Sustainable biocarbon as an alternative of traditional fillers for poly(butylene terephthalate)-based composites: Thermo-oxidative aging and durability

Sustainable biocomposites have gained considerable interest as an alternative to conventional composites in recent years due to their cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance and durability behavior of biocomposites from sustainable biocarbon (BC) as compared to conventional established fillers. The poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and its composites reinforced with BC, talc, and glass fiber (GF) were prepared and the durability performances was investigated. The study showed that BC/PBT biocomposites provided a lighter weight alternative to traditionally used fillers. After undergoes thermo-oxidative aging, the mechanical properties of BC/PBT biocomposite were deteriorated. The GF/PBT showed the most stable in retaining its mechanical properties in comparison to the talc/PBT and BC/PBT. The aging behavior and mechanism of the PBT composites were discussed. This study provides further insight on the durability-related properties progression of biocomposites as compared to traditional used fillers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47722.     

Enzymatic degradation,electronic, and thermal properties of graphite- and graphene oxide-filled biodegradable polylactide/poly(ε-caprolactone) blend composites

Commodity polymers are the most widely used materials for electronic packaging applications. However, they are nondegradable and causing serious environmental damage. Addressing this challenge, the relative effects of graphite (G) and graphene oxide (GO) dispersion on the enzymatic degradation, electronic properties, thermal degradation, and crystallization behavior of enzyme degradable polylactide/poly(ε-caprolactone) blend composites is investigated. Owing to the oxygenated surface functionalities and excellent thermal conductivity arising from the carbon structure, the randomly dispersed GO particles do not provide electrical pathways and facilitate large enhancements in the electrical resistivity (126%) and thermal conductivity (72%) of the blend composites. However, while the G particles enhanced the thermal conductivity of the composites, they had little effect on enzymatic degradation. Furthermore, they reduced the electrical resistivity, particularly at high concentration (0.25 wt % G), as a result of the conducting delocalized electrons in the G structure and due to network formation. We also find that the energy required to initiate and propagate the thermal degradation process for GO-filled blend composites is relatively lower than that of G-filled blend composite. However, the former composites show higher crystallization rate coefficients value than that of G-filled composites and the neat blend, thereby providing better crystallization ability and miscibility with the matrix. In summary, the GO-filled blend composites are observed to show potential for use in sustainable materials for thermal management applications. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47387.     

Conductive and flexible multi-walled carbon nanotube/polydimethylsiloxane composites made with naphthalene/toluene mixture

Conventional conductive materials face challenges when utilizing them for flexible and wearable electronics and soft robotics. Carbon nanotube/polydimethylsiloxane (CNT/PDMS) composites are a promising alternative to the conventional hard conductors because they are light and can realize large deformation. To date, well dispersion of CNTs into PDMS to increase conductivity while maintaining flexibility remains challenging. We aimed at developing highly electrically conductive and flexible multi-walled carbon nanotube/PDMS (MWCNT/PDMS) composites. To this end, we proposed a method to enhance the dispersion of MWCNTs into PDMS using naphthalene and toluene. Our results showed that the addition of naphthalene and toluene into the composites improved dispersion of the MWCNTs and increased the direct current (DC) electrical conductivity. We also found that the morphology of primary aggregates of the MWCNTs influenced the DC electrical conductivity of the composites. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48167.     

Mechanical Properties of an Fe‐Based SAM2×5‐630 Metallic Glass Matrix Composite with Tungsten Particle Additions

We present the role of tungsten additions on the mechanical properties of a Fe‐based structural amorphous metal (SAM2×5‐630) containing crystalline tungsten. Matrix cracking by microindentation is inhibited by the addition of tungsten and indicates that tungsten improves the fracture toughness. Response surfaces from nanoindentation arrays indicate that the hardness and modulus of the matrix phase are increased by tungsten additions. Bulk composites with 30 vol% tungsten subjected to 4‐point flexure exhibited brittle fracture behavior and the characteristic strength and Weibull modulus were 165 and 8.7 MPa, respectively. The addition of tungsten did not cause devitrification of the matrix phase.     

磁性石墨烯/聚氨酯柔性复合材料的制备及自修复效能

为了提高复合材料的导电、导热及自修复性能，在传统共混法的基础上采用化学沉积法将四氧化三铁（Fe₃O₄）修饰到石墨烯上，得到磁性石墨烯，并将其与聚氨酯、碳纳米管共混后经磁场干预控制石墨烯片层的排列得到磁性石墨烯/聚氨酯柔性复合材料。采用SEM、Raman、FTIR对柔性复合材料的微观形貌、分子结构进行表征，并通过激光导热仪、四探针电阻率测定仪和万能试验机分析磁场调控对复合材料电、热、力学以及修复性能的影响。结果表明：磁场下柔性复合材料中的石墨烯片层排列规则，且层次分明，轮廓清晰可见；其热扩散系数相比于未加磁场提高了10 %~12 %，且在高温下具有稳定性，缺陷修复时间减少了50 %；对比出现缺陷前及修复后的复合材料发现，表面电阻率和抗拉强度分别相差0.006Ω·cm和2.4MPa，而无磁场环境下的变化量是其 3～4倍。     

Effects of SiC content on the densification,microstructure, and mechanical properties of HfB2–SiC composites

To investigate the effects of SiC on microstructure, hardness, and fracture toughness, 0, 10, 20, and 30 vol% SiC were added to HfB₂ and sintered by SPS. Upon adding SiC to 30 vol%, relative density increased about 4%; but HfB₂ grain growth had a minimum at 20 vol% SiC. This may be due to grain boundary silicate glass, responsible for surface oxide wash out, enriched in SiO₂ with higher fraction of SiC. By SiO₂ enrichment, the glass viscosity increased and higher HfO₂ remained unsolved which subsequently lead to higher grain growth. Hardness has increased from about 13 to 15 GPa by SiC introduction with no sensible variation with SiC increase. Residual stress measurements by Rietveld method indicated high levels of tensile residual stresses in the HfB₂ Matrix. Despite the peak residual stress value at 20 vol% SiC, fracture toughness of this sample was the highest (6.43 MPa m^0.5) which implied that fracture toughness is mainly a grain size function. Tracking crack trajectory showed a mainly trans-granular fracture, but grain boundaries imposed a partial deflection on the crack pathway. SiC had a higher percentage in fracture surface images than the cross-section which implied a weak crack deflection.     

C/C-SiC component for metallic phase change materials

Thanks to their high energy density and thermal conductivity, metallic Phase Change Materials (mPCM) have shown great potential to improve the performance of thermal energy storage systems. However, the commercial application of mPCM is still limited due to their corrosion behavior with conventional container materials. This work first addresses on a fundamental level, whether carbon-based composite-ceramics are suitable for corrosion critical components in a thermal storage system. The compatibility between the mPCM AlSi₁₂ and the Liquid Silicon Infiltration (LSI)-based carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C/C-SiC) composite is then investigated via contact angle measurements, microstructure analysis, and mechanical testing after exposure. The results reveal that the C/C-SiC composite maintains its mechanical properties and microstructure after exposure in the strongly corrosive mPCM. Based on these results, efforts were made to design and manufacture a container out of C/C-SiC for the housing of mPCM in vehicle application. The stability of the component filled with mPCM was proven nondestructively via computer tomography (CT). Successful thermal input- and output as well as thermal storage ability were demonstrated using a system calorimeter under conditions similar to the application. The investigated C/C-SiC composite has significant application potential as a structural material for thermal energy storage systems with mPCM.     

多孔石墨烯/碳纳米管@V2O5柔性电极材料制备及性能研究

以氧化石墨、碳纳米管、三异丙氧基氧化钒为原料,采用化学刻蚀法、水热法、真空抽滤法制备一种具有三维离子扩散通道和整体导电网络结构的致密多孔石墨烯/碳纳米管@五氧化二钒(PGNs/CNT@V2O5)复合薄膜材料。电化学性能测试结果表明,在1 mol/L LiNO3水系条件中,电流密度为1 A/g时,比容量高达187 F/g,在100 mV/s扫描速度下,循环5000次后,容量保持率仍为83.4%。     

辊式涂布法构建纸基牢固超疏水表面

采用辊式涂布的方法在纸基材料上构建超疏水表面，并对超疏水表面的牢固性、自清洁性和疏水性能进行评价。用γ-氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷和1H,1H,2H,2H-全氟辛基三乙氧基硅烷（POTS）对微米级和纳米级两种尺寸的TiO₂粒子进行疏水改性处理，然后将改性后的微/纳米TiO₂涂布在纸基材料表面。采用红外光谱（FTIR）对改性后的微/纳米TiO₂的化学组成进行了分析，采用扫描电镜（SEM）对涂布纸表面结构进行了表征，通过接触角、耐磨性和自洁净测试评价了涂层表面的超疏水性、牢固性和自清洁性。改性TiO₂的FTIR分析显示在1000～1500cm^-1之间出现多个C—F键的伸缩振动峰，表明POTS通过化学键与TiO₂表面发生了结合。涂布纸表面的SEM分析可以看出，纸基材料表面上均匀分布了微米和纳米尺寸的TiO₂颗粒，具备了类似荷叶表面微-纳结构的粗糙表面。涂层表面的水接触角为153°±1.5°，滚动角为3.5°±0.5°，水滴在涂层表面呈球形，极易滑落，涂层在水中浸泡7天后，接触角没有发生明显变化，表明纸张表面具备了优异的超疏水性能，且疏水稳定性较好。涂层表面经过10次循环磨损试验后，接触角仍能达到150°，滚动角为9°，表明机械摩擦没有对涂布纸表面的化学成分和粗糙结构造成明显的破坏，超疏水表面的牢固性较好。自洁净测试表明，涂布纸表面具有良好的自清洁和防污性能。该工艺过程操作简单，易于实现工业化生产，为在纸基表面构建综合性能优异的超疏水表面提供了一种新的便利途径。     

Thermoelectric properties of carbon nanotube reinforced cement-based composites fabricated by compression shear

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with weight percent of 5.0%, 10.0% and 15.0% were added into the cement matrix to fabricate CNT reinforced cement-based composites (CNTs/CC) by mixing and dry compression shear methods. Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of the as-received CNTs/CC were measured and analyzed in detail. The CNTs/CC exhibits the thermoelectric behavior of p-type semiconductor. CNTs were dispersed uniformly in cement matrix by compression shear stress, which promoted a relatively high electrical conductivity (0.818 S/cm) and Seebeck coefficient (57.98 μV/°C) of CNTs/CC. Combining with their lower thermal conductivity ranged from 0.734 to 0.947 W m^?1 K^?1, the CNTs/CC shows the highest thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) has reached 9.33 × 10^?5, Which is benefit to the applications in large-scale energy harvesting in the buildings and pavements with low cost in the future cities.