Su-Won Yun

Anomalous decrease in structural disorder due to charge redistribution in Cr-doped Li4Ti5O12 negative-electrode materials for high-rate Li-ion batteries

Since one of the main drawbacks of Li4Ti5O12 as a negative-electrode material is its low electronic conductivity, several researchers have attempted to improve the conductivity by narrowing the band gap through transition-metal doping. Herein, we report another, more significant effect of doping in addition to the band gap narrowing, namely, an anomalous decrease in the structural disorder in Li4Ti5O12 upon Cr3+-ion doping. Although it is generally recognized that doping with heterogeneous elements increases the structural disorder, the Cr3+-ion doping in Li4Ti5O12 demonstrated an unexpected structural phenomenon. From the results of various structural analyses using a synchrotron beam, such anomalous structural changes were revealed to originate from charge redistribution at nearby Ti4+ ions. Finally, the capacity was markedly enhanced, especially at high C-rates (125 mA h g−1 for 10C charge/10C discharge, 145 mA h g−1 for 1C charge/50C discharge) because of both the band gap narrowing and the increased ionic diffusivity due to the decreased structural disorder, but was decreased instead for too-high doping levels.

Sequential two photon-excited fluorescence in a Nd3+-doped Bi4Ge3O12 crystal

Abstract Upconverted fluorescences in the UV-blue spectral range in a Nd 3+ -doped Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 crystal are investigated using pulse laser excitations at wavelengths around 590 nm. The Nd 3+ ions excited to the 4 F 3 2 levels through the linear absorption from the 4 G 5 2 levels are further excited to the 4 D 3 2 levels by the excited state absorption from the 4 F 3 2 to 4 D 5 2 levels, followed by the nonradiative transition from the 4 D 5 2 to 4 D 3 2 levels. The transitions from the 4 D 3 2 to 4 I 9 2 , 4 I 11 2 , 4 I 13 2 and 4 I 15 2 levels give rise to the upconverted fluorescences at 362 nm, 393 nm, 416 nm and 453 nm, respectively. The dominant mechanism for the upconverted fluorescences is proven to be the sequential two-photon excitations of the Nd 3+ ions.

An upper limit of Cr-doping level to Retain Zero-strain Characteristics of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 Anode Material for Li-ion Batteries

Since Li4Ti5O12 as a promising anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has a poor rate performance due to low electronic conductivity, a doping of Li4Ti5O12 with heterogeneous atoms has been considered to overcome this problem. Herein, we report that there is an upper limit of doping level to maintain the zero strain characteristics of Li4Ti5O12 lattice during charge/discharge process. By using synchrotron studies, it was revealed that the Li+ diffusivity was maximized at a certain doping level for which the conductivity was markedly increased with maintaining the zero strain characteristics. However, with more doses of dopants over the upper limit, the lattice shrank and therefore the Li+ diffusivity decreased, although the electronic conductivity was further increased in comparison with the optimal doping level.

Quadratic nonlinear optical coefficients of pure and MgO-doped lithium diborate crystals

Abstract The quadratic nonlinear optical coefficients of pure and MgO-doped lithium diborate (Li 2 B 4 O 7 ) crystals grown by the Czochralski method have been measured at the fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm. The effects of MgO-doping in the lithium diborate crystals are discussed. By doping 1 mol% MgO in the lithium diborate crystals d 31 is increased by 40% while d 33 is decreased.

Shape and Composition Control of Monodisperse Hybrid Pt-CoO Nanocrystals by Controlling the Reaction Kinetics with Additives

Here, we report the effect of Fe(CO)5 additives in the synthesis of branched Pt-CoO nanowires (NWs) and core@shell concave nanocubes (NCs), in a one-pot system. Key to the success of this synthesis is control over the shape of the Pt seeds by controlling the quantity of Fe(CO)5 additive. In the absence of Fe(CO)5, branched Pt-CoO NWs were synthesized through the attachment of small Pt seed particles, followed by the growth of CoO by deposition. On the other hand, Pt@CoO concave NCs were obtained in the presence of Fe(CO)5 because of the stronger adsorption of Co on the Pt (100) surfaces than on the closely packed (111) surfaces. Also, various other conditions including the control of reducing agents, precursor concentrations, and stabilizing agents, were used to verify the effects of reaction kinetics on the synthesis of Pt-CoO nanoparticles. Compared to Pt/graphene oxide (GO) catalyst, branched Pt-CoO NWs supported on GO showed enhanced specific activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

Aging of imaging properties of a CMOS flat-panel detector for dental cone-beam computed tomography

We have experimentally investigated the long-term stability of imaging properties of a flat-panel detector in conditions used for dental x-ray imaging. The detector consists of a CsI:Tl layer and CMOS photodiode pixel arrays. Aging simulations were carried out using an 80-kVp x-ray beam at an air-kerma rate of approximately 5 mGy s−1 at the entrance surface of the detector with a total air kerma of up to 0.6 kGy. Dark and flood-field images were periodically obtained during irradiation, and the mean signal and noise levels were evaluated for each image. We also evaluated the modulation-transfer function (MTF), noise-power spectrum (NPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). The aging simulation showed a decrease in both the signal and noise of the gain-offset-corrected images, but there was negligible change in the signal-to-noise performance as a function of the accumulated dose. The gain-offset correction for analyzing images resulted in negligible changes in MTF, NPS, and DQE results over the total dose. Continuous x-ray exposure to a detector can cause degradation in the physical performance factors such the detector sensitivity, but linear analysis of the gain-offset-corrected images can assure integrity of the imaging properties of a detector during its lifetime.

Hydrogen Oxidation-Selective Electrocatalysis by Fine Tuning of Pt Ensemble Sites to Enhance the Durability of Automotive Fuel Cells

A simple, inexpensive approach is proposed for enhancing the durability of automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cells by selective promotion of the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and suppression of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the anode in startup/shutdown events. Dodecanethiol forms a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on the surface of Pt particles, thus decreasing the number of Pt ensemble sites. Interestingly, by controlling the dodecanethiol concentration during SAM formation, the number of ensemble sites can be precisely optimized such that it is sufficient for the HOR but insufficient for the ORR. Thus, a Pt surface with an SAM of dodecanethiol clearly effects HOR-selective electrocatalysis. Clear HOR selectivity is demonstrated in unit cell tests with the actual membrane electrode assembly, as well as in an electrochemical three-electrode setup with a thin-film rotating disk electrode configuration.

Shape-Controlled Synthesis of Dumbbell-like Pt–Fe3O4–MnOx Nanoparticles by Governing the Reaction Kinetics

The production of shape-controlled heterometallic nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of Pt and nonprecious metal oxides is crucial to demonstrate the composition–property relationship of NPs. Herein, we report a facile one-pot approach for the controlled synthesis of dumbbell-like Pt–Fe3O4–MnOx and dendritic Pt–MnOx NPs. The key to the success of this synthesis is in changing the quantity of Fe(CO)5 additive to control the reaction kinetics. In the absence of Fe(CO)5, dendritic Pt–MnOx NPs were synthesized through the assembly of small seed NPs. On the other hand, dumbbell-like Pt–Fe3O4–MnOx NPs were obtained in the presence of Fe(CO)5 through controlling the nucleation and growth of Fe and Mn on the Pt NPs, followed by air oxidation. Compared to a Pt/graphene oxide (GO) catalyst, dumbbell-like Pt–Fe3O4–MnOx NPs on GO showed an enhancement of specific activity toward the oxygen reduction reaction owing to the compressive-strain effect exerted on the Pt lattice.

Cascaded-systems analysis of sandwich x-ray detectors

Active sandwich-like multilayer detectors have been developed, and their potential for motion-artifact-free dual-energy x-ray imaging at a single exposure has been demonstrated in the material decomposition context. Since the sandwich detector uses the x-ray beam transmittance through the front layer, direct x-ray interaction within photodiodes in the front layer is unavoidable, and which can increase noise in the front detector images. Similar direct x-ray interaction can also occur in the rear detector layer. To obtain a better contrast performance, an additional filter layer can be placed between the two detector layers. However, this filter layer can increase adversely noise in images obtained from the rear detector layer by reducing the number of x-ray photons reaching it. A theoretical model, which can describe the signal-to-noise performance of the sandwich detector as functions of various design parameters, has been developed by using a linear cascaded-systems theory. From the cascaded-systems analysis, the direct x-ray interaction increases noise at the high spatial frequencies where the number of secondary quanta lessens. The intermediate filter layer enhances the contribution of additive electronic noise in the overall noise performance of the rear detector layer. The detailed cascaded-systems analysis on the x-ray sandwich detectors are reported in comparisons with the measured noise-power spectra and detective quantum efficiencies. The developed model will be useful for a better design and practical use of a sandwich detector for single-shot dual-energy imaging.

Linear modeling of single-shot dual-energy x-ray imaging using a sandwich detector

For single-shot dual-energy (DE) imaging, a sandwich detector typically consists of a thin front detector and a thick rear detector. Therefore, the spatial-resolution characteristics of the two detectors are different, and as a result, weighted subtraction of the corresponding two images gives rise to edge-enhancement characteristics in the resulting DE images. This is a unique characteristic of single-shot DE imaging compared to the conventional dual-shot DE imaging which uses the same detector to acquire low- and high-energy images. Using a linear-systems theory, in this paper, we show that the modulation-transfer function (MTF) of a sandwich detector is a weighted average of contributions from each MTF characteristic of two detector layers forming the sandwich detector. The MTF results obtained using the developed model are validated with those measured directly from single-shot DE images for an edge-knife phantom. Weighting larger than at least 0.5 in DE reconstruction gives an enhancement in DE MTF at mid and high spatial frequencies compared to the MTFs obtained from each detector layer. The behavior of the linear model as a function of weighting factor used for DE reconstruction is discussed in comparisons with numerical simulations.