Can Artificial Intelligence Boost Developing Electrocatalysts for Efficient Water Splitting to Produce Green Hydrogen?

Jaehyun Kim,Ho Won Jang Materials Research Society of Korea 2023 한국재료학회지 Vol.33 No.5

Water electrolysis holds great potential as a method for producing renewable hydrogen fuel at large-scale, and to replace the fossil fuels responsible for greenhouse gases emissions and global climate change. To reduce the cost of hydrogen and make it competitive against fossil fuels, the efficiency of green hydrogen production should be maximized. This requires superior electrocatalysts to reduce the reaction energy barriers. The development of catalytic materials has mostly relied on empirical, trial-and-error methods because of the complicated, multidimensional, and dynamic nature of catalysis, requiring significant time and effort to find optimized multicomponent catalysts under a variety of reaction conditions. The ultimate goal for all researchers in the materials science and engineering field is the rational and efficient design of materials with desired performance. Discovering and understanding new catalysts with desired properties is at the heart of materials science research. This process can benefit from machine learning (ML), given the complex nature of catalytic reactions and vast range of candidate materials. This review summarizes recent achievements in catalysts discovery for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The basic concepts of ML algorithms and practical guides for materials scientists are also demonstrated. The challenges and strategies of applying ML are discussed, which should be collaboratively addressed by materials scientists and ML communities. The ultimate integration of ML in catalyst development is expected to accelerate the design, discovery, optimization, and interpretation of superior electrocatalysts, to realize a carbon-free ecosystem based on green hydrogen.

Utilization of PTE and LDPE Plastic Waste and Building Material Waste as Bricks

Intan, Syarifah Keumala,Santosa, Sandra Materials Research Society of Korea 2019 한국재료학회지 Vol.29 No.10

Plastic waste is becoming a problem in various countries because of the difficulty of natural decomposition. One type is PET plastic(Polyethylene Terephthalate), which is often used as a bottle for soft drink packaging, and LDPE(Low Density Polyethylene), which is also widely used as a food or beverage packaging material. The use of these two types of plastic continuously, without good recycling, will have a negative impact on the environment. Building material waste is also becoming a serious environmental problem. This study aims to provide a solution to the problem of the above plastic waste and building material waste by making them into a mixture to be used as bricks. Research is carried out by mixing both materials, namely plastic heated at a temperature of $180-220^{\circ}C$ and building material waste that had been crushed and sized to 30-40 mesh with homogeneous stirring. The ratios of PET and LDPE plastic to building material waste are 9 : 1, 8 : 2, 7 : 3, 6 : 4 and 5 : 5. After heating and printing, density, water absorption and compressive strength tests are carried out. Addition of PET and LDPE plastic can increase compressive strength, and reduce water absorption, porosity and density. A maximum compressive strength of 10.5 MPa is obtained at the ratio of 6 : 4.

Morphological Variation and Luminescence Properties of ZnO Micro/Nanocrystals Synthesized by Thermal Evaporation Method

Lee, Won-Jae,Lee, Geun-Hyoung Materials Research Society of Korea 2017 한국재료학회지 Vol.27 No.10

ZnO micro/nanocrystals with different morphologies were synthesized by thermal evaporation of various zinc source materials in an air atmosphere. Zinc acetate, zinc carbonate and zinc iodide were used as the source materials. No catalysts or substrates were used in the synthesis of the ZnO crystals. The scanning electron microscope(SEM) image showed that the morphology of ZnO crystals was strongly dependent on the source materials, which suggests that source material is one of the key factors in controlling the morphology of the obtained ZnO crystals. Tetrapods, nanogranular shaped crystals, spherical particles and crayon-shaped crystals were obtained using different source materials. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) pattern revealed that the all the ZnO crystals had hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structures. An ultraviolet emission was observed in the cathodoluminescence spectrum of the ZnO crystals prepared via thermal evaporation of Zn powder. However, a strong green emission centered at around 500 nm was observed in the cathodoluminescence spectra of the ZnO crystals prepared using zinc salts as the source materials.

Residue Free Fabrication of Suspended 2D Nanosheets for in-situ TEM Nanomechanics

Sharbidre, Rakesh Sadanand,Byen, Ji Cheol,Yun, Gyeong Yeol,Ryu, Jae-Kyung,Lee, Chang Jun,Hong, Seong-Gu,Bramhe, Sachin,Kim, Taik Nam Materials Research Society of Korea 2018 한국재료학회지 Vol.28 No.11

Two dimensional(2D) crystals, composed of a single layer or a few atomic layers extracted from layered materials are attracting researchers' interest due to promising applications in the nanoelectromechanical systems. Worldwide researchers are preparing devices with suspended 2D materials to study their physical and electrical properties. However, during the fabrication process of 2D flakes on a target substrate, contamination occurs, which makes the measurement data less reliable. We propose a dry transfer method using poly-methyl methacrylate(PMMA) for the 2D flakes to transfer onto the targeted substrate. The PMMA is then removed from the device by an N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution and a critical point dryer, which makes the suspended 2D flakes residue free. Our method provides a clean, reliable and controllable way of fabricating micrometer-sized suspended 2D nanosheets.

Effect of Casting Speed on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al-Mg-Si/Al Hybrid Material by Duo-Casting

Park, Sung Jin,Suh, Jun-Young,Lee, Hee-Kwon,Chang, Si Young Materials Research Society of Korea 2020 한국재료학회지 Vol.30 No.3

Two different casting speeds of 60 and 80mm/min are adopted to determine the effect of casting speed on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Mg-Si/Al hybrid material prepared by duo-casting. The obtained hybrid material has a uniform and straight macro-interface between the pure Al side and the Al-Mg-Si alloy side at both casting speeds. When the casting speed is increased to 80mm/min, the size of primary α phases in Al-Mg-Si alloy decreases, without change of shape. Although the Al-Mg-Si alloy produced at higher casting speed of 80mm/min shows much higher ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and 0.2 % proof stress and lower elongation, along with higher bending strength compared to the case of the 60mm/min in casting speed, the tensile properties and bending strength of the hybrid material, which are similar to those of pure Al, are the same regardless of the increase of casting speed. Despite the different casting speeds, deformation and fracturing in hybrid materials are observed only on the pure Al side. This indicates that the macro-interface is well-bonded, allowing it to endure tensile and bending deformation in all hybrid materials.

Damage Monitoring of CP-GFRP/GFRP Composites by Measuring Electrical Resistance

Shin, Soon-Gi,Kwon, Yong-Jung Materials Research Society of Korea 2010 한국재료학회지 Vol.20 No.3

It is necessary to develop new methods to prevent catastrophic failure of structural material in order to avoid accidents and conserve natural and energy resources. Design of intelligent materials with a self-diagnosing function to prevent fatal fracture of structural materials was achieved by smart composites consisting of carbon fiber tows or carbon powders with a small value of ultimate elongation and glass fiber tows with a large value of ultimate elongation. The changes in electrical resistance of CF-GFRP/GFRP (carbon fiber and glass fiber-reinforced plastics/glass fiber-reinforced plastics) composites increased abruptly with increasing strain, and a tremendous change was seen at the transition point where carbon fiber tows were broken. Therefore, the composites were not to monitor damage from the early stage. On the other hand, the change in electrical resistance of CP-GFRP/GFRP (carbon powder dispersed in glass fiber-reinforced plastics/glass fiber-reinforced plastics) composites increased almost linearly in proportion to strain. CP-GFRP/GFRP composites are superior to CF-GFRP/GFRP composites in terms of their capability to monitor damage by measuring change in electrical resistance from the early stage of damage. However, the former was inferior to the latter as an application because of the difficulties of mass production and high cost. A method based on monitoring damage by measuring changes in the electrical resistance of structural materials is promising for improved reliability of the material.

Magnetism of Amorphous Bulk $(Sm_{1-x}Pr_x)Fe_2$ Alloys in a Low Magnetic Field

Kim, Jai-Young Materials Research Society of Korea 1995 한국재료학회지 Vol.5 No.8

RFe$_2$(R=rare earth) Laves상 금속간 화할물은 $10^{-3}$ 정도의 큰 포화 자왜 정수를 나타내고 있어, 자왜 재료의 응용 분야에서 많은 주목을 받고 있다. 그러나, 이 금속간 화합물은 결정 자기 이방성 에너지가 크기 때문에, 큰 포화 자왜 정수를 얻기 위해서는 높은 외부 자장이 요구되어진다. 이에 따라 저자장에서 보다 높은 자왜 정수를 얻고자 하는 연구들이 행하여 지고 있는데, 이를 위한 방법은 RFe$_2$Laves상 금속간 화합물중 결정 자기 이방성 부호가 각기 다른 회토류 금속의 치환 혹은 RFe$_2$금속간 화합물의 비정질화이다. 본 연구에서는 RFe$_2$금속간 화합물의 자기 이방성 에너지를 최소화하여 저자장에서 높은 자왜 정수를 얻기 위해, 결정 자기 이방성 정수 및 자왜 정수의 부호가 각각 반대인 SmFe$_2$와 PrFe$_2$을 합금화 한후, 비정질화하여 자왜 정수의 변화를 포함한 자성을 조사하였다. RFe$_2$(R=rare earth) Laves Phase intermetallic compounds are one of the promising materials for magnetostrictive applications, due to large magnetostriction coefficients in the order of 10$^{-3}$ . However, because RFe$_2$intermetallic compounds have large magnetostriction constants as well as large magnetocrystalline anisotropy constants, a large external magnetic field is necessary to reach saturation magnetostriction. Hence researches on giant magnetostriction have been concentrated on producing materials exhibiting a high value of magnetostriction in a low magentic field. The main research trend of the giant magnetostriction to obtain the large value in the low magnetic filed, fortunately as the signs of magnetocrystalline anisotropy constans in RFe$_2$intermetallic compounds alternate with the rare earth metals, has been to substitute the rare earth metal for others and hence to reduce the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy. In addition, amorphous RFe$_2$alloys have been researched. In this research, both of the methods which are substitution of the rare earth metal and amorphization in RFe$_2$ intermetallic compounds are simultaneously conducted to obtain the large magnetostriction coefficient in the low external magnetic field. Among them, SmFe$_2$and PrFe$_2$are selected, and amorphized in substrate-free bulk state. Magnetism in amorphous bulk (Sm$_{1-x}$ Pr$_{x}$) Fe$_2$alloys is investigated in the low magnetic field.ld.

Design Optimization of Dental Implants Using Finite Element Analysis for Injecting Bioactive Materials

Lee, Kang-Soo,Lee, Yong-Keun Materials Research Society of Korea 2012 한국재료학회지 Vol.22 No.6

In order to improve osseointegration of dental implants with bone we studied an implant with holes inside its body to deliver bioactive materials based on a proposed patent. Bioactive materials can be selectively applied through holes to a patient according to diagnosis and the integration progress. After the bioactive material is applied, bone can grow into the holes to increase implant bonding and also enhance surface integration. In order to improve the concept and study the effect of bioactive material injection on implant integration, design optimization and integration research were undertaken utilizing the finite element method. A 2-dimensional simulation study showed that when bone grew into the holes after the bioactive material was injected, stress vertically distributed in the upper part of the implant was relieved and mild stress appeared at the opening of the injection holes. This confirmed the effect of the bioactive material and the contribution of the injection holes, but the maximum stress increased ten-fold at the opening. In order to reduce the maximum stress, the size, location, and the number of holes were varied and the effects were studied. When bioactive materials formed an interface layer between the implant and the mandible and four holes were filled with cortical and cancellous bones all the stress concentrated opposite to the loading side without holes disappeared. The stresses at the four outlets of the holes was mildly elevated but the maximum stress value was ten-fold greater compared to the case without the bioactive material.

Mechanical Synthesis and Rapid Consolidation of Nanostructured W-Al₂O₃ Composite

Lee, BooRak,Jeong, GeolChae,Park, GeunO,Shon, In-Jin Materials Research Society of Korea 2018 한국재료학회지 Vol.28 No.6

Recently, the properties of nanostructured materials as advanced engineering materials have received great attention. These properties include fracture toughness and a high degree of hardness. To hinder grain growth during sintering, it is necessary to fabricate nanostructured materials. In this respect, a high-frequency induction-heated sintering method has been presented as an effective technique for making nanostructured materials at a lower temperature in a very short heating period. Nanopowders of W and $Al_2O_3$ are synthesized from $WO_3$ and Al powders during high-energy ball milling. Highly dense nanostructured $W-Al_2O_3$ composites are made within three minutes by high-frequency induction-heated sintering method and materials are evaluated in terms of hardness, fracture toughness, and microstructure. The hardness and fracture toughness of the composite are $1364kg/mm^2$ and $7.1MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$, respectively. Fracture toughness of nanostructured $W-Al_2O_3$ is higher than that of monolithic $Al_2O_3$. The hardness of this composite is higher than that of monolithic W.

A Simulated Study of Silicon Solar Cell Power Output as a Function of Minority-Carrier Recombination Lifetime and Substrate Thickness

Choe, Kwang Su Materials Research Society of Korea 2015 한국재료학회지 Vol.25 No.9

In photovoltaic power generation where minority carrier generation via light absorption is competing against minority carrier recombination, the substrate thickness and material quality are interdependent, and appropriate combination of the two variables is important in obtaining the maximum output power generation. Medici, a two-dimensional semiconductor device simulation tool, is used to investigate the interdependency in relation to the maximum power output in front-lit Si solar cells. Qualitatively, the results indicate that a high quality substrate must be thick and that a low quality substrate must be thin in order to achieve the maximum power generation in the respective materials. The dividing point is $70{\mu}m/5{\times}10^{-6}sec$. That is, for materials with a minority carrier recombination lifetime longer than $5{\times}10^{-6}sec$, the substrate must be thicker than $70{\mu}m$, while for materials with a lifetime shorter than $5{\times}10^{-6}sec$, the substrate must be thinner than $70{\mu}m$. In substrate fabrication, the thinner the wafer, the lower the cost of material, but the higher the cost of wafer fabrication. Thus, the optimum thickness/lifetime combinations are defined in this study along with the substrate cost considerations as part of the factors to be considered in material selection.