pH plays a pivotal role in influencing various aspects of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions in electrochemical systems. These reactions are affected by pH in terms of mass transport, electrochemical double layer (EDL) structure, and surface adsorption energy, all of which impact the overall electrochemical processes. This review article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research progress made in elucidating the effects of pH on different electrochemical reactions, the hydrogen evolution reaction/hydrogen oxidation reaction (HER/HOR), oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (ORR/OER), and carbon dioxide reduction reaction ( CO2RR). To embark on this endeavor, we have conducted a bibliometric analysis to clearly outline of the research trends and advancements in the field concerning the pH effects. Subsequently, we present a systematic overview of the mechanisms governing these reactions, with a special focus on pH’s influence on both the proton and electron aspects. We conclude by discussing the current challenges in this area and suggesting future research avenues that could further our understanding of pH's role in electrochemical reactions.

In this study, corrosion fatigue crack propagation was investigated in pH buffer environment using the giga strength steel and its heat-affected zone, and the results were compared with theoretical model prediction. Also, the pure corrosion effect on fatigue crack propagation in a corrosive environment was compared with the modified Forman equation. As results, the average value of corrosion rate obtained as the ratio of the net corrosion-induced crack length to the total crack length under cyclic loading in the base metal and heat-affected zone under experimental loading conditions. These results exhibit a new theoretical method for corrosion fatigue crack propagation that predicts a purely corrosion effect on the behavior to be determined.

The effect of the laser beam diameter on the microstructure and hardness of 17-4 PH stainless steel manufactured via the directed energy deposition process is investigated. The pore size and area fraction are much lower using a laser beam diameter of 1.0 mm compared with those observed using a laser beam diameter of 1.8 mm. Additionally, using a relatively larger beam diameter results in pores in the form of incomplete melting. Martensite and retained austenite are observed under both conditions. A smaller width of the weld track and overlapping area are observed in the sample fabricated with a 1.0 mm beam diameter. This difference appears to be mainly caused by the energy density based on the variation in the beam diameter. The sample prepared with a beam diameter of 1.0 mm had a higher hardness near the substrate than that prepared with a 1.8 mm beam diameter, which may be influenced by the degree of melt mixing between the 17-4 PH metal powder and carbon steel substrate.

양액 pH가 에케베리아 생육과 색상에 미치는 영향을 알아 보기 위해 본 연구를 수행하였다. 에케베리아 ‘Perle von Nurnberg’ 품종을 선택하여 미국 유타주 프로보(Provo)시 소재 브리검영대학교 Plant and Wildlife 학과의 연구온실에서 수행되었다. 이 품종에 pH 4, pH 7 및 pH 10 3종류의 양액을 공급하여 연구를 수행하였다. 양액 pH 4 처리구에서는 초폭이 120.6mm로 pH 10 처리구의 105.3mm 보다 크게 자랐으며 유의성도 있었다. 하지만 엽장, 엽폭, 엽수에 있어서는 처리간 유의성은 없었다. pH meter를 통해서 식물체 즙액의 pH 를 측정하였는데 4.5에서 4.7 범위의 값을 보였으며 처리간 유의성은 없었다. 위의 결과로 양액의 pH는 식물체의 pH에 영향을 미치지 않는 것으로 판단되었다. 색차계를 이용하여 CIELAB 값을 측정하였을 때 pH 4 처리구에서의 적색도(a)는 -4.0이었으며 pH 10 처리구보다 더 녹색을 띠었다. 명도(L)과 황색도(b) 값은 처리간에 유의적인 차이가 없었다. HPLC를 통한 안토시아니딘 분석에서는 주로 cyanidin, delphinidin 및 pelargonidin의 함량이 모든 처리구에서 상대적으로 높게 나타났다. 공급양액의 pH가 상승함 따라 그 함량도 높아지는 경향을 보였다. Petunidin, malvidin 함량은 미량으로 존재하였으며, peonidin은 분석되지 않았다. 이상의 결과로부터 양액을 pH 10으로 처리하였을 때 에케베리아의 생육억제와 잎 착색에 가장 효과적임을 알 수 있었다.

Curcumin is an active polyphenolic compound with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. Curcumin, however, is highly unstable under physiological conditions due to its low stability in acidic and alkaline conditions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of enzyme-treated rice starch as a wall material on the stability of curcumin in oil-in-water emulsion under different pH conditions. The rice starch was treated using 4-a-glucanotransferase for different time periods and their molecular weight distribution was measured by HPSEC. Curcumin was encapsulated within lipid droplets of O/W emulsion prepared with Tween 20 and the modified rice starch in the aqueous phase at different concentrations (0, 2.5, 7.5 and 10 wt%). The temperature and pH stability of the system were determined respectively by measuring particle size, zeta potential and retention of the curcumin loaded in the emulsion after one-week storage in the solutions with different pH and temperature conditions. The average molecular weight of the modified starch decreased with treatment time. The 96h treated rice starch had the lowest molecular weight while the 1h treated starch mainly consisted of high molecular weight components. The storage temperature did not significantly influence the stability of curcumin emulsion. However, the particle size of the emulsion with modified starch slightly increased when stored at acidic pH condition, which might be attributed to starch aggregation. The curcumin retention was higher for the samples with the modified starch than the control at all concentrations. The pH stability of the curcumin was also higher than the control at all pH conditions. Specifically, the 1h treated starch showed the best performance regarding curcumin protection in emulsion, which might be attributed to the high viscosity that retarded the curcumin release. Further research needs to be conducted on the mechanism.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of disaccharides supplementation in glycerol-free tris (GFT) on dog sperm cryopreservation with respect to pH adjustment of extender and post-thaw incubation. The spermatozoa collected from five dogs were resuspended (5×107 cell/ml) with GFT containing 100 mM of lactose (L), trehalose (T) or sucrose (S) or pH adjusted (6.85) 100 mM of lactose (LP), trehalose (TP) or sucrose (SP). The sperm (500 μl) were loaded in straws, cooled for 50 min at 4℃, frozen using liquid nitrogen (LN2) vapor for 20 min and plunged in LN2. After thawing at 37℃ for 25 s in a water bath, the spermatozoa were incubated at 24℃ for 30 min. The progressive motility, viability, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and mRNA expression of SMCP gene were then assessed. The MMP was evaluated by combined JC-1 plus PI staining. The relative abundance of SMCP was assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Adjustment of pH in GFT extender supplemented with disaccharides did not improve sperrm motility and viability. In general, post-thaw incubation increased the progressive motility of spermatozoa. The sperm motility in the group S was significantly (P<0.05) higher than other groups regardless of post-thaw incubation time. Similarly, the sperm viability in the group S was significantly (P<0.05) higher following post-thaw incubation. The higher sperm motility in the group S was also supported with the significantly (P<0.05) higher live sperm having high MMP. There was no significant difference in mRNA expression of SMCP gene among the experimental groups. These results indicate that cryopreservation of dog sperm in GFT supplemented with S and 30 min post-thaw incubation at 24℃ could provide better freezability of dog spermatozoa with improved motility and higher MMP.

블루베리 재배시 토양 유기물 공급원으로 쓰이고 있는 피트모스가 전량 수입에 의존하고 있어 국내에서 생산되는 소나무잎, 왕겨, 톱밥 등 유기물을 블루베리 정식 전 피트모스와 혼합처리 한 후 토양 pH 변화와 생육 및 과실 특성에 미치는 영향을 구명하고자 본 시험을 수행하였다. 시험품종은 2년생 북부 하이부시 블루베리 ‘Duke’ 품종이었고 묘목 정식 전 피트모스를 근권에 20L 단용으로 처리하는 방법과 피트모스(10L)와 소나무잎, 왕겨, 톱밥을 각각 10L씩 혼합 처리하는 방법으로 실시하였다. 유기물의 화학성 분석 결과 pH는 피트모스가 4.3으로 가장 낮았고 소나무잎은 4.8, 왕겨는 7.3, 톱밥은 5.7이었다. 정식 직후 유기물을 투여한 토양의 pH는 5.3~5.9 로 나타났고 피트모스단용, 피트모스+소나무잎 처리가 왕겨, 톱밥 혼합처리에 비해 낮았다. 정식 후 3년차 토양 pH는 4.2~4.5로 피트모스단용, 피트모스+소나무잎 처리에서 낮게 유지되었다. 유기물 조성에 따른 생육 시기 별 토양수분 함량은 피트모스+소나무잎>피트모스단용> 피트모스+톱밥>피트모스+왕겨 순으로 높게 나타났다. 생육은 피트모스 단용과 피트모스+소나무잎 처리에서 양호하였고 꽃눈수가 많아 초기 수량이 많았다. 당도는 피트모스 단용 처리에서 11.3 oBrix로 높았고 경도는 피트 모스+소나무잎 처리에서 증가되었으나 과실 품질에 있어 처리별 유의차는 없었다.

To increase the stability of anthocyanin from black rice, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) formed a complex with anthocyanin, and thermal and UVB stability of the complex was investigated at various pH levels. The formation of β-CD complex with anthocyanin was confirmed by the decreased UV-Vis spectrophotometer absorbance (at 511nm) with increasing the concentration of β-CD at pH 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 5. ABTS (2, 2’-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)assay was conducted to measure radical scavenging capacity (RSC) of the complex at pH 2, 4, 6, and 8, after which the RSCs were recorded over the 24 h heating(95°C) and 24 h UVB irradiating periods. The RSC values of the complexes increased as the β-CD concentration increased (0.1-2%) at pH 6 and 8. Upon thermal treatment, the RSC readings of the complexes tended to decrease to a lesser extent compared to the anthocyanin control (without β-CD) at pH 2. This result suggests that the thermal stability of anthocyanin was more retained in the presence of β-CD at low pH (pH 2). However, in the case of UVB irradiation, the effect of β-CD complex on the anthocyanin RSC was not significant, though the RSC values for both the anthocyanin control and complexes trended downward as the UVB irradiation time increased at all pH ranges except for pH 8 (no downward trend). In short, this study suggests that the effect of β-CD complex on the stability of anthocyanin antioxidant capacity depends on pH and the susceptibility to the degradation process.

Phosphorus (P) removal by aluminum sulfate solution was investigated with varying pH and initial P concentrations. P removal was the highest at around pH 6. The pH range where P removal occurred was slightly wider at higher initial P concentrations. Compared to theoretical calculations, it was confirmed that AlPO4 precipitation was the main reason for P removal at low pH. At high pH, where there should be no AlPO4 precipitates, the P removal by adsorption of amorphous Al(OH)3 precipitates was experimentally observed. The P removal by adding amorphous Al(OH)3 precipitates prepared before the adsorption experiments, however, was lower than that by injecting aluminum sulfate solution because the prepared precipitates became larger, leading to less specific surface area available for adsorption. Ions other than sulfate had little influence on P removal.

본 연구에서는 silicalite-1 제올라이트 분리막 합성 시에 종결정 코팅용액 pH 변화가 제올라이트 분리층 미세구조에 미치는 영항을 고찰하였다. 75 nm 크기로 합성된 종결정은 에탄올에 분산된 후 침지코팅법으로 지지체 표면에 코팅되었으며 분산용액의 pH는 2.2, 7.0, 9.3으로 조절되었다. pH가 7인 경우, 균일하고 두께가 3~4 μm인 silicalite-1 제올라이트 분리층이 형성되었고 분리층 결정입 크기는 100 nm로 미세하였다. 반면, pH가 2.2와 9.3인 경우, 분리층 두께가 얇고 불완전하였으며 분리층 결정입 크기도 약 1 μm로 조대하였다. pH 7에서 완전한 제올라이트 분리층이 형성된 것은 침지코팅 중에 지지체와 종 결정이 서로 다른 부호의 전하를 가져 정전기적 인력이 작용하여 균일하고 조밀하며 두껍고 다층의 종결정 코팅층이 형성되었 기 때문이었다. 반면에 pH가 2.2와 9.3인 경우, 침지코팅 중에 지지체와 종결정이 서로 같은 부호의 전하를 가져 정전기적 반 발력이 작용하기 때문에 불완전한 덮힘에 의하여 불완전한 분리층이 형성된다고 판단되었다. 결론적으로, 종결정 코팅용액의 pH가 silicalite-1 제올라이트 분리층의 두께, 결정립 크기 등 미세구조를 결정하는 중요한 인자임을 확인할 수 있었다.

강도가 강하고 내약품성, 무독성, 내연소성의 장점을 가지고 있는 PVdF (polyvinylidene fluoride) 나노섬유로 기공이 0.4 μm 평막을 제조한 후, 그 평막으로 부직포를 첨가하여 나권형 모듈을 제작하였다. 카올린과 휴믹산으로 조제한 모사용액과 순수를 대상으로 나권형 모듈의 투과선속과 처리율을 비교하여 pH의 영향을 알아보았고, 여과실험 후 물 역세척을 하여 회복률과 여과저항을 계산하였다. 또한, 나권형 모듈을 통과한 처리수를 입상 활성탄(GAC, granular activated carbon)으로 채워진 컬럼에 통과시킨 후, 탁도와 UV254 흡광도를 측정하여 GAC의 흡착 효과를 고찰하였다.

Synthesis of nano-silica using water glass in a Sol-Gel process is one of several methods to manufacture nano-silica. In nano-silica synthesized from water glass, there are various metal impurities. However, synthesis of nano-silica using water glass in a Sol-Gel process is an interesting method because it is relatively simple and cheap. In this study, nano-silica was synthesized from water glass; we investigated the effect of pH on the synthesis of nano-silica. The morphology of the nanosilica with pH 2 was flat, but the surface of the nano-silica with pH 10 had holes similar to small craters. As a result of ICPOES analysis, the amount of Na in the nano-silica with pH 2 was found to be 170 mg/kg. On the other hand, the amount of Na in the nano-silica with pH 10 was found to be 56,930 mg/kg. After calcination, the crystal structure of the nano-silica with pH 2 was amorphous. The crystal structure of the nano-silica with pH 10 transformed from amorphous to tridymite. This is because elemental Na in the nano-silica had the effect of decreasing the phase transformation temperature

고도정수처리를 위한 관형 세라믹 정밀여과와 이산화티타늄(TiO₂) 광촉매 첨가 PES (polyethersulfone) 구의 혼성공정에서 pH 및 포화산소, 역세척 매체의 영향을 막오염에 의한 저항(Rf) 및 투과선속(J), 총처리수량(VT) 측면에서 물 또는 질소, 산소 역세척 결과를 비교하였다. pH가 증가할수록 Rf는 감소하였고 J과 VT는 증가하였다. 탁도 처리효율은 pH에 상관없이 물 또는 질소 역세척 모두 유사한 값을 보였고, 용존유기물(DOM) 처리효율은 물 역세척 시 일정한 경향을 보이지 않았다. Rf는 공급수를 산소로 포화시킨 무역세척(NBF)에서 포화산소(SO)가 없는 NBF보다 낮게 나타났다. DOM 처리효율도 SO가 있는 NBF에서 SO가 없는 NBF보다 낮게 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 SO가 광촉매 TiO₂와 반응하여 발생된 OH 라디칼이모듈 내에 채워진 물에 의해 희석되었기 때문이다. 역세척 주기 10분에서 물 역세척보다 기체 역세척 시 DOM 처리효율은큰 값을 보였다. 이러한 결과는 기체 역세척이 물 역세척보다 PES 구를 효과적으로 세척함으로써, PES 구에 의한 흡착과 광분해가 활발하게 진행되기 때문이다.

The aim of this study is to investigate the sorption/ion exchange of radioactive nuclides such as Cs+ and Sr2+ by synthetic Na-micas. In order to prepare Na-micas, two natural micas (phlogopite and biotite) were used as precursor materials. XRD, SEM, and EDS analyses were used to examine material characterization of synthetic Na-micas. Analyses of materials revealed that Na-micas were successfully obtained from natrual micas by K removal treatment. On the other hand, single solute (Cs or Sr) and bi-solute (Cs/Sr) sorption experiments were carried out to determine sorption capacity of Na-micas for Cs and Sr under different pH and ionic strength conditions. Uptake of Cs and Sr by micas in bi-solute system was lower than in single-solute system. Additionally, Langmuir and Langmuir competitive models were applied to describe sorption isotherm of Na-micas. bi-solute system was well described by Langmuir competitive models. For the results obtained in this study, Na-micas could be promising sorbents to treat multi-radioactive species from water and groundwater.

고도정수처리를 위한 관형 세라믹 정밀여과와 이산화티타늄(TiO2) 광촉매 첨가 PES (polyethersulfone) 구의 혼성공정에서 pH 및 산소 역세척의 영향을 막오염에 의한 저항(Rf) 및 투과선속(J), 총여과부피(VT)의 관점에서 고찰하였다. pH가높아질수록 Rf가 감소하고, J는 증가하는 경향을 보였다. 결과적으로 pH 9에서 최대의 VT를 나타내었다. 탁도의 처리효율은 pH와 무관하게 98.7∼99.0%의 비슷한 처리효율을 보였다. 용존유기물질(DOM)의 처리효율은 pH가 높아질수록 감소하였다.산소와 질소 역세척의 차이를 비교한 결과, Rf,180 값이 산소 역세척 시 질소보다 낮게 나타났고, 초기투과선속(J0)으로 무차원화한 최종투과선속(J180/J0)은 역세척 주기(FT) 10분과 12분을 제외하고 산소 역세척이 질소 보다 높게 유지되었다. 산소 역세척 시 탁도물질의 처리효율은 질소 보다 다소 높게 나타났지만, 그 차이는 미비하다. 질소 역세척 시 DOM의 처리율은 산소보다 높게 나타났다. 또한, 포화산소 조건에서 탁도물질의 처리율은 산소 또는 질소 역세척 경우와 비슷하게 나타났지만, 포화산소가 광촉매와 반응하여 OH 라디칼을 생성하였기 때문에 DOM의 처리효율은 큰 폭으로 증가하였다.