Kwak, Seung-Yeop

In this study, positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) is applied to explain the flux-enhancement mechanism in thin-film-composite (TFC) membranes prepared by using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as an additive in the interfacial polymerization. The TFC membranes show a large increase in water flux, up to 5-fold, compared to nonadditive membrane. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows that surface roughness and surface area increase when DMSO in the aqueous phase solution phase works to incre

Hybrid organic/inorganic reverse osmosis (RO) membranes composed of aromatic polyamide thin films underneath titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanosized particles have been fabricated by a self-assembly process, aiming at breakthrough of biofouling problems. First, positively charged particles of the colloidal TiO2 were synthesized by a sol-gel process, and the diameter of the resulting particles in acidic aqueous solution was estimated to be approximately 2 nm by analyzing the UV-visible absorption chara

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and mesoporous hematite (α-Fe2O3) complex photocatalysts were successfully prepared using a facile solvent-thermal process in an aqueous solution. Mesostructured α-Fe2O3 clusters with a high surface area and a porous framework were an important consideration in the design of the photocatalysts because such structures enhance the absorption of photons and promote the decomposition of organic pollutants. More significantly, the CQDs in this catalyst play a pivotal role i

The present paper explores the role of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) used as an additive to modify the morphological as well as the molecular nature of aromatic polyamide during the formation of thin-film-composite (TFC) membranes. In addition, it elucidates the mechanism of enhancing the reverse osmosis (RO) permeation of the resulting membranes in proportion to the addition of DMSO. Morphological studies by atomic force microscopy (AFM) observed that as the concentration of DMSO increased, the sur

In the present article, some new events on the surface morphology of the aromatic polyamide thin-film-composite (TFC) membranes were demonstrated in conjunction with their inherent chemical nature. In addition, the detailed, quantitative understanding of the microscopic surface features was shown to be essential in controlling the water permeability and eventually developing the high performance membranes. The surface roughness and the surface area were mainly affected by the existence or nonexi

Spherical mesoporous magnetite (Fe3O4) aggregates with a wormhole-like pore structure were successfully synthesized for the first time using a single iron precursor (iron(III) ethoxide) and an amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer (PEO100–PPO65–PEO100) as a soft template. In this synthesis, the interaction between the iron precursor and the triblock copolymer self-assemblies in ethanol leads to the assembly of magnetite nanocry

We develop a nontoxic unentangled star-shape poly(ε-caprolactone) (UESPCL) plasticizer with excellent migration resistance for the production of phthalate-free flexible poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) by means of the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone, initiated from the multifunctional core, combined with end-capping, and vacuum purification processes. UESPCL is a transparent liquid at room temperature and exhibits unentangled Newtonian behavior because of its extremely short branched seg

Hyperbranched (dendritic) poly(epsilon-caprolactone)s (HPCLs) were synthesized to have architectural variations, which are the different lengths of linear segments and different numbers of branches, and were used as plasticizers for flexible poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The plasticization efficiency estimated by the lowering of glass transition temperature and the enhancement in ultimate elongation indicated that the HPCLs with the shorter linear segments and the larger number of branches imparte