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Platinum Single Atom Catalysts for 'Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells'
(Professor Hyunjoo Lee (left) and Ph.D. candidate Jiwhan Kim)
A research team co-led by Professor Hyunjoo Lee at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST and Professor Jeong Woo Han from the University of Seoul synthesized highly stable high-Pt-content single atom catalysts for direct formic acid fuel cells. The amount of platinum can be reduced to 1/10 of that of conventional platinum nanoparticle catalysts.
Platinum (Pt) catalysts have been used in various catalytic reactions due to their high activity and stability. However, because Pt is rare and expensive, it is important to reduce the amount of Pt used. Pt single atom catalysts can reduce the size of the Pt particles to the size of an atom. Thus, the cost of Pt catalysts can be minimized because all of the Pt atoms can participate in the catalytic reactions. Additionally, single atom catalysts have no ensemble site in which two or more atoms are attached, and thus, the reaction selectivity is different from that of nanoparticle catalysts.
Despite these advantages, single atom catalysts are easily aggregated and less stable due to their low coordination number and high surface free energy. It is difficult to develop a single atom catalyst with high content and high stability, and thus, its application in practical devices is limited.
Direct formic acid fuel cells can be an energy source for next-generation portable devices because liquid formic acid as a fuel is safer and easier to store and transport than high-pressure hydrogen gas.
To improve the stability of Pt single atom catalysts, Professor Lee’s group developed a Pt-Sn single atom alloy structure on an antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) support. This structure has been proven by computational calculations which show that Pt single atoms substitute antimony sites in the antimony-tin alloy structure and are thermodynamically stable. This catalyst has been shown to have a higher activity up to 50 times per weight of Pt than that of the commercial catalyst, Pt/C, in the oxidation of formic acid, and the stability of the catalyst was also remarkably high.
Professor Lee’s group also used a single atomic catalyst in a 'direct formic acid fuel cell’ consisting of membranes and electrodes. It is the first attempt to apply a single atomic catalyst to a full cell. In this case, an output similar to that of the commercial catalyst could be obtained by using 1/10 of the platinum compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst.
Ph.D. candidate Jiwhan Kim from KAIST was the first author of the research. This research was published online on September 11 in Advanced Energy Materials.
This research was carried out with the support of the Samsung Electronics Future Technology Development Center.
(Figure 1. Concept photograph for Pt single atom catalysts.)
(Figure 2. Pt single atom catalysts by HAADF-STEM analysis (bright white circles))
2017.10.31 View 6899 -
In Jin Cho Earned the Best Poster Prize at ME Summit 2017
In Jin Cho, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST received the best poster prize at the International Metabolic Engineering Summit 2017 held on October 24 in Beijing, China.
The International Metabolic Engineering Summit is a global conference where scientists and corporate researchers in the field of metabolic engineering present their latest research outcomes and build networks.
At this year’s summit, about 500 researchers from around the world participated in active academic exchanges, including giving keynote speeches and presenting posters.
During the poster session, the summit selects one person for the KeAi-synthetic and Systems Biotechnology Poster Award, two for Microbial Cell Factories Poster Awards, and three for Biotechnology Journal Poster Awards among the posters presented by graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and researchers. Cho received the KeAi-synthetic and Systems Biotechnology Poster Award. Her winning poster is on the biotransformation of p-xylene to terephthalic acid using engineered Escherichia coli.
Terephthalic acid is generally produced by p-xylene oxidation; however, this process requires a high temperature and pressure as well as a toxic catalyst during the reaction process.
Cho and Ziwei Luo, a Ph.D. student at KAIST, co-conducted the research and developed a successful biological conversion process. Compared to the existing chemical process, it does not require a high temperature and pressure; and it is environmentally friendly with a relatively high conversion rate of approximately 97%.
Cho’s advisor, Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee said, “Further research on glucose-derived terephthalic acid will enable us to produce biomass-based eco-friendly terephthalic acid through engineered Escherichia coli.”
2017.10.31 View 7839 -
High-Speed Motion Core Technology for Magnetic Memory
(Professor Kab-Jin Kim of the Department of Physics)
A joint research team led by Professor Kab-Jin Kim of the Department of Physics, KAIST and Professor Kyung-Jin Lee at Korea University developed technology to dramatically enhance the speed of next generation domain wall-based magnetic memory. This research was published online in Nature Materials on September 25.
Currently-used memory materials, D-RAM and S-RAM, are fast but volatile, leading to memory loss when the power is switched off. Flash memory is non-volatile but slow, while hard disk drives (HDD) have greater storage but are high in energy usage and weak in physical shock tolerance.
To overcome the limitations of existing memory materials, ‘domain wall-based, magnetic memory’ is being researched. The core mechanism of domain wall magnetic memory is the movement of a domain wall by the current. Non-volatility is secured by using magnetic nanowires and the lack of mechanical rotation reduced power usage. This is a new form of high density, low power next-generation memory.
However, previous studies showed the speed limit of domain wall memory to be hundreds m/s at maximum due to the ‘Walker breakdown phenomenon’, which refers to velocity breakdown from the angular precession of a domain wall. Therefore, there was a need to develop core technology to remove the Walker breakdown phenomenon and increase the speed for the commercialization of domain wall memory.
Most domain wall memory studies used ferromagnetic bodies, which cannot overcome the Walker breakdown phenomenon. The team discovered that the use of ‘ferrimagnetic‘ GdFeCo at certain conditions could overcome the Walker breakdown phenomenon and using this mechanism they could increase domain wall speed to over 2Km/s at room temperature.
Domain wall memory is high-density, low-power, and non-volatile memory. The memory could be the leading next-generation memory with the addition of the high speed property discovered in this research.
Professor Kim said, “This research is significant in discovering a new physical phenomenon at the point at which the angular momentum of a ferrimagnetic body is 0 and it is expected to advance the implementation of next-generation memory in the future.”
This research was funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MSIP) (No. 2017R1C1B2009686, NRF-2016R1A5A1008184) and by the DGIST R&D Program of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (17-BT-02).
(Figure 1. Concept Map of Domain Wall Memory Material using Ferrimagnetic Body)
(Figure 2. Scheme and Experimental Results of Domain Wall Speed Measurements)
2017.10.30 View 7571 -
Hanmaeum Education Corps Invites Multicultural Families
About 100 graduates from the Multicultural Mother Schools and their families visited the KAIST campus on October 29 at the invitation of the Hanmaeum Education Corps of KAIST. The Hanmanum Education Corps is a volunteering organization composed of KAIST faculty and students. Many retired KAIST faculties are also members of the corps. Byong Kyu Choi, an Emeritus Professor from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is the director of the corps and has been leading the event since 2015.
With the support of a KAIST educational volunteering organization called SEED(Social Education Embracing Diversity), this year’s event offered various activities including a treasure hunt and convergent science programs. Participants had the opportunity to experience KAIST’s educational environment and enjoyed the perfect autumn weather during outdoor activities with student volunteers.
Children enjoyed making illumination-music stickers with the KAIST students, even though it was tough to learn at first.
While the children engaged themselves in the science program, parents visited the chrysanthemum fair and some of KAIST’s cafeterias.
Hanmaeum Education Corps opened the Multicultural Mother Schools to support multicultural mothers so that they can have more interest in and help their children more with their education. Since its establishment in 2015, the Multicultural Mother Schools have been expanding throughout the country.
The corporation hopes that visiting a renowned university will encourage children from multicultural families to study hard in addition to offering self-enrichment opportunities through career exploration and science activities.
2017.10.30 View 4265 -
KAIST and KOICA Invited Dominican Republic Officials for Workshop
KAIST will host a two-week workshop for Dominican Republic officials and scholars in collaboration with KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) beginning October 23 at KAIST.
The workshop aims to encourage academia-industry cooperation as one of the Projects for Human Resource Development for Science and Technology at KOICA. Dominican participants including the assistant minister of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCYT) and deans of engineering colleges at major universities will enjoy lectures from experts and visit enterprises known for excellent academia-industry collaboration.
According to the Center for Overseas Development, at which Professor WonJoon Kim in the School of Business and Technology Management at KAIST holds the position of director, the workshop is designed to develop human resources in the science and technology (S&T) area, share knowledge on research and development in the field of academia-industry cooperation, and help the participants acquire know-how for managing partnerships between related organizations and industries.
During the workshop, KAIST plans to transfer know-how and share knowledge on its academia-industry cooperation R&D system, in hopes that the workshop will help the Dominican Republic foster its manpower in higher education. The workshop organizers hope that the officers and scholars will be able to apply what they will learn for establishing and carrying out detailed action plans for academia-industry cooperation policies in an effective manner.
“This workshop provides an opportunity to learn about the development of S&T in Korea, academia-industry cooperation R&D, and fostering manpower in advanced S&T. Through the knowledge sharing, we can have a better understanding of academia-industry cooperation as well as education on advanced manpower,” said Pedro Antonio Eduardo, the assistant minister of MESCYT.
He added, “I hope that this workshop will further detailed cooperation between the two countries for Korean high-tech enterprises’ overseas expansion and advanced manpower education. The development model in Korea has many essential elements, so learning its engine for growth and polytechnic manpower education will help develop my country’s industry sector.”
The Project for Human Resource Development for Science and Technology is one of the official development assistance projects running from last year until 2019. It promotes R&D activities for S&T in the Dominican Republic, encouraging academia-industry cooperation by improving trainers in charge of advanced manpower education.
2017.10.30 View 6608 -
Distinguished Professor Lee Named International Fellow of the CAS
Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST was awarded the title of distinguished professor and international fellow from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and honorary professor from its affiliated organization the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (TIB).
The CAS recognized Distinguished Professor Lee for his significant contributions to biotechnology. He has made significant pioneering academic achievements in the area of systems metabolic engineering, which produces useful chemicals from microorganisms. Not only did he develop the first and best source technology in that field, but also came out with processes for the production of biofuel and environmentally-friendly chemicals.”
As a global leader in systems metabolic engineering, Distinguished Professor Lee has also been appointed as an honorary professor at Jiangnan University in Wuxi, China.
Distinguished Professor Lee was listed in the ‘Top 20 Translational Researchers of 2014’ selected by the renowned international journal Nature Biotechnology. Moreover, he was the first Asian recipient of the James E. Bailey Award in 2016 and Marvin J. Johnson Award in 2012, which are given to scholars in the field of biotechnology.
He is also one of 13 global scientists who are foreign members of the renowned academic societies the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences in the US. Furthermore, he received the ‘2017 Korea Best Scientist Award’ from the president of Korea in July. Finally, his founding field, systems metabolic engineering, was chosen as one of the ‘Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2016’ by the World Economic Forum.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences, established in November 1949, is an academic organization that carries out research on basic sciences and natural sciences in China. It defined its science and technology system to include the fields of basic sciences, natural sciences, and high technology. While having a base in Beijing, its branch academies are located in 12 main cities along with 117 affiliates and 100 national key labs.
2017.10.26 View 9411 -
Development of a Highly-Accurate Computational Model of Human Metabolism
A research team from KAIST developed a computational framework that enables the reconstruction of a comprehensive computational model of human metabolism, which allows for an accurate prediction of personal metabolic features (or phenotypes).
Understanding personal metabolic phenotypes allows us to design effective therapeutic strategies for various chronic and infectious diseases. A human computational model called the genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) contains information on thousands of metabolic genes and their corresponding reactions and metabolites, and has played an important role in predicting metabolic phenotypes. Although several versions of human GEMs have been released, they had room for further development, especially as to incorporating biological information coming from a human genetics mechanism called “alternative splicing.” Alternative splicing is a genetic mechanism that allows a gene to give rise to multiple reactions, and is strongly associated with pathology.
To tackle this problem, Jae Yong Ryu (a Ph.D. student), Dr. Hyun Uk Kim (Research Fellow), and Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee, all from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at KAIST, developed a computational framework that systematically generates metabolic reactions, and adds them to the human GEM. The resulting human GEM was demonstrated to accurately predict metabolic phenotypes under varied environmental conditions. The research results were published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on October 24, 2017, under the title “Framework and resource for more than 11,000 gene-transcript-protein-reaction associations in human metabolism.”
The research team first updated the biological contents of a previous version of the human GEM. The updated biological contents include metabolic genes and their corresponding metabolites and reactions. In particular, metabolic reactions catalyzed by already-known protein isoforms were additionally incorporated into the human GEM; protein isoforms are multiple variants of proteins generated from individual genes through the alternative splicing process. Each protein isoform is often responsible for the operation of a metabolic reaction. Although multiple protein isoforms generated from one gene can play different functions by having different sets of protein domains and/or subcellular localizations, such information was not properly considered in previous versions of human GEMs.
Upon the initial update of the human GEM, named Recon 2M.1, the research team subsequently implemented a computational framework that systematically generates information on Gene-Transcript-Protein-Reaction Associations (GeTPRA) in order to identify protein isoforms that were previously not identified. This framework was developed in this study. As a result of the implementation of the framework for GeTPRA, more than 11,000 GeTPRA were automatically predicted, and thoroughly validated. Additional metabolic reactions were then added to Recon 2M.1 based on the predicted GeTPRA for the previously uncharacterized protein isoforms; Recon 2M.1 was renamed Recon 2M.2 from this upgrade.
Finally, Recon 2M.2 was integrated with 446 sets of personal biological data (RNA-Seq data) in order to build patient-specific cancer models. These patient-specific cancer models were used to predict cancer metabolism activities and anticancer targets.
The development of a new version of human GEMs along with the computational framework for GeTPRA is expected to boost studies in fundamental human genetics and medicine. Model files of the human GEMs Recon 2M.1 and 2M.2, a full list of the GeTPRA and the source code for the computational framework to predict the GeTPRA are all available as part of the publication of this study.
Distinguished Professor Lee said, “The predicted GeTPRA from the computational framework is expected to serve as a guideline for future experiments on human genetics and biochemistry, whereas the resulting Recon 2M.2 can be used to predict drug targets for various human diseases.”
This work was supported by the Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Changes on Systems Metabolic Engineering for Biorefineries (NRF-2012M1A2A2026556 and NRF-2012M1A2A2026557) from the Ministry of Science and ICT through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea.
(Figure 1:A scheme of Recon 2M.1 development and its use in reconstructing personal genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs). (A) A concept of alternative splicing of human genes and its use in Gene-Transcript-Protein-Reaction Associations (GeTPRA) of Recon 2M.1. (B) A procedure of systematic refinement of the Recon 2Q. Recon 2Q is one of the previously released human GEMs. Biochemically inconsistent reactions include unbalanced, artificial, blocked, and/or redundant reactions. Iterative manual curation was conducted while validating the Recon 2M.1. (C) Reconstruction of cancer patient-specific GEMs using Recon 2M.1 for further simulation studies. In this study, personal biological data (RNA-Seq data) were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; https://cancergenome.nih.gov/ ) across the ten cancer types.
(Figure 2: Computational framework for the systematic generation of Gene-Transcript-Protein-Reaction Associations (GeTPRA; red box in the flowchart). Peptide sequences of metabolic genes defined in Recon 2M.1 were retrieved from a database called Ensembl. EC numbers and subcellular localizations of all the protein isoforms of metabolic genes in Recon 2M.1 were predicted using software programs EFICAz2.5 and Wolf PSort, respectively. Information on the newly predicted GeTPRA was systematically incorporated into the Recon 2M.1, thereby resulting in Recon 2M.2.)
2017.10.25 View 8556 -
KAIST to Host the Wearable Computer Contest
KAIST is hosting the ‘Wearable Computer Contest (WCC) 2017’ as a part of the Daejeon Science Festival from October 21 to 24 at Expo Park. This is the 13th contest in which college students can manufacture wearable computers on their own by combining their innovative ideas with state-of-art technology.
The total of 60 teams will participate in the contest. The winning team will receive a prize from the Minister of ICT and Science with a 3,000,000 won cash prize. ‘Wearable computers’ are devices worn on clothing so that users can have easier access to a computer. Recently, devices linked to smart phones are drawing significant attention because they allow users to conveniently experience various internet-based services.
“More recently, industries have shown a great interest in Artificial Intelligence as well as wearable computers. The Wearable Computer Contest will play a leading role in discovering talented people for the preparation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo from the School of Electrical Engineering, KAIST as well as the committee president of the WCC. “Daejeon will become a hub that encourages youths’ creativity for developing future technology,” he added.
With the mission of using Virtual Reality, this contest will showcase creative entries that applied VR devices. For more information about the contest, please visit the event website at http://www.ufcom.org.
2017.10.20 View 4362 -
Professor Dai Gil Lee Recognized by the ICCS
Emeritus Professor Dai Gil Lee, from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at KAIST, received a special achievement award from the 20th International Conference on Composite Structures (ICCS).
ICCS is a renowned conference in the field of applied composite structures, which highlights the practicality of composite structures. This year, the conference was held at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM), Paris, France from September 4 to 7. Approximately 650 papers were presented from 45 countries.
Especially, the conference honored Emeritus Professor Lee, who has been engaged in ICCS since 1993 and received best paper award twice. The ICCS recognized him for serving with distinction in science and technology in the fields of composite materials and structures. As a member of the Editorial Board for many years, he gave significant support to the journal Composite Structures. At the conference, he gave a special lecture titled ‘Lightweight Carbon Composite Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells’.
Professor Lee said, “I will dedicate myself to innovate Vanadium Redox Flow Battery-ESS (VRFB) based on the research findings announced at the conference and related patents. I am hoping that these efforts will contribute to solving energy issues around the world.”
2017.10.19 View 6446 -
Professor YongKeun Park Elected as a Fellow of the Optical Society
Professor YongKeun Park, from the Department of Physics at KAIST, was elected as a fellow member of the Optical Society (OSA) in Washington, D.C. on September 12. Fellow membership is given to members who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of optics and photonics.
Professor Park was recognized for his research on digital holography and wavefront control technology.
Professor Park has been producing outstanding research outcomes in the field of holographic technology and light scattering control since joining KAIST in 2010. In particular, he developed and commercialized technology for a holographic telescope. He applied it to various medical and biological research projects, leading the field worldwide.
In the past, cells needed to be dyed with fluorescent materials to capture a 3-D image. However, Professor Park’s holotomography (HT) technology can capture 3-D images of living cells and tissues in real time without color dyeing. This technology allows diversified research in the biological and medical field.
Professor Park established a company, Tomocube, Inc. in 2015 to commercialize the technology. In 2016, he received funding from SoftBank Ventures and Hanmi Pharmaceutical. Currently, major institutes, including MIT, the University of Pittsburgh, the German Cancer Research Center, and Seoul National University Hospital are using his equipment.
Recently, Professor Park and his team developed technology based on light scattering measurements. With this technology, they established a company called The Wave Talk and received funding from various organizations, such as NAVER. Its first product is about to be released.
Professor Park said, “I am glad to become a fellow member based on the research outcomes I produced since I was appointed as a professor at KAIST. I would like to thank the excellent researchers as well as the school for its support. I will devote myself to continuously producing novel outcomes in both basic and applied fields.”
Professor Park has published nearly 100 papers in renowned journals including Nature Photonics, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and Physical Review Letters.
2017.10.18 View 10044 -
KAIST Ranked Fourth in the Chosun-QS Asia University Ranking 2017
KAIST ranked fourth in the ‘Chosun-QS Asia University Ranking 2017’, which is top among universities in Korea for four consecutive years. Particularly, KAIST jumped two places compared to last year’s ranking due to achieving higher scores in two indicators; the number of papers per faculty and citations per paper.
Out of 426 universities, 47 universities in Korea were included on the list, and six of them landed in top 20. It is important to note that only two Korean universities improved their ranking: KAIST and Sungkyunkwan University.
2017.10.18 View 2562 -
KAIST Partners with WEF to Prepare for the 4th Industrial Revolution
KAIST President Sung-Chul Shin and the Head of the World Economic Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Murat Sonmez, made a commitment to build cooperation in an active manner for addressing the ramifications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The two signed an MOU to cooperate in research in related fields on October 13 after holding a roundtable discussion titled “The Future of Jobs and Inclusive Growth in Korea”. It is the first partnership that the WEF has sealed with an academic institution.The roundtable discussion brought together distinguished guests from politics, non-profit civic organizations, academia, and enterprises including Daejeon Mayor Seon-Taek Kwon, Doosan Group Vice Chairman Lee Hyun-Soon, and Korean Venture Business Association President Ahn Keon-Joon.
During the news conference, President Shin said, “This event means a lot because it explores ways in which inclusive growth and job creation can be realized in Korea. To move forward in the new age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, every country needs to adopt appropriate new policies suitable for their specific market environments. KAIST will contribute to this process for Korea as well as for the global community.”
President Shin also said, “Korea has been a fast follower in previous industrial revolutions. Now, we have the momentum to seize the opportunities in the wake of this revolution. KAIST is dedicated to leading Korea into becoming a first mover in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by cooperating with the WEF.”
“Two decades later, we will live with considerable number of robots around us. It is possible that our societies in the future will consist of Homo sapiens and Robo sapiens. We need to create new jobs for Homo sapiens to prepare for a society that we will have to coexist with a new industrial tribe. Industries need continuing education to retrain workers for the ever evolving industrial landscape of the future,” President Shin emphasized.
Meanwhile, Sonmez pointed out that all stakeholders should participate in understanding the new industrial environment’s ramifications, saying “Societies, governments, public and private sectors, startups, and academia should co-design inclusive models through global efforts. Ethics and influences on the job market should also be taken into consideration.”
Sonmez said nine factors such as blockchains, internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cross-border data blow, drones, 3D printing, autonomous driving, the environment, and precision medicine will take center stage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, In particular, he said that blockchains, which are a cybersecurity technology for online financial transactions, will bring even bigger changes than the ‘World Wide Web’ has done over the past three decades.
“To this end, we will have to work closely with major academic institutes. Through this partnership with KAIST, we will make the fruits of the new industrial environment benefit Koreans and Korean society,” Sonmez added.
2017.10.14 View 7463