Materials Research at Yonsei University.

Abstract

This special issue of Advanced Materials, guest-edited by Prof. Wooyoung Shim, Prof. Woochul Kim, Prof. Jae-Min Myoung, and Prof. Choelmin Park, celebrates the 70th anniversary of Yonsei University's College of Engineering (Figure 1) in 2020. The issue features the most innovative materials research activities across all fields of engineering at Yonsei. The history of Yonsei University began in April 1885, when Korea's first modern hospitals, Severance Medical School and Yonhi University, were founded. The nation's first program in science and engineering was born in 1915, offering physics and mathematics and serving as a precursor to the modern institutes of higher education in Korea. Yonhi College and Severance Medical School merged in 1955, becoming Yonsei University. As a University, the institution helped democratize and modernize the country in the aftermath of the Korean War. Since its establishment in 1955, Yonsei University's College of Science and Engineering has played a pivotal role in shaping the country's engineering landscape. Currently, the College of Engineering has a total of 242 full-time professors, 2768 graduate students, and 5877 undergraduate students across 12 departments, including Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Architecture & Architectural Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Integrated Technology, System Semiconductor Engineering, and Artificial Intelligence. Yonsei University's College of Engineering prioritizes solving new technological challenges in energy, health, information technology, biotechnology, natural environments, and artificial intelligence, and pursues excellence in education, research, and globalization. The field of materials science has been one of the core research areas in recent years. From 2016 to 2020, authors at Yonsei published 31 articles in Advanced Materials from various fields of research, including low-dimensional materials, flexible electronics, organic/inorganic electronics, energy harvesting, printing technology, and interactive sensors. On the 70th anniversary of the Yonsei University's College of Engineering, we are grateful to present a collection of twenty Reviews, representing a dynamic and comprehensive picture of each area of recent materials research at Yonsei University, as well as each area's scope. In the area of biosensors and bioelectronics, Prof. Jong-Hyun Ahn (article number 2005858) communicates recent research progress in skin-mountable devices based on two-dimensional (2D) materials that exhibit a variety of device functions, including information input/output, in vitro/in vivo healthcare, and diagnosis. Prof. Seungjoo Haam (article number 2005927) discusses approaches that use advanced nanomaterial-based platform technologies for future diagnostics, vaccines, and antiviral treatments against emerging infectious diseases. Prof. Taeyoon Lee (article number 2005930) contributes a review that classifies various electronic drugs for treating and monitoring human diseases in terms of temporal/spatial and short-/long-term uses. Prof. Ki Jun Yu (article number 2005786) summarizes the latest investigations in flexible neural implants and addresses current issues associated with the implants by presenting material candidates and designs to meet the challenges. Prof. Jang-Ung Park (article number 2005805) presents a comprehensive overview of the materials, fabrication processes, and biomedical applications of 3D electrodes, considering their electrochemical interactions at the interface between the electrodes and tissue. In the area of low-dimensional materials, that is, 2D materials, Prof. Jeong Ho Cho (article number 2005846) provides a comprehensive overview of MXene-based sensor technologies and a roadmap for commercializing MXene-based sensors. Prof. Seong-Ju Hwang (article number 2005922) discusses exhaustively multifunctional 2D hybrid materials using atomically mixed inorganic and graphene nanosheets and provides insightful directions for the rational design and synthesis of high-performance hybrid materials. Prof. Hyungjun Kim (article number 2005907) reviews the recent developments of atomic layer deposition (ALD)-based 2D transition metal chalcogenides (TMC) for nanoelectronics, sensors, and energy applications. Prof. Wooyoung Shim (article number 2006043) presents a review of metastable layered compounds synthesized from ternary bulk materials through topochemical approaches, followed by descriptions of their mechanisms, structural analyses, characterizations, and potential applications. In the area of energy, Prof. Seong Chan Jun (article number 2004689) reviews the use of potassium and its prospects in innovative cathode development toward practical energy storage. Prof. Jooho Moon (article number 2005760) examines chiral perovskites to elucidate the underlying chirality-transfer mechanism based on theoretical considerations while suggesting insightful perspectives and promising strategies to exploit the potential of chiral perovskites. Prof. Kyu Hyoung Lee (article number 2005931) discusses the correlation between the weighted mobility ratio and thermoelectric performance in bismuth–telluride-based alloys. Prof. Won Hyoung Ryu (article number 2005919) provides a review of how nanomaterials can be utilized to enhance the extraction of photosynthetic electricity from living plants. In the area of electronics and optoelectronics, Prof. Dahl-Young Khang (article number 2005932) reviews thoroughly the facile structuring of Si at the nano-, micro-, and macroscale by metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE), and its various applications and future perspectives. Prof. Eunkyoung Kim (article number 2005940) reviews the state-of-the-art organic molecular and polymeric photothermal materials and the emerging applications from their chemical structures and optoelectronic properties. Prof. Hyun Jae Kim (article number 2006091) reports on the latest developments regarding the application of absorption layers in surface treatment, structural engineering, and absorptive materials in metal-oxide-based phototransistors. Prof. Jong-Souk Yeo (article number 2006606) summarizes the basics of quantum plasmonics and plasmonic resonators, nanoscale/sub-nanoscale fabrication approaches, advanced materials for resonant and nonresonant quantum energy transport and coupling, in addition to their potential applications. From the area of flexible electronics and human-interactive devices, Prof. Cheolmin Park (article number 2004999) reviews soft ferroelectric materials that enable novel flexible photoelectronic devices, emphasizing their ferroelectric switching mechanisms and their potential application in human-connected intelligent electronics. Prof. Jongbaeg Kim (article number 2005902) outlines representative sensing mechanisms and highlights materials and design configurations that enhance the sensing properties of flexible tactile sensors for human-interactive systems. From the area of chemical sensors, Prof. Wooyoung Lee (article number 2005929) reviews the progress made, and advanced approaches developed, over the past decade for Pd-nanogap-based H2 sensors with strategies to reduce their detection limits and increase their reliability, sensitivity, and stability. This guest editorial reflects cutting-edge research activities in materials science at Yonsei University's College of Engineering. Our aim is to foster an ability to define future issues and visualize their solutions for next-generation scientists and engineers. We will continue to develop interdisciplinary experts and integrate entrepreneurship to communicate with the global society. Finally, we sincerely appreciate Dr. Esther Levy and the editorial team of Advanced Materials for their tremendous support in the publication of this issue. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Wooyoung Shim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, IBS Professor in the Yonsei-IBS Center for Nanomedicine, and Director of the Center for Multi-Dimensional Materials at Yonsei University. He obtained his Ph.D. at Northwestern University in 2012 and performed postdoctoral research at Harvard University. Currently, he serves as an Associate Editor in Nano Convergence (Springer Nature). His research group focuses heavily on the synthesis and characterization of new 2D materials, leading to developing fundamentals and technical applications. Woochul Kim, Associate Dean in the College of Engineering at Yonsei University, received his Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley in 2005. He has been at Yonsei University since 2007 and was a consulting professor at LG Innotek. He was the recipient of the Prime Minister's Award in Nanotechnology Research Innovation in 2017, the Young Thermal Engineer Award from KSME in 2013, the KSTP TPP Award in 2015, and the KSTP Research Excellence Award in 2013 (Korean Society of Thermophysical Properties). His research expertise lies in nanoscale thermal transport. His work focuses on applications of thermoelectric materials. Jae-Min Myoung is a Dean in the College of Engineering and Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Yonsei University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Yonsei University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 1988 and 1990, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1998, and was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering there from 1998 to 2000). He joined the Yonsei University faculty in 2000. His research interests include nanomaterials-based flexible electronics (transistors, light-emitting diodes, sensors) for display applications. Cheolmin Park is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Director, BK21 Education and Research Division for Futuristic Human-Centric Materials, and Director, Center for Artificial Synesthesia Materials Discovery at Yonsei University. He received his B.S. (1992) and M.S. (1995) degrees from the Department of Polymer and Fiber Engineering, Seoul National University, and his Ph.D. from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT (2001). He performed postdoctoral research at Harvard University. He was selected as a Yonsei University Underwood Distinguished Professor in 2014. His research focuses on self-assembled materials and their applications in flexible photoelectronics.