Minho Kim

Electrochemical energy conversion processes such as water reduction to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide reduction into valuable carbon products have attracted great attention as alternative green energy technologies to fossil fuels. Nevertheless, the conversion efficiency and long-term stability of these technologies remain very far from the requirements for industrial applications because of the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, La-doped NiFe-layered do

Materials design increasingly relies on first-principles calculations for screening important candidates and for understanding quantum mechanisms. Density functional theory (DFT) is by far the most popular first-principles approach due to its efficiency and accuracy. However, to accurately predict structures and thermodynamics, DFT must be paired with a van der Waals (vdW) dispersion correction. Therefore, such corrections have been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. Despite signif

Iridium single atom catalysts are promising oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), as they can reduce the reliance on costly Ir in the OER catalysts. However, their practical application is hindered by their limited stability during PEMWE operation. Herein, we report on the activation of Ir-doped CoMn₂O₄ in acidic electrolyte that leads to enhanced activity and stability in acidic OER for long-term PEMWE ope

Glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel production, is a promising feedstock for conversion into high-value products through the glycerol electrochemical oxidation reaction (GEOR). Herein, a Ni-based layered double hydroxide (Ni LDH) catalyst is synthesized via hydrothermal synthesis to investigate the mechanism of the selective conversion of glycerol to formic acid (FA). The Ni LDH exhibits not only a high conversion rate of glycerol but also higher selectivity and Faradaic efficiency for FA at low

Van der Waals (vdW) interactions are important in numerous physical, chemical, and biological systems. However, traditional density functional theory (DFT) within local or semi‐local approximations can hardly treat this interaction. Among various attempts to handle vdW interactions in DFT, semi‐empirical correction methods are known to present the advantages of low additional computational costs and easy implementation in conventional DFT codes. In this review, we summarize the state‐of‐the‐art

The interfacial reaction and Fermi-level movement, which are induced by thin and uniform Ni and Au layers, were investigated in situ using synchrotron photoemission spectroscopy. The study showed that the GaN surface layer was instantly disrupted as the result of Ni deposition, and the dissociated N and Ga were localized at the interface without the formation of any specific nitride species. The two Fermi levels of n- and p-type GaN were simultaneously located near 1.9 eV above the valence-band

Enzymes, composed of earth-abundant elements, outperform conventional heterogeneous photocatalysts in hydrogen production due to the dual-site cooperation between adjacent active metal sites and proton-transferring ligands. However, the realization of such dual-site cooperation in heterogeneous catalytic systems is hindered by the challenges in the precise construction of cooperative active sites. In this study, we present the design of a structurally tuned metal-organic framework (MOF) photocat

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) plays a crucial role as a counter half-reaction for both electrochemical hydrogen production through water splitting and the generation of valuable carbon compounds via CO₂ reduction. To overcome the sluggish kinetics of the OER, significant efforts have been devoted to developing cost-effective, sustainable, and efficient electrocatalysts, with transition-metal-based catalysts emerging as promising candidates. Herein, we successfully synthesized a core

Green hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) faces economic feasibility challenges, primarily due to its reliance on noble metal catalysts. While cost-effective Ru-based catalysts show promise as alternatives to expensive Ir-based catalysts for an anodic oxygen evolution reaction, their long-term performance is compromised by overoxidation at high current densities. In addressing this challenge, we present a cooperative dual-site strategy for atomic-scale inc

Antimicrobial resistance is a persistent threat to global public health. In order to combat the spread of pathogenic bacteria, numerous antimicrobial materials have been incorporated into wound dressings and medical devices such as implants and catheters. The most frequently utilized of these materials are Ag-salts and Ag-nanoparticles (AgNPs) due to their low minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against common Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria such as <i>P. aeruginosa</i>. However, such Ag-

Wireless charging of electric vehicles (EV) by means of the wireless power transfer (WPT) is becoming increasingly popular in the recent years. And the electromagnetic field (EMF) should be lowered for the safety of pedestrians. In this paper, a new three-phase WPT structure is proposed. It is compared with the single phase WPT structure to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed structure in the magnetic field distributions and system performance. The simulation results using the 3D finite e

Low-dimensional metal nanostructures have attracted considerable research attention, owing to their potential as catalysts. A controlled reductive phase transition of monolayer RuO₂ nanosheets could provide an effective way to produce holey large-area 2D Ru nanosheets with tailored defect structures and metal coordination number. The locally optimized holey Ru metal nanosheet, with a metal coordination number of ∼10.2, exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evo

This paper describes a simple design methodology to develop layered PtSe₂ catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water electrolysis operating under ultralow overpotentials. This approach relies on the transfer of mechanically exfoliated PtSe₂ flakes to gold thin films on prestrained thermoplastic substrates. By relieving the prestrain, a tunable level of uniaxial internal compressive and tensile strain is developed in the flakes as a result of spontaneously form