Carbon fibers of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) type were coated with nickel nanoparticles using a chemical reduction method in alkaline hydrazine bath. The carbon fibers were firstly heated at 400 °C and then chemically treated in hydrochloric acid followed by nitric acid to clean, remove any foreign particles and functionalized its graphitic surfaces by introducing some functional groups. The functionalized carbon fibers were coated with nickel to produce 10 wt% Cf/Ni nanocomposites. The uncoated heat treated and the nickel coated carbon fibers were investigated by SEM, EDS, FTIR and XRD to characterize the particle size, morphology, chemical composition and the crystal structure of the investigated materials. The nickel nanoparticles were successfully deposited as homogeneous layer on the surface of the functionalized carbon fibers. Also, the deposited nickel nanoparticles have quazi-spherical shape and 128–225 nm median particle size. The untreated and the heat treated as well as the 10 wt% Cf/Ni nanocomposite particles were further reinforced in ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) polymer separately by melt blending technique to prepare 0.5 wt% Cf-EVA polymer matrix stretchable conductive composites. The microstructures of the prepared polymer composites were investigated using optical microscope. The carbon fibers as well as the nickel coated one were homogenously distributed in the polymer matrix. The obtained samples were analyzed by TGA. The addition of the nickel coated carbon fibers to the EVA was improved the thermal stability by increasing the thermal decomposition temperature Tmax1 and Tmax2. The electrical and the mechanical properties of the obtained 10 wt% Cf/Ni nanocomposites as well as the 0.5 wt% Cf-EVA stretchable conductive composites were evaluated by measuring its thermal stability by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), electrical resistivity by four probe method and tensile properties. The electrical resistivity of the fibers was decreased by coating with nickel and the 10 wt% Cf/Ni nanocomposites has lower resistivity than the carbon fibers itself. Also, the electrical resistivity of the neat EVA is decreased from 3.2 × 1010 to 1.4 × 104 Ω cm in case of the reinforced 0.5 wt% Cf/Ni-EVA polymer composite. However, the ultimate elongation and the Young’s modulus of the neat EVA polymer was increased by reinforcing with carbon fibers and its nickel composite.

In the present work, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were anchored with the assistance of vinyl ester resin (VE) on the carbon fiber surfaces of conventional carbon fabrics (CCF) and semi-spread carbon fabrics (SSCF) having different areal density, ply thickness, and crimp number, respectively. Here, MWCNT anchoring means that MWCNT were physically attached on the individual carbon fiber surfaces of each fabric by coating with dilute VE and then by thermally curing it. The MWCNT anchoring effect on the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of CCF/VE and SSCF/VE composites was investigated. MWCNT were also simply applied (without physical attachment) to the carbon fiber surfaces of CCF and SSCF for comparison, respectively. It was found that SSCF/VE composites exhibited the ILSS higher than CCF/VE composites, regardless of simple-applying or anchoring of MWCNT, increasing the ILSS with the MWCNT concentration. It was noted that MWCNT anchoring was effective to improve not only the interlaminar adhesion but also the interfacial bonding between the carbon fiber and the matrix due to the formation of MWCNT bridges between the individual carbon fibers of SSCF, indicating that the MWCNT anchoring effect was more pronounced with SSCF than with CCF. The result of the interlaminar property was well supported by the fiber and composite fracture topography.

A Partially hydrolyzed poly (vinyl acetate) (PHPVA)-borax complex-based gel-like coating was successfully developed for the decontamination of Simulated nuclear fallout (SFO) from surfaces. The sprayable coating was self-generated on the surface by borate-diol ester bonds after simultaneously mixing two solutions of borax and PHPVA. The SFO particles, synthesized at 1,200°C for melting, were glassy while some crystalline phases (e.g., SiO2 and Fe2O3) existed together. The SFO particles were fixed onto the Stainless steel (SS) substrate by dropping and evaporating water. for examination of the dust-removal performance of PHPVA-borax based coating. The dusts on the SS surface was successfully removed by casting the PHPVA-borax based coating within 1 minute, demonstrating the excellent dust-removal property of the PHPVA-borax based coating. The used PAB complex in wet state was recovered by using vacuum suction machine in short time. The solid-state PHPVA-borax based film was self-delaminated from the SS substrate after fully drying the used PHPVA-borax coating but this requires long period of time.

Cnidium officinale M. is an important crop that is widely used as a raw material for health functional foods. However, it is experiencing cultivation difficulties due to climate change and abnormally high temperatures. In response to this problem, the characteristics and main causes of the high-temperature damage occurring in C. officinale M. cultivation fields were analyzed. A survey of five farmhouse fields in Jecheon and Bonghwa, major C. officinale M. cultivation areas in Korea in 2018, indicated that about 5% to 37% of the cultivation fields in Jecheon and 5% to 15% of the fields in Bonghwa died from wilting. The high-temperature damage of the C. officinale M. fields is divided into two categories: upper leaves drying due to solar radiation and temperature, and lower leaves dying serially to the radiant heat of the vinyl mulch. Damage caused by radiant heat was typically greater. This is due to the greenhouse effect that occurs in the small space between the black vinyl mulching and the soil. The heat radiated to the surface of the ridge creating an environmental condition that greatly exceeded the atmospheric temperature especially on hot days. As a result, short plants with underground parts, such as C. officinale M., can suffer more high-temperature damage than other plants, so it is considered that it is necessary to develop related technologies such as mulching materials that can reduce pavement temperature in the future.

Wide-area surface decontamination is essential in the emergency situation of release of radioisotopes to public such as nuclear accident or terrorist attack. Here, a self-generated hydrogel based on the reversible complex between poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and phenylboronic acid-grafted poly (methyl vinyl ether-alt-mono-sodium maleate) (PBA-g-PVM-SM) was developed to remove the radioactive cesium from surface. Two aqueous polymeric solutions of PVA and PBA-g-PVM-SM containing sulfur-zeolite were simultaneously applied to surfaces, which subsequently self-generated a hydrogel based on the PBA-diol ester bond. The sulfur-zeolite suspended in hydrogel selectively remove the 137Cs from contaminated surface and easily separated from the dissociable used hydrogel by simple water rinsing. In radioactive tests, the resulting hydrogel containing sulfur-chabazite displayed high 137Cs removal efficiencies of 96.996% for painted cement and 63.404% for cement, which was 2.33 times higher than that of commercial strippable coating (Decongel). Considering the intrinsic various ion-exchange ability of zeolite, our hydrogel system has the excellent potential for the effective removal of various hazardous contamination including radionuclides from the surface.

The structural transformationss of oriented poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) fibers impregnated with potassium bisulfate (PBS) were studied in detail on the way from PVA precursor fibers till carbonized at a temperature of 1000 °C fibers. It has been shown that the impregnation of PVA fibers with a sulfur-containing compound (PBS) is an efficient technique to decrease the thermoplasticity of PVA fibers during heat treatment at high temperatures in air and argon and contributes to a high yield of coke residue after heat treatment up to 1000 °C. TMA, TGA, DSC, mass spectrometry, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, WAXS and SAXS were used to study the structural transformations of oriented PVA fibers impregnated with PBS at the stages of their preliminary thermal stabilization (215 °C), thermal stabilization (215–400 °C) and carbonization (400–1000 °C). A reaction scheme has been proposed that fully describes carbonization chemistry in the entire studied temperature range. The processing temperature of 215 °C was found to be optimal for preliminary thermal stabilization of PVA fibers impregnated with PBS. The heat treatment in an inert medium can be recommended as the optimal for thermal stabilization of fibers impregnated with PBS. The characteristics of the carbonized PVA fibers, such as strength, modulus and electrical conductivity, were close to the characteristics of commercial cellulose-based carbon fibers yarns.

본 연구에서는 titanium nitride (TiN) 나노 섬유와 poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOTPSS) 전도성 고분자로 이루어진 전극과 poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) 기반 고분자 전해질 분리막을 이용하여 슈퍼 캐퍼시터를 제조하였다. TiN 나노 섬유의 경우 높은 전기 전도도와 이차원적 구조로 인한 스케폴드 효과를 기대할 수 있다는 점에서 전극 물질로 사용되었다. PEDOT-PSS 전도성 고분자는 수소 이온과 산화-환원 반응을 통해 보다 높은 정전용량을 나타낼 수 있으며 용액상에 분산이 용이해 유무기 복합제를 형성하기에 적합하였다. PVA 기반의 고분자 전해질 분리막은 기존의 액상의 전해질의 문제인 외부 충격에 대한 안정성을 확보할 수 있으며 염으로 사용된 H3PO4의 경우 수소 이온은 빠른 확산으로 인해 캐퍼시터의 충방전 효율에 이점이 있다. 본 연구에서 보고된 PEDOT-PSS/TiN 슈퍼캐퍼시터의 정전용량은 약 75 F/g으로 기존의 탄소기반 캐퍼시터에 비해 큰 폭으로 증가한 값이다.

We developed a facile methodology for fabricating a free-standing mixed-matrix membrane (MMM) containing covalently incorporated vinyl-functionalized UiO-66-CH=CH2 particles up to 60 wt% by utilizing thiol-ene photopolymerization. FTIR, TGA, SEM, EDX, and XRD strongly supported the fact that the desired MMM containing well-dispersed UiO-66-CH=CH2 particles was successfully produced by C–S bond formation. The MMM was highly flexible and showed improved mechanical properties compared to the pristine polymeric membrane, indicating that the covalently immobilized UiO-66-CH=CH2 particles were homogeneously distributed in the polymer matrix. Gas permeability across the MMM was significantly enhanced compared with the pristine polymeric membrane as diffusion of the gas molecules was facilitated in the porous space of the MOF.

Membrane fabrication is a critical area that hampers forward osmosis (FO) technology from industrialization. Herein, electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofiber (NF) was used as a support layer for thin film composite (TFC) FO membrane. The PVA NF was incorporated with sulfonated graphene oxide (sGO). The oxygenous-rich sGO enhanced the hydrophilicity and mechanical strength of PVA NF as revealed by contact angle and tensile strength measurements, and pure water flux. On this support, the active polyamide layer was formed through interfacial polymerization. Meanwhile, FO performance of sGO/PVA TFC membrane is currently being evaluated. This work was supported by NRF of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2016R1A2B1009221 and 2017R1A2B2002109) and Ministry of Education (2009-0093816 and 22A20130012051 (BK21Plus)).

인위적인 온실 가스 배출로 인한 자연 재해가 증가하고 있으며 이로 인해 기체 분리막의 개발이 촉진되게 되었다. 이산화탄소(CO2)는 지구 온난화의 주요 원인이다. 고유의 유연성을 가지는 유기 고분자 막은 기체 분리막의 좋은 후보군 중 하나이며, 이 중 이산화탄소에 대한 높은 확산도를 가지고 있는 폴리디메틸실록산(PDMS)은 유망한 소재이다. 또한, 폴리비 닐피롤리돈(PVP)은 이산화탄소에 대한 높은 용해도를 가지고 있는 고분자로 기체 분리막에 활용될 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구 에서는 용이한 조건에서 간단한 단일 반응 자유 라디칼 중합에 의하여 다양한 조성의 폴리디메틸실록산-폴리비닐피롤리돈 (PDMS-PVP) 빗살 공중합체를 합성하였다. PDMS와 PVP로 합성된 공중합체는 FTIR을 통해 분석하였다. 고분자의 형태학 및 열적 특성은 TEM, TGA 및 DSC를 통하여 분석하였다. PDMS-PVP 빗살 공중합체를 다공성 폴리설폰 지지체 위에 코팅 하여 복합막을 제조했으며, 제조한 복합막의 기체 투과 특성을 분석하였다. 그 결과 이산화탄소의 투과도 및 이산화탄소/질소 선택도가 각각 140.6 GPU 및 12.0에 도달하였다.