Carbon fibers (CFs) are considered promising composite materials for various applications. However, the high cost of CFs (as much as $26 per kg) limits their practical use in the automobile and energy industries. In this study, we developed a continuous stabilization process for manufacturing low-cost CFs. We employed a textile-grade polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber as a low-cost precursor and UV irradiation technique to shorten the thermal stabilization time. We confirmed that UV irradiation on the textile-grade PAN fibers could lower the initial thermal stabilization temperature and also lead to a higher reaction. These resulted in a shorter overall stabilization time and enhancement of the tensile properties of textilegrade PAN-based CFs. Our study found that only 70 min of stabilization time with UV irradiation was required to prepare textile-grade PAN-based low-cost CFs with a tensile strength of 2.37 ± 0.22GPa and tensile modulus of 249 ± 5 GPa.

Magnetic 0-D Nd₂Fe₁₄B powders are successfully fabricated using 1-D Nd₂Fe₁₄B nanowire formed by an efficient and facile electrospinning process approach. The synthesized Nd-Fe-B fibers and powders are investigated for their microstructural, crystallographic, and magnetic properties according to a series of subsequent heat treatments. Each heat-treatment process leads to the removal of organic impurities and the formation of the respective oxides/composites of Nd, Fe, and B, resulting in the formation of Nd₂Fe₁₄B powders. Nd-Fe-B fibers exhibit the following magnetic properties: The coercivity (H_ci) of 3260 Oe, a maximum magnetization at 3T of 109.44 emu/g, and a magnetization remanence (M_r) of 44.11 emu/g. This process easily mass produces hard magnetic Nd₂Fe₁₄B powders using a 1-D synthesis process and can be extended to the experimental design of other magnetic materials.

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• Nd2Fe14B/FeCo Core–Shell Nanoparticle Synthesis Using Galvanic Substitution Based Electroless Plating
  Muhammad Aneeq Haq, Han-Saem Lee, Mi Hye Lee, Da-Woon Jeong, Eom Nu Si A, Bin Lee, Yoseb Song, Bum Sung Kim
  Coatings.2022; 12(3): 389.     CrossRef

Whisker-type magnesium hydroxide sulfate hydrate (5Mg(OH)₂·MgSO₄·3H₂O, abbreviated 513 MHSH), is used in filler and flame-retardant composites based on its hydrate phase and its ability to undergo endothermic dehydration in fire conditions, respectively. In general, the length of whiskers is determined according to various synthetic conditions in a hydrothermal reaction with high temperature (~180°C). In this work, high-quality 513 MHSH whiskers are synthesized by controlling the concentration of the raw material in ambient conditions without high pressure. Particularly, the concentration of the starting material is closely related to the length, width, and purity of MHSH. In addition, a ceramic-coating system is adopted to enhance the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the MHSH whiskers. The physical properties of the silica-coated MHSH are characterized by an abrasion test, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy.

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• Effect of sulfate ion on synthesis of 5 Mg(OH)2·MgSO4·3H2O whiskers using non-hydrothermal method with acid catalyst
  Areum Choi, Nuri Oh, YooJin Kim
  Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society.2022; 59(2): 224.     CrossRef
• Study of SiO2 coating and carboxylic surface-modification on Mg-based inorganic fiber by one-step reflux reaction
  Minsol Park, Areum Choi, Seiki Kim, Wooyoung Shim, YooJin Kim
  Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society.2022; 59(6): 869.     CrossRef
• Effect of H₂SO₄ and Reaction Time on Synthesis of 5Mg(OH)₂∙MgSO₄∙3H₂O Whiskers using Hydrothermal Reaction
  Areum Choi, Nuri Oh, YooJin Kim
  Journal of Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute.2020; 27(5): 401.     CrossRef

Conductive and dielectric SiC are fabricated using electroless plating of Ni–Fe films on SiC chopped fibers to obtain lightweight and high-strength microwave absorbers. The electroless plating of Ni–Fe films is achieved using a two-step process of surface sensitizing and metal plating. The complex permeability and permittivity are measured for the composite specimens with the metalized SiC chopped fibers dispersed in a silicone rubber matrix. The original noncoated SiC fibers exhibit considerable dielectric losses. The complex permeability spectrum does not change significantly with the Ni–Fe coating. Moreover, dielectric constant is sensitively increased with Ni–Fe coating, owing to the increase of the space charge polarization. The improvements in absorption capability (lower reflection loss and small matching thickness) are evident with Ni–Fe coating on SiC fibers. For the composite SiC fibers coated with Ni–Fe thin films, a -35 dB reflection loss is predicted at 7.6 GHz with a matching thickness of 4 mm.

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• Magnetic sputtering of FeNi/C bilayer film on SiC fibers for effective microwave absorption in the low-frequency region
  Tong Guo, Ben Huang, Changgeng Li, Yumin Lou, Xiu-Zhi Tang, Xiaozhong Huang, Jianling Yue
  Ceramics International.2021; 47(4): 5221.     CrossRef

Carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites coated with spindle-shaped Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (NPs) are fabricated by a combination of an electrospinning method and a hydrothermal method, and their morphological, structural, and chemical properties are measured by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Xray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. For comparison, CNFs and spindle-shaped Fe₂O₃ NPs are prepared by either an electrospinning method or a hydrothermal method, respectively. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated with the composites exhibit enhanced open circuit voltage (0.70 V), short-circuit current density (12.82 mA/cm2), fill factor (61.30%), and power conversion efficiency (5.52%) compared to those of the CNFs (0.66 V, 11.61 mA/cm2, 51.96%, and 3.97%) and spindle-shaped Fe₂O₃ NPs (0.67 V, 11.45 mA/cm2, 50.17%, and 3.86%). This performance improvement can be attributed to a synergistic effect of a superb catalytic reaction of spindle-shaped Fe₂O₃ NPs and efficient charge transfer relative to the one-dimensional nanostructure of the CNFs. Therefore, spindle-shaped Fe₂O₃-NPcoated CNF composites may be proposed as a potential alternative material for low-cost counter electrodes in DSSCs.

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• Ni Nanoparticles-Graphitic Carbon Nanofiber Composites for Pt-Free Counter Electrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
  Dong-Hyeun Oh, Bon-Ryul Koo, Yu-Jin Lee, HyeLan An, Hyo-Jin Ahn
  Korean Journal of Materials Research.2016; 26(11): 649.     CrossRef

WS₂-W-WC embedded carbon nanofiber composites were fabricated by using electrospinning method for use in high-performance supercapacitors. In order to obtain optimum electrochemical properties for supercapacitors, WS₂ nanoparticles were used as precursors and the amounts of WS₂ precursors were controlled to 4 wt% (sample A) and 8 wt% (sample B). The morphological, structural, and chemical properties of all samples were investigated by means of field emission photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These results demonstrated that the embedded phases of samples A and B were changed from WS₂ to WS₂-W-WC through carbothermal reaction during carbonization process. In particular, sample B presented high specific capacitance (~119.7 F/g at 5 mV/s), good high-rate capacitance (~60.5%), and superb cycleability. The enhanced electrochemical properties of sample B were explained by the synergistic effect of the using 1-D structure supports, increase of specific surface area, and improved conductivity from formation of W and WC phases.

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• WS2 Nanoparticles Embedded in Carbon Nanofibers for a Pseudocapacitor
  Ki-Wook Sung, Jung Soo Lee, Tae-Kum Lee, Hyo-Jin Ahn
  Korean Journal of Materials Research.2021; 31(8): 458.     CrossRef