Hyung‐Ho Park

Silica aerogels have drawn a lot of interest both in science and technology because of their low bulk density (up to 95% of their volume is air), hydrophobicity, low thermal conductivity, high surface area, and optical transparency. Aerogels are synthesized from molecular precursors by sol‐gel processing. Special drying techniques must be applied to replace the pore liquid with air while maintaining the solid network. Supercritical drying is most common; however, recently developed methods allow

Plants are one of the best sources to obtain a variety of natural surfactants in the field of green synthesizing material. Sambucus ebulus, which has unique natural properties, has been considered a promising material in traditional Asian medicine. In this context, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were prepared using S. ebulus leaf extract, and their physicochemical properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the prepared ZnO NPs are highly crystalline, having a

Nanoscale ZnO is one of the best choices for ultraviolet (UV) protection, not only because of its antimicrobial properties but also due to its potential application for UV preservation. However, the behavior of nanostructured thin ZnO films and long-term effects of UV-radiation exposure have not been studied yet. In this study, we investigated the UV-protection ability of sol gel-derived thin ZnO films after different exposure times. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and UV-

Silica aerogels are futuristic materials. However, the real-world applications of these materials are limited owing to their fragility. A variety of composite materials have been investigated to overcome this barrier. Silica-based multifunctional hybrid composite aerogels have attracted considerable attention as they inherit the advantages of both organic and inorganic components. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of organic–inorganic hybridization strategies to strengthen silica aero

Silica aerogels are attracting attention due to certain outstanding properties such as low bulk density, low thermal conductivity, high surface area, high porosity, high transparency and flexibility. Due to these extraordinary properties of aerogels, they have become a promising candidate in thermal superinsulation. The silica-based aerogels are brittle in nature, which constrains their large scale-application. It is necessary to achieve transparency and flexibility of silica-based aerogels at t

Dispersing the minuscule mass loading without hampering the high catalytic activity and long-term stability of a noble metal catalyst results in its ultimate efficacy for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Despite being the most efficient HER catalyst, the use of Pt is curtailed due to its scarcity and tendency to leach out in the harsh electrochemical reaction environment. In this study, we combined F-doped tin(IV) oxide (F-SnO₂) aerogel with Pt catalyst to preven

A simple low-temperature fabrication of fluorine-doped ZnO (ZnO:F) thin films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) was investigated and the growth mode of the films was analyzed. A novel method for fluorine doping into a ZnO matrix was successfully developed that uses ALD with a home-made fluorine source at a low deposition temperature of 140 °C, which is low enough for films to be applied to a plastic substrate. The fluorine doping concentration was controlled from 0 at.% to 1.2 at.% by manipulatin