• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.508-516
• /
• 1999

Polycrystalline powder of LixNi0.85Co0.15O2 was synthesized by pyrolyzing a powder precursor obtained by the PVA-precursor method. Coin cells of lithium-ion rechargeable battery were assembled, whose the cathodes were fabricated from the crystalline powders of LixNi0.85Co0.15O2 synthesized by the method. The effect of synthetic variation on the property of the cell was tested by carrying out 100 consecutive cycles of charge-dis-charge on the cells. The property of the cell was largely influenced by the pyrolysis conditions applied for the synthesis of the LixNi0.85Co0.15O2. Depending on whether the pyrolysis was carried out in standing air or in the flow of dry air, the discharge capacity and cycle-reversibility of the cell varied in large extent. When the powder precursor was pyrolyzed in standing air, a minor phase of lithium carbonate was remained in the LixNi0.85Co0.15O2. The carbon containing powder precursor had to be pyrolyzed in the flow of dry air to eliminate the minor phase. In the flow of dry air, the lithium carbonate in the precursor was eliminated over 500-700。C without any prominent heat event. By controlling the flow of air over the precursor during its pyrolysis, particle size could also be altered. The effect of flowing dry air, during first step pyrolysis or during second step heat treatment, on the property of the cell was discussed.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.15-18
• /
• 2006

A new precursor solution wilt low fluorine content was synthesized for MOD processing of coated conductors. In this study, the precursor solution for MOD processing was synthesized using F-free yttrium and copper precursor. It was shown that crack-free and uniform precursor films were formed after calcination in humidified oxygen atmosphere. Less than 2 hours were required to finish the calcination process. The relatively gradual weight loss during the calcination process is attributed to the feasibility of fast calcination profile. The calcined precursor film was converted to a YBCO film without any secondary phases after annealing in wet $Ar/O_2$ atmosphere. Fully converted film shows uniform microstructure and high critical current density. $(Jc=2.7MA/cm^2) $.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.12
• /
• pp.2033-2041
• /
• 2007

For many years, it has been demonstrated that neurotrophins regulate the adult nervous system, implicating their potential as therapeutic agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We generated adenoviral vectors encoding brain-derived neutotrophin factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT3) and tested either separately or together for the ability to induce differentiation of neuronal precursor cells with two different origins. Separate transduction of adenovirus delivering BDNF (BDNF-Ad) or NT3 (NT3-Ad) induced the neuronal differentiation in hippocampal and cortical precursor cells. NT3-Ad infected cells extended short neurites, whereas BDNF-Ad infected cells had longer neurites. In the early differentiation of hippocampal precursor cells, simultaneous infection of BDNF-Ad and NT3-Ad promoted further differentiation and neurite elongation compared with the separate infection of each virus. In contrast, simultaneous infection did not show the synergistic effect in the cortical precursor cells, suggesting that the neurotrophins play distinct roles in different regions of the brain. However, the numbers of neurites and spines per differentiated cells were markedly increased in cortical as well as hippocampal precursor cells, indicating the promotion of efficient neurite elongation and formation of dendritic spine, when BDNF-Ad and NT3-Ad were co-infected. These results suggest more studies in the effect of a combinatorial use of neurotrophins on different sites of brain need to be carried out to develop gene therapy protocols for neurodegenerative diseases.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.236-241
• /
• 2011

Polysilazane and silazane-based precursor films were deposited on stacked TiN/Ti/TEOS/Si-substrate by spin-coating, then annealed at $150{\sim}400^{\circ}C$, integrated further to form the top electrode and pad, and finally characterized. The precursor solutions were composed of 20% perhydro-polysilazane ($SiH_2NH$)n, and 20% hydropolymethyl silazane ($SiHCH_3NH$)n in dibutyl ether. Annealing of the precursor films led to the compositional change of the two chemicals into silicon (di)oxides, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra. It is thought that the different results that were obtained originated from the fact that the two precursors, despite having the same synthetic route and annealing conditions, had different chemical properties. Electrical measurement indicated that under 0.6MV/cm, a larger capacitance of $2.776{\times}10^{-11}$ F and a lower leakage current of 0.4 pA were obtained from the polysilazane-based dielectric films, as compared to $9.457{\times}10^{-12}$ F and 2.4 pA from the silazane-based film, thus producing a higher dielectric constant of 5.48 compared to 3.96. FTIR indicated that these superior electrical properties are directly correlated to the amount of Si-O bonds and the improved chemical bonding structures of the spin-on dielectric films, which were derived from a precursor without C. The chemical properties of the precursor films affected both the formation and the electrical properties of the spin-on dielectric film.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.105-111
• /
• 2005

End-stage renal disease is a fatal and devastating disease that is caused by progressive and irreversible loss of functioning nephrons in the kidney. Dialysis and renal transplantation are the common treatments at present, but these treatments have severe limitations. The present study investigated the possibility of reconstructing renal tissues by transplantation of renal precursor cells to replace the current treatments for end-stage renal disease. Embryonic renal precursor cells, freshly isolated from metanephroi of rat fetus at day 15 post-gestation, were seeded on biodegradable polymer scaffolds and transplanted into peritoneal cavities of athymic mice for three weeks. Histologic sections stained with hematoxylin & eosin and periodic acid-Schiff revealed the formation of primitive glomeruli, tubules, and blood vessels, suggesting the potential of embryonic renal precursor cells to reconstitute renal tissues. Immunohistochemical staining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a marker of proliferating cells, showed intensive nuclear expression in the regenerated renal structures, suggesting renal tissue reconstitution by transplanted embryonic renal precursor cells. This study demonstrates the reconstitution of renal tissue in vivo by transplanting renal precursor cells with biodegradable polymer scaffolds, which could be utilized as a new method for partial or full restoration of renal structure and function in the treatment of end-stage renal disease.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.21 no.8
• /
• pp.468-475
• /
• 2011

[ $LaMeO_3$ ](Me = Cr, Co) powders were prepared using the polymeric precursor method. The effects of the chelating agent and the polymeric additive on the synthesis of the $LaMeO_3$ perovskite were studied. The samples were synthesized using ethylene glycol (EG) as the solvent, acetyl acetone (AcAc) as the chelating agent, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the polymer additive. The thermal decomposition behavior of the precursor powder was characterized using a thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The crystallization and particle sizes of the $LaMeO_3$ powders were investigated via powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and particle size analyzer, respectively. The as-prepared precursor primarily has $LaMeO_3$ at the optimum condition, i.e. for a molar ratio of both metal-source (a : a) : EG (80a : 80a) : AcAc (8a) inclusive of 1 wt% PVP. When the as-prepared precursor was calcined at $700^{\circ}C$, only a single phase was observed to correspond with the orthorhombic structure of $LaCrO_3$ and the rhombohedral structure of $LaCoO_3$. A solid-electrolyte impedance-metric sensor device composed of $Li_{1.5}Al_{0.5}Ti_{1.5}(PO_4)_3$ as a transducer and $LaMeO_3$ as a receptor has been systematically investigated for the detection of NOx in the range of 20 to 250 ppm at $400^{\circ}C$. The sensor responses were able to divide the component between resistance and capacitance. The impedance-metric sensor for the NO showed higher sensitivity compared with $NO_2$. The responses of the impedance-metric sensor device showed dependence on each value of the NOx concentration.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.10 no.8
• /
• pp.1186-1191
• /
• 1999

By using a liquid-mix precursor, we prepared the hollow glass spheres(HGS) as an additive of polymer compound which are used in the field of modifier, promoter, filler, and reinforcement. Liquid-mix precursor is a mixture of 40% sodium silicate aqueous solution, boric acid as a insolubilizing agent, and urea as a blowing agent. To obtain the precursor particles which are fed into a gas flame furnae, the above liquid-mix precursor was dried in oven and crushed with ball mill. We assumed the size of precursor particles ($53{\sim}63{\mu}m$, $63{\sim}180{\mu}m$), temperature of furnace($800{\sim}1200^{\circ}C$), and amount of urea(0~30 g) as the parameters affecting on the properties of HGS. As a result mean particle size of HGS increases with increasing the temperature of furnace and the amount of urea and with decreasing the size of precursor particles. Also, we found that incresing the amount of urea is related to a decrease of the crush strength of HGS.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.182-188
• /
• 2011

Polysilazane and polymethylsilazane based precursor films were deposited on Si-substrate by spin-coating, subsequently annealed at $150{\sim}850^{\circ}C$, and characterized. Structural analysis, shrink, compositional change, etch rate, and gap-filling were observed. Annealing the precursor films led to formation of spin-on dielectric films. C-containing precursor films showed that less loss of N, H, and C while less gain of O than that of C-free precursor films at $400^{\circ}C$, but more loss of N, H, and C while more gain of O at $850^{\circ}C$. Thus polysilazane based precursor films exhibited less reduction in thickness of 14.5% than silazane based one of 15.6% at $400^{\circ}C$ but more 37.4% than 19.4% at $850^{\circ}C$. FTIR indicated that C induced smaller amount of Si-O bond, non-uniform property, and lower resistance to chemical etching.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.12 no.7
• /
• pp.573-579
• /
• 2002

Stoichiometric mullite ($3Al_2$$O_3$. $2SiO_2$) precursor sol has been prepared by sol-gel method. The effects of the precursor pH and sintering temperature on the synthesizing behavior and morphology of mullite have been studied. Mullite precursor sol was prepared by dissolution of aluminum nitrate enneahydrate (Al($NO_3$)$_3$.9H$_2O) into the mixture of silica sol. Precursor pH of the sols was controlled to acidic condition ($PH\leq$ 1~1.5) and to basic condition ($pH\geq$8.5~9). The synthesized aluminosilicate sols were formed under 20 MPa pressure after drying at $150^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours, and then sintered for 3hours in the temperature range of $1100~1600^{\circ}C$. From TGA/DTA analysis, total weight loss in the aluminosilicate gel of the acidic sample was (equation omitted) 56% and that of the basic sample was (equation omitted) 85%, indicating that the synthesizing temperature of mullite phase for acidic and basic samples was above $1200^{\circ}C$ and $1300^{\circ}C$, respectively. The morphologies of the synthesized mullite were fine and needle-like (or rod-like) for acidic sample, and granular for basic sample that has been sintered above $1300^{\circ}C$. It was found that the morphology of mullite particle was predominantly governed by precursor pH and sintering temperature.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 1999.11a
• /
• pp.112-112
• /
• 1999