Vol. 1 Issue 2 | February 2016
FOREWORD
Mr. Tevin Vongvanich
President and Chief Executive Officer
PTT
VISTEC focuses on producing excellent
researchers and scientists with
internationally accepted frontier
research outputs that can be applied
in a real industrial application.
“Fostering Excellence, Creating an
Intellectual Society, and Driving
Thailand to Prosperity” is our
ambition. In order to do so, all
accepted students at VISTEC will
receive a full scholarship and benefits
with no obligation after graduation.
VISTEC offers distinctive and creative
ways of educational management
that is perfectly designed to develop
talented students with exceptional
quality. We believe that education is
a major tool in improving our lives
and in turn enhancing the country’s
human capital. We expect to mold
our students into outstanding citizens
with high morality and at the same
time contributing towards national
development and sustainable growth.
NEWS
On November 25, 2015, Professor Dr. Jumras
Limtrakul, President of VISTEC, together with Mr.
Supattanapong Punmeechaow, CEO and
President of PTT Global Chemical PCL,
signed the Memorandum of Understanding to
conduct frontier research and scientific
development. This project is a multi-disciplinary
model aimed to advance material development as well as to develop chemicals
which are derived from the value added greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) that
is the results from the research and development of clean and green technology.
On September 2, 2015, Dr. Vichit Suraphongchai, Chairman of the Executive Committee and the management
team of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) visited VISTEC.
Subsequently, on October 24, 2015 he revisited VISTEC
and cycled over 18 km. in Wangchan Valley.
On December 17 – 18, 2015, Mr. Anand
Panyarachun, Chairman of PTT Green Globe
Award Council of Trustees and the
council members visited VISTEC. Mr. Anand
expressed that VISTEC should be an example
of Thailand’s new education generation that
dares to change and make the difference
in an innovative way. The most important
things that the new generation should bear
in mind are to develop and expand our
mindset, accept the diversity, and welcome
adebating atmosphere because without
these things there would not be innovation.
He also emphasized that “change is permanent, do not be afraid of change but
do not change because of fear”.
On December 22, 2015, Mr. Abhisit
Vejjajiva, former prime minister of
Thailand, Mr. Korn Chatikavanij and
Democrat Party members visited VISTEC.
Mr. Abhisit wished that PTT Group and
VISTEC were able to reach their goals
and drive Thailand to become one of the
leading countries.
Contact Us: Tel: (+66) 033-014-444 | E-Mail: contact@vistec.ac.th | Website: www.vistec.ac.th | Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Vidyasirimedhi
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SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING @
Study of the Hole Transport Processes in Solution-Processed Layers of the
Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Copper(I) Thiocyanate (CuSCN)
Flexible Electronic
The development of new generation of semiconductors that can be additively
constructed on pieces of glass, plastic, or even paper, using simple
solution-based processes such as printing, is paving the way toward new
kinds of electronic devices which are flexible, extremely lightweight, versatile,
and can be integrated more into our lives. Examples include flexible circuits,
large-area lighting panels, smart labels, and wearable electronics among
others.
Transparent CuSCN Film Coated on Glass
There are still many challenges lying in the path, however. One of the missing key
components is a material that can transport positive charges (holes) and at the same
time show high optical transparency. Copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) is one of a
handful compounds that combine both characteristics. The use of CuSCN in transparent transistors as well as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic solar cells
(OSCs) with improved efficiencies has been successfully demonstrated earlier by
Pattanasattayavong et al. In this current work, we study this special material in
deeper details for its electrical and electronic properties using extensive characterization methods. The results yield
important information on the material parameters as well as give highly useful insights into further development of this
material. (Pattanasattayavong et al., Advanced Functional Materials, 2015, 25(43), 6802-6813.)
Turning Conductive Carbon Nanospheres into Nanosheets
for High-Performance Supercapacitors of MnO2 Nanorods
Oxidized carbon nanosheets (OCNs), produced from black
carbon nanospheres and used as a conductive additive in
the supercapacitor electrodes of MnO2 nanorods, can
significantly improve the charge-storage performance of
the symmetric MnO2-nanorod supercapacitors with a maximum specific energy of 64 W h kg−1 and power of 3870
W kg−1. An optimum material composition of the supercapacitor electrode finely tuned is 60 : 30 : 10 wt% of
MnO2 : OCN : PVDF, respectively. Interestingly, after 5000
charge/discharge cycles, the oxidation numbers of Mn at
the positive and negative electrodes of the as-fabricated
supercapacitor are +3.22 and +3.04, respectively.
(Sawangphruk et al., Chemical Communications, 2016, 52,
2585-2588.)
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Fig. Turning conductive carbon nanospheres into
nanosheets for high-performance supercapacitors of MnO2 nanorods
Contact Us: Tel: (+66) 033-014-444 | E-Mail: contact@vistec.ac.th | Website: www.vistec.ac.th | Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Vidyasirimedhi
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP AND CONFERENCE @
International Workshop and Conference
Materials by Design for Energy Applications
November 30th – December 1st, 2015
This International Workshop and Conference covered frontier research topics including: Advanced Materials, Design &
Fabrication of Materials, Materials for Energy and the Environment, Green Nanotech, and Nanoelectronics. In order
to take full advantage of the wide range of perspectives available from the distinguished participants, the presentations
were brief and the focus of the sessions was on practical work and discussion. This allowed the many attendees and participants
to gain a greater understanding of these interdisciplinary research areas, and led to the creation of ideas for new common
research projects among those attending the workshop.
Our internationally recognized guest speakers were:
1. Prof. Alexander Kuhn
(University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France)
2. Prof. Phillippe A. Bopp
(University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France)
3. Prof. Daniel Crespy
(Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany)
VISTEC Symposium
Hybrid and Biohybrid
- Past, Present and Future February 12th, 2016
Synthetic inorganic materials (ceramic and metal) and
organic materials (textile and polymer) became common
materials to be used in our life and society. The developments in the synthetic materials was inspired by geo- and
bio-materials (rock/stone and fiber/wood) from both structural and synthetic viewpoints. New materials have been
responsible for the major changes of our life and society;
plastics, synthetic fiber, semiconductor, optical fiber are
examples. Nanotechnology (and nanochemistry) is regarded
as a key for the next paradigm shift. By combining the
concepts, information, skiils and materials in different fields of
chemistry (biochemistry, inorganic solid-state chemistry,
organic and polymer chemistry and chemistry at surface and
interface) and materials science (structural, electronic, optical
and bio), we have unlimited potential research fields as
Advanced Hybrid Materials, which will contribute our life
and environments in the future.
Our prestigious speakers were:
1. Prof. Dr. Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky (CSIC, Spain)
2. Dr. Yoshiaki Fukushima (CROSS, Japan)
3. Prof. Dr. Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci (LIOS, Austria)
4. Prof. Dr. Jean Roncali (University of Angers, France)
5. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nawee Kungwan (Chiang Mai University, Thailand)
6. Dr. Thanyada Rungrotmongkol (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand)
7. Prof. Dr. Thawatchai Tuntulani (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand)
8. Dr. Supawadee Namuangruk (NANOTEC, Thailand)
9. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yasutaka Tanaka (Shizuoka University, Japan)
10. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tatsuo Kaneko (JAIST, Japan)
11. Asst. Prof. Dr. Suwadee Kongparakul
(Thammasat University, Thailand)
12. Prof. Dr. Jin-Ho Choy (CINBM, South Korea)
13. Prof. Dr. Katsuhiko Ariga (NIMS, Japan)
Contact Us: Tel: (+66) 033-014-444 | E-Mail: contact@vistec.ac.th | Website: www.vistec.ac.th | Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Vidyasirimedhi
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EVENTS
VISTEC Open House 2016
On January 23-24, 2016, VISTEC held the “Open House 2016”
event. Over 150 prospective students from all over Thailand
joined us for the event. They had the opportunity to visit the
campus; VISTEC laboratory, and Frontier Research Center,
meet VISTEC faculty members and get to know VISTEC
students. 68% of the students stated their intention of wanting
to join us here at VISTEC.
VISTEC New Year Party 2016
On January 14, 2016, VISTEC celebrated the New Year
with lots of fun and joyful activities. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prasert
Pavasant, Acting Vice-President for Administration was our
honorary star of the night. Prof. Dr. Jumras Limtrakul, the
President surprised us all with presents for the VISTEC
Pioneer Team and the BIGGEST draw ever!
SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS @
1. Turning Conductive Carbon Nanospheres
into Nanosheets for High- Performance
Supercapacitors of MnO2 Nanorods | N.
Phattharasupakun, J. Wutthiprom , P.
Chiochan, P. Suktha, M. Suksomboon, S.
Kalasina, M. Sawangphruk | Chemical
Communications, 2016, 52, 2585-2588.
2. One-Pot Synthesis of Novel Hierarchical
Bifunctional Ga/HZSM-5 Nano Sheets for
Propane Aromatization | W. Wannapakdee, C. Wattanakit, V. Paluka, T. Yutthalekha,
J. Limtrakul | RSC Advances, 2016, 6,
2875-2881.
3. Highly Integrated CO2 Capture and
Conversion: Direct Synthesis of Cyclic
Carbonates from Industrial Flue Gas | A.
Barthel, Y. Saih, M. Gimenez, J.D.A. Pelletier,
F.E. Kühn, V. D´Elia, J.-M. Basset | Green
Chemistry, 2016, DOI: 10.1039/C5GC03007B.
4. Controlling the Hydrogenolysis of SilicaSupported Tungsten Pentamethyl Leads to
a Class of Highly Electron Deficient
Partially Alkylated Metal Hydrides | N.
Maity, S. Barman, E. Callens, M.K. Samantaray, E. Abou-Hamad, Y. Minenkov, V. D'Elia,
A.S. Hoffman, C.M. Widdifield, L. Cavallo, B.C.
Gates. J.-M. Basset | Chemical Science,
2016, 7, 1558-1568.
5. Relationship between Surface Roughness,
Internal Crystal Perfection, and Crystal
Growth Rate | S.C. Galbraith, A.E. Flood, S.
Rugmai, P. Chirawatkul | Chemical Engineering
and Technology, 2016, 39, 199-207.
6. Hydrogenation of CO2 to Formic Acid
Over a Cu-embedded Graphene: A DFT
Study | J. Sirijaraensre, J. Limtrakul | Applied
Surface Science, 2016, 364, 241-248.
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7. Multifunctional Clickable and ProteinRepellent Magnetic Silica Nanoparticles
| D. Estupiñán, M.B. Bannwarth, S.E. Mylon,
K. Landfester, R. Muñoz-Espí, D. Crespy |
Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 3019-3030.
8. Biodiesel Production from Palm Oil
Using Hydrated Lime-Derived CaO as a
Low-Cost
Basic
Heterogeneous
Catalyst | W. Roschat, T. Siritanon, B.
Yoosuk, V. Promarak | Energy Conversion
and Management, 2016, 108, 459-467.
9. Mechanistic Insight into the Selective
Catalytic Reduction of NO by NH3
Over Low-Valent Titanium-Porphyrin: a
DFT Study | P. Maitarad, J. Meeprasert, L.
Shi, J. Limtrakul, D. Zhang, S. Namuangruk |
Catalysis Science & Technology, 2016,
DOI: 10.1039/C5CY02116B.
10. A DFT Study of Arsine Adsorption on
Palladium Doped Graphene: Effects of
Palladium Cluster Size | M. Kunaseth, T.
Mudchimo, S. Namuangruk, N. Kungwan,
V. Promarak, S. Jungsuttiwong | Applied
Surface Science, 2016, DOI:10.1016/J.APSUSC.2016.01.139.
11. N-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide
Aerogel Coated on Carboxyl-Modified
Carbon Fiber Paper for High-Performance
Ionic-Liquid Supercapacitors | P.
Iamprasertkun, A. Krittayavathananon, M.
Sawangphruk | Carbon, 2016,
DOI:10.1016/J. CARBON.2015.12.092.
12. Bipolar Electrografting on the Inner
Wall of Carbon Nanotubes | C. Kumsapaya,
J. Limtrakul, A. Kuhn, D. Zigah, C. Warakulwit
| ChemElectroChem, 2016, DOI:10.1002/
CELC.201500379.
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