On August 2, 2016, Konkuk University announced that Professors Changhyun Jin and Dongjin Lee of the Department of Mechanical Design and Production Engineering synthesized whisk- and flower-like SiOx nanostructures with luminescent properties. Existing methods to form such nanostructures using source powders were relatively simple in terms of the process and could synthesize a wide range of materials. However, the nanostructures were limited to zero- or one-dimensions and catalysts had to be removed from the final product. KU’s research team used what it called “direct substrate growth,” a one-step process that does not require direct sources, catalyst, nor post-treatment. Their research was published in an article titled “Growth Mechanism and Luminescent Properties of Amorphous SiOx Structures via Phase Equilibrium in Binary System” on Scientific Reports by the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature.