtemperature. It was shown that Cu particles with the size of 100 nm were homogeneously dispersed on the surfaces ofthe large pores. Antibacterial test using fungus revealed that the porous Al₂O₃/1vol% Cu composite showed antifungalproperty due to the dispersion of Cu particles. The results are suggested that the porous composites with required porecharacteristics and functional property can be fabricated by freeze-drying process and addition of functional nano par-ticles by chemical method.

Porous Al2O3 dispersed with nano-sized Cu was fabricated by freeze-drying process and solution chemistry method using Cu-nitrate. To prepare porous Al2O3, camphene was used as the sublimable vehicle. Camphene slurries with Al2O3 content of 10 vol% were prepared by milling at 50˚C with a small amount of oligomeric polyester dispersant. Freezing of the slurry was done in a Teflon cylinder attached to a copper bottom plate cooled to -25˚C while unidirectionally controlling the growth direction of the camphene. Pores were subsequently generated by sublimation of the camphene during drying in air for 48 h. The green body was sintered in a furnace at 1400˚C for 1 h. Cu particles were dispersed in porous Al2O3 by calcination and hydrogen reduction of Cu-nitrate. The sintered samples showed large pores with sizes of about 150μm; these pores were aligned parallel to the camphene growth direction. Also, the internal walls of the large pores had relatively small pores due to the traces of camphene left between the concentrated Al2O3 particles on the internal wall. EDS analysis revealed that the Cu particles were mainly dispersed on the surfaces of the large pores. These results strongly suggest that porous Al2O3 with Cu dispersion can be successfully fabricated by freeze-drying and solution chemistry routes.

다양한 재료특성(Si/Al 몰비, 두께, 구조적 불완전성)을 갖는 Na형 faujasite 제올라이트 분리층을 다공성 α-알루미나 튜브 표면에 수열조건에서 이차성장 시키고 CO2/N2 분리거동을 CO2/N2 몰비가 1인 혼합기체에 대하여 30℃에서 평가하였다. 수열조건 중에서 수열용액 내의 SiO2 양은 형성된 제올라이트 분리층의 재료특성에 가장 큰 영향을 주는 변수임을 확인하였다. 즉, 수열용액 내의 SiO2 양이 증가함에 따라서 형성된 제올라이트 분리층의 Si/Al 몰비, 두께, 구조적 불완전성(discontinuity)은 동시에 증가하였다. 본 논문에서는 불완전한 치밀화에 의해 잔존하는 결정립간 공극(void), GIS Na-P1 상에 의해 형성된 균열(crack) 등 구조적 불완전성이 CO2/N2 분리에 가장 큰 영향을 주는 재료특성이며, 투과부에서의 CO2 탈착이 전체 CO2 투과의 율속단계(rate-determining step)임을 확인하였다.