Joon-Phil Choi

Consolidation of Hierarchy-Structured Nanopowder Agglomerates and Its Application to Net-Shaping Nanopowder Materials

This paper provides an overview on our recent investigations on the consolidation of hierarchy-structured nanopowder agglomerates and related applications to net-shaping nanopowder materials. Understanding the nanopowder agglomerate sintering (NAS) process is essential to processing of net-shaped nanopowder materials and components with small and complex shape. The key concept of the NAS process is to enhance material transport through controlling the powder interface volume of nanopowder agglomerates. Based upon this concept, we have suggested a new idea of full density processing for fabricating micro-powder injection molded part using metal nanopowder agglomerates produced by hydrogen reduction of metal oxide powders. Studies on the full density sintering of die compacted- and powder injection molded iron base nano-agglomerate powders are introduced and discussed in terms of densification process and microstructure.

Thermo-mechanical improvement of Inconel 718 using ex situ boron nitride-reinforced composites processed by laser powder bed fusion

Hexagonal boron nitride-reinforced Inconel 718 (h-BN/IN718) composites were fabricated using a laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technique to treat a nanosheet-micropowder precursor mixture prepared in a mechanical blending process. Tailoring the BN in IN718 enhanced the thermal resistance of the composites, thereby dampening the sharpness of the melting temperature peak at 1364 °C. This is because the presence of the BN reinforcement, which has a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), resulted in a heat-blocking effect within the matrix. Following this lead, we found that the BN (2.29 g/cm3) was uniformly distributed and strongly embedded in the IN718 (8.12 g/cm3), with the lowest alloy density value (7.03 g/cm3) being obtained after the addition of 12 vol% BN. Consequently, its specific hardness and compressive strength rose to 41.7 Hv0.5·cm3/g and 92.4 MPa·cm3/g, respectively, compared to the unreinforced IN718 alloy with 38.7 Hv0.5·cm3/g and 89.4 MPa·cm3/g, respectively. Most importantly, we discovered that the wear resistance of the composite improved compared to the unreinforced IN718, indicated by a decrease in the coefficient of friction (COF) from 0.43 to 0.31 at 2400 s. This is because the BN has an exfoliated surface and intrinsically high sliding and lubricating characteristics.

Bimodal NdNiAl and NdFeB hybrid catalytic and magnetic nanoparticles laminated on Fe foam: catalytic conversion of CO + 3H2 to CH4

For the production of CH4 from CO hydrogenation, a hybrid foam with high catalytic activity and strong magnetic bonding ability was fabricated by electrospraying and co-sintering Nd-doped NiAl catalytic nanoparticles and NdFeB magnetic nanoparticles over a Fe foam. When the NdNiAl nanoparticles were uniformly distributed over a NdFeB nanoparticles support, they exhibited exceedingly high catalytic activity, selective conversion and stable adhesion. In particular, bimodal NdNiAl–NdFeB hybrid nanoparticles (with a ratio of 85.0 to 15.0 wt%) immobilized on Fe foam exhibited a high CO to CH4 conversion rate, with a TOF value of 1.1 s−1 and a CH4 selectivity value of 77.1% at a specific temperature of 260.0 °C. This improved catalytic behavior was attributed to the enhanced uniform dispersion of NdNiAl nanoparticles over a NdFeB nanoparticles support. At the same time, the NdFeB nanoparticles had high hydrogen absorptivity, which helped adjacent NdNiAl nanoparticles activated with CO to be hydrogenated and produce CH4.

Improved electrical and thermo-mechanical properties of a MWCNT/In–Sn–Bi composite solder reflowing on a flexible PET substrate

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/indium–tin–bismuth (In–Sn–Bi) composite nanostructures in which In–Sn–Bi nanoparticles have been penetrated by the MWCNT arrays were synthesized using a chemical reduction method. The incorporation of 0.6 wt% MWCNTs with high electrical conductivity into the In-based solder resulted in low minimum electrical resistivity (19.9 ± 1.0 µΩ·cm). Despite being reflowed at the relatively low temperature of 110 °C, the composite solder nanostructures were able to form mechanically stable solder bumps on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate due to the MWCNT arrays with a high thermal conductivity of 3000 W/(m·K) and In–Sn–Bi nanoparticles with a low melting temperature of 98.2 °C. Notably, the composite solder bumps exhibited high flexibility (17.7% resistance increase over 1000 cycles of operation in a bending test) and strong adhesion strength (0.9 N average shear strength in a scratch test) on the plastic substrate because of the presence of mechanically flexible and strong MWCNTs dispersed within the solder matrix materials. These overall properties are due to the improved diffusivity of the composite solder nanostructures by the cover of the In–Sn–Bi nanoparticles along the MWCNT arrays and the network structure formation of the composite solder bumps.

Consolidation of Iron Nanopowder by Nanopowder-Agglomerate Sintering at Elevated Temperature

【The key concept of nanopowder agglomerate sintering (NAS) is to enhance material transport by controlling the powder interface volume of nanopowder agglomerates. Using this concept, we developed a new approach to full density processing for the fabrication of pure iron nanomaterial using Fe nanopowder agglomerates from oxide powders. Full density processing of pure iron nanopowders was introduced in which the powder interface volume is manipulated in order to control the densification process and its corresponding microstructures. The full density sintering behavior of Fe nanopowders optimally size-controlled by wet-milling treatment was discussed in terms of densification process and microstructures.】

A Modular Solder System with Hierarchical Morphology and Backward Compatibility

A modular solder system with hierarchical morphology and micro/nanofeatures in which solder nanoparticles are distributed on the surface of template micropowders is reported. A core-shell structure of subsidiary nanostructures, which improved the intended properties of the modular solder is also presented. In addition, polymer additives can be used not only as an adhesive (like epoxy resin) but also to impart other functions. By combining all of these, it is determined that the modular solder system is able to increase reflowability on a heat-sensitive plastic substrate, oxidation resistance, and electrical conductivity. In this respect, the system could be readily modified by changing the structure and composition of each constituent and adopting backward compatibility with which the knowledge and information attained from a previously designed solder can offer feedback toward further improving the properties of a newly designed one. In practice, In-Sn-Bi nanoparticles engineered on the surface of Sn-Zn micropowders result in pronounced reflowing on a flexible Au-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate even at the low temperature of 110 °C. Depending on their respective concentrations, the incorporation of CuO@CeO2 nanostructures and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) polymers increases oxidation resistance and electrical conductivity of the modular solder.

The Preparation of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Paste Used the Peroxo Titanium Complex and Characteristics by Annealing Temperature

The organic binder-free paste for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been investigated using peroxo titanium complex. The crystal structure of nanoparticles, morphology of film and electrical properties are analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electrochemical Impedance Spectra (EIS), and solar simulator. The synthesized nanopowders by the peroxo titanium complex at 150, 300, , and have anatase phase and average crystal sizes are calculated to be 4.2, 13.7, 16.9, and 20.9 nm, respectively. The DSSC prepared by the peroxo titanium complex binder have higher and lower values than that of the organic binder. It can be attributed to improvement of sintering properties of and interface and to formation of agglomerate by the nanoparticles. As a result, we have investigated the organic binder-free paste and 3.178% conversion efficiency of the DSSC at .

Microstructural Feature of Full-densified W-Cu Nanocomposites Containing Low Cu Content

The microstructure evolution during sintering of the W-5 wt.%Cu nanocomposite powders was investigated for the purpose of developing a high density W-Cu alloy. The W-5 wt.%Cu nanopowder compact, fully-densified during sintering at 1623 K, revealed a homogeneous microstructure that consists of high contiguity structures of W-W grains and an interconnected Cu phase located along the edges of the W grains. The Vickers hardness of the sintered W-5 wt.%Cu specimen was Hv much higher than that ( Hv) of the conventional heavy alloy. This result is mostly due to the higher contiguity microstructure of the W grains compared to the conventional W heavy alloy.

Optimum Morphology of Mixed-Olivine Mesocrystals for a Li-Ion Battery

In this present work, we report on the synthesis of micron-sized LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 (LMFP) mesocrystals via a solvothermal method with varying pH and precursor ratios. The morphologies of resultant LMFP secondary particles are classified into two major classes, flakes and ellipsoids, both of which are featured by the mesocrystalline aggregates where the primary particles constituting LMFP secondary particles are crystallographically aligned. Assessment of the battery performance reveals that the flake-shaped LMFP mesocrystals exhibit a specific capacity and rate capability superior to those of other mesocrystals. The origin of the enhanced electrochemical performance is investigated in terms of primary particle size, pore structure, antisite-defect concentration, and secondary particle shape. It is shown that the shape of the secondary particle has just as much of a significant effect on the battery performance as the crystallite size and antisite defects do. We believe that this work provides a rule of design for electrochemically favorable meso/nanostructures, which is of great potential for improving battery performance by tuning the morphology of particles on multilength scales.