Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites were prepared using electrospinning. As the relative amounts of N-doped ZnO nanoparticles in the composites were controlled to levels of 3.4, 9.6, and 13.8 wt%, the morphological, structural, and chemical properties of the composites were characterized by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In particular, the carbon nanofiber composites containing 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited superior catalytic properties, making them suitable for use as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). This result can be attributed to the enhanced surface roughness of the composites, which offers sites for I3- ion reductions and the formation of Zn3N2 phases that facilitate electron transfer. Therefore, DSSCs fabricated with 13.8 wt% N-doped ZnO nanoparticle-carbon nanofiber composites showed high current density (16.3mA/cm2), high fill factor (57.8%), and excellent power-conversion efficiency (6.69%); at the same time, these DSSCs displayed power-conversion efficiency almost identical to that of DSSCs fabricated with a pure Pt counter electrode (6.57%).

본 연구에서는 정제되지 않은 ZnO 및 TiO₂나노입자를 M4배지에 노출시켜 두 나노입자가 어느 정도 크기의 응집체로 변화되는지를 살펴보고 또한 두 나노입자가 수생태계 생물종인 Daphnia magna에 어떠한 영향을 초래하는지 유영저해 및 폐사율을 통해 살펴보았다. ZnO 및 TiO₂나노입자의 분말상태 크기는 각각 20 nm와 40 nm였지만, M4배지에서는 1333 nm와 1628 nm로 약 40~70배의 크기로 응집되었다. 유영저해의 경우 ZnO와 TiO₂나노입자 모두 시간 및 농도가 높아질수록 D.magna가 유영하는데 영향을 미친 것으로 나타났으며, 특히 ZnO나노입자가 TiO₂나노입자에 비해 더 큰 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 폐사율의 경우 ZnO나노입자에서는 시간 및 농도가 높아질수록 폐사되는 비율이 높았으며, TiO₂나노입자에서는 72시간이 경과된 시점의 10 ppm 이상의 농도에서 폐사하는 것으로 관찰되었다. 이는 나노입자가 해양에 유입됨으로 인해 원래의 크기에 비해 응집되어 증가되어진다는 것을 알 수 있으며, 또한 그 응집체로 인해 수생태계 생물에 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다.

For application of nano-sized material in various fields, toxicity evaluation of nano-sized material is important. In the current study, a suspension of 50 nm-sized zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles at a dose of 1 g/kg body weight was injected intraperitonially into mice in order to identify the toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles. After 24 h, the blood and liver were taken and analyzed. According to the results of hematological analysis, white blood cell (p<0.001), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (p<0.001), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (p<0.05) in the ZnO nanoparticle treated group showed a significant decrease, compared to the control group. In serum biochemistry analysis, alanine aminotransferase (p<0.001) and aspartate amino-transferase (p<0.05) also induced a significant increase in the ZnO nanoparticle treated group, compared with the control group. In the histopathological examination, liver in mice treated with ZnO nanoparticles showed edema and degeneration in hepatocytes. Therefore, it is concluded that the liver is the target organ for 50 nm ZnO intraperitoneal exposure. In the future, greater attention should be paid to the potential toxicity induced by various routes and doses of ZnO nanoparticles.

To fabricate TiO2 nanoparticle-based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) at a low-temperature, DSSCs were fabricated using hydropolymer and ZnO nanoparticles composites for the electron transport layer around a low-temperature (200˚C). ZnO nanoparticle with 20 nm and 60 nm diameter were used and Pt was deposited as a counter electrode on ITO/glass using an RF magnetron sputtering. We investigate the effect of ZnO nanoparticle concentration in hydropolymer and ZnO nanoparticle solution on the photoconversion performance of the low temperature fabricated (200˚C) DSSCs. Using cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,20 bipyridy1-4,40 dicarboxylato) ruthenium (II) bis-tetrabutylammonium (N719) dye as a sensitizer, the corresponding device performance and photo-physical characteristics are investigated through conventional physical characterization techniques. The effect of thickness of the ZnO photoelectrode and the morphology of the ZnO nanoparticles with the variations of hydropolymer to ZnO ratio on the photoconversion performance are also investigated. The morphology of the ZnO layer after sintering was examined using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). 60 nm ZnO nanoparticle DSSCs showed an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) value of about 7% higher than that of 20 nm ZnO nanoparticle DSSCs. The maximum parameters of the short circuit current density (Jsc), the open circuit potential (Voc), fill factor (ff), and efficiency (η) in the 60 nm ZnO nanoparticle-based DSSC devices were 4.93 mA/cm2, 0.56V, 0.40, and 1.12%, respectively.