SHIN Hyeon-seop (25) of the Department of Chemistry published a paper in an internationally renowned journal on March 1, following a publication in August.

Research on developing eco-friendly antibacterial materials

Undergraduates published in SCIE journal, earn recognition for their research in chemistry

[March 08, 2024]

<SHIN Hyeon-seop, chemistry student at YU>

A student from YU has gained international recognition for research contributions through a series of papers published in SCIE journals.

SHIN Hyeon-seop (25), who distinguished himself in research as an undergraduate, published a paper in the Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering (impact factor 2.7) last August, followed by a research paper in Materials Today Advance (impact factor 10.0) on March 1.

 SHIN's research focuses on developing environmentally friendly antibacterial materials as an alternative to tin compounds that disrupt marine ecosystems. In this study, he discovered an eco-friendly bifunctional material applicable to the energy and antibacterial industries, identifying the catalytic activity site of the material. In the catalyst (Ag@CuZnO), silver nanoparticles are grafted onto copper ion-exchanged particles (CuZnO) instead of zinc, leading to increased photocurrent density and the ability of silver nanoparticles to harvest photoelectrons. The catalyst exhibited excellent antibacterial performance against the marine bacterium Bacillus manliponensis, showcasing the significance of catalytic activity sites over silver content. 

 SHIN explained, "Through this study, we demonstrated that the active site generating hydrogen during water decomposition is the silver nanosurface grafted onto the conduction band of copper, while the active site exhibiting antibacterial performance is the valence electron band of zinc. Since the active sites that exhibit photocatalytic and antibacterial properties are not the same, we found that photocatalytic activity does not always indicate effective antibacterial activity."

 Professor KANG Mi-Sook, an advisor professor in the Department of Chemistry at YU, said, "This research presents significant findings in the development of eco-friendly antibacterial materials, which contribute to preserving marine ecosystems. It suggests various possibilities for application in the energy and antibacterial industries."