Design and preparation of graphene/poly(ether ether ketone) composites with excellent electrical conductivity

Graphene/poly(ether ether ketone) (m-TRG/PEEK) composites with excellent electrical conductivity were fabricated by hot pressing technique with thermally reduced graphene nanosheets (m-TRG) which were modified by poly(ether sulfone). Moreover, the conductive, thermal, and mechanical properties of PEEK/m-TRG composites were investigated by the precision impedance analyzer, thermal gravimetric analyzer, differential scanning calorimetry, and universal tester, respectively. The electrical conductivity of m-TRG/PEEK composites was greatly improved by incorporating graphene, resulting in a sharp transition from electrical insulator to semiconductor with a low percolation threshold of 0.76 vol.%. A high electrical conductivity of 0.18 S m^?1 was achieved with 3.84 vol.% of m-TRG. The data were compared with those of composites reduced chemically, and the results showed that thermal reduction was an effective method to acquire higher electrical conductive composites. The excellent electrical property should be attributed to the large specific surface area of m-TRG, well dispersion of m-TRG in PEEK matrix, and good compatibility of m-TRG with PEEK matrix, as proven by scanning electron microscope. Besides, m-TRG/PEEK composites also exhibited relatively good thermal and mechanical properties.     

Three-dimensional flexible and conductive interconnected graphene networks grown by chemical vapour deposition

Integration of individual two-dimensional graphene sheets into macroscopic structures is essential for the application of graphene. A series of graphene-based composites and macroscopic structures have been recently fabricated using chemically derived graphene sheets. However, these composites and structures suffer from poor electrical conductivity because of the low quality and/or high inter-sheet junction contact resistance of the chemically derived graphene sheets. Here we report the direct synthesis of three-dimensional foam-like graphene macrostructures, which we call graphene foams (GFs), by template-directed chemical vapour deposition. A GF consists of an interconnected flexible network of graphene as the fast transport channel of charge carriers for high electrical conductivity. Even with a GF loading as low as ～0.5 wt%, GF/poly(dimethyl siloxane) composites show a very high electrical conductivity of ～10 S cm(-1), which is ～6 orders of magnitude higher than chemically derived graphene-based composites. Using this unique network structure and the outstanding electrical and mechanical properties of GFs, as an example, we demonstrate the great potential of GF/poly(dimethyl siloxane) composites for flexible, foldable and stretchable conductors.     

Properties of synthetic diamond and graphene nanoplatelet-filled epoxy thin film composites for electronic applications

Epoxy thin film composites filled with particulate nanofillers; synthetic diamond and graphene nanoplatelets were prepared and characterized based on tensile, thermal, and electrical properties. The influences of these two types of fillers, especially in terms of their loading, sizes and shapes, were discussed. It was found that the epoxy thin film composites incorporating synthetic diamond displayed optimum properties where the addition of synthetic diamond from 0 to 2 vol.% results in higher elastic modulus, tensile strength, elongation at break, thermal conductivity and storage modulus if compared to those of graphene nanoplatelets composites. Both thin film composites showed improvement in the glass transition temperature with increasing filler loadings. Results on the electrical conductivity of both systems showed that higher conductivity is observed in graphene nanoplatelets composites if compared to synthetic diamond composites.     

Large dielectric constant and high thermal conductivity in poly(vinylidene fluoride)/barium titanate/silicon carbide three-phase nanocomposites

Dielectric polymer composites with high dielectric constants and high thermal conductivity have many potential applications in modern electronic and electrical industry. In this study, three-phase composites comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), barium titanate (BT) nanoparticles, and β-silicon carbide (β-SiC) whiskers were prepared. The superiority of this method is that, when compared with the two-phase PVDF/BT composites, three-phase composites not only show significantly increased dielectric constants but also have higher thermal conductivity. Our results show that the addition of 17.5 vol % β-SiC whiskers increases the dielectric constants of PVDF/BT nanocomposites from 39 to 325 at 1000 Hz, while the addition of 20.0 vol % β-SiC whiskers increases the thermal conductivity of PVDF/BT nanocomposites from 1.05 to 1.68 W m(-1) K(-1) at 25 °C. PVDF/β-SiC composites were also prepared for comparative research. It was found that PVDF/BT/β-SiC composites show much higher dielectric constants in comparison with the PVDF/β-SiC composites within 17.5 vol % β-SiC. The PVDF/β-SiC composites show dielectric constants comparable to those of the three-phase composites only when the β-SiC volume fraction is 20.0%, whereas the dielectric loss of the PVDF/β-SiC composites was much higher than that of the three-phase composites. The frequency dependence of the dielectric property for the composites was investigated by using broad-band (10(-2)-10(6) Hz) dielectric spectroscopy.     

氧化石墨烯及其氧化铁复合物的原位合成

开发了在富氧Fe(acac),络合物体系中膨化氧化石墨制取氧化石墨烯/Fe2O3复合物的一步法.应用FT-IR、XRD、VSM、AFM及低温直流电导测量法对所制氧化石墨/Fe2O3复合物进行表征.FT-IR研究结果显示:膨化后,氧化石墨的环氧基团分解,同时形成了氧化铁粒子与氧化石墨烯复合物.AFM测试表明:在较高Fe2O3含量下,氧化石墨烯片层结构剥蚀形成厚达5 mm氧化石墨烯叠层.VSM研究显示:在室温和0.13 emu/g～5.5 emu/g范围内,全部复合物呈铁磁特性.这些复合物的导电性受控于准电子跃迁机制.     

Thermal Conductivity Behavior of Carbon Nanotubes Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) exhibit excellent thermal conductivity.Therefore they are potential reinforcements in composites materials for thermal management applications,where high thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) are required.In the present study,CNT/Cu composites containing CNTs varying from 0 vol.％ to 15 vol.％ were prepared,and their thermal conductivity behavior was studied in detail.The results indicated that the thermal conductivity of the composites shows no enhancement by the incorporation of CNTs.The presence of interfacial thermal resistance and high level of porosity are the main reasons for this low thermal conductivity.The well dispersed 0-10 vol.％ CNTs composites show a very close to the thermal conductivity of Cu.However,the addition of 15 vol.％ CNTs results in a rather low thermal conductivity of CNT/Cu composites due to the presence a high level of porosity induced by the formation of CNT clusters.The present paper also claims that a further substantial enhancement in thermal conductivity is only possible if the nanotubes are randomly oriented in the plane or if they are all aligned in one direction,for which the processing of CNTs-aligning in metal matrix should be developed.     

亚微米SiCP 增强Al 基复合材料摩擦磨损性能

采用冷压烧结和热挤压方法制备出1. 5～5 vol % SiC_P (130 nm) / Al (149～75μm) 复合材料, 并对其抗压、硬度和滑动磨擦特性进行了研究, 旨在研究引入弥散的亚微米级SiC_P 对SiC_P / Al 复合材料磨擦性能的影响。结果表明: 随着SiC_P (130 nm) 含量的增加, 其显微硬度值也增加, 在SiC_P (130 nm) 含量为1. 5 vol %和5 vol %时,SiC_P (130 nm) Al 复合材料显微硬度分别为28. 4 和33. 3 ; 复合材料的抗压强度分别是170 MPa 和186 MPa ; 在较高载荷下, 随SiC_P 含量增加, 复合材料的耐磨性能提高, 1. 5 vol % 和5 vol % SiC_P / Al 基复合材料具有优异的滑动磨损抗力, SiC_P / Al 基复合材料耐磨性优于挤压态QSn6. 520. 4 和纯Al ; 磨损表面形成Al 基体弥散分布着SiC_P和孔隙的理想耐磨组织。      

球状纳米二氧化钛/石墨烯复合材料的合成及导电性能

采用改进的水热法制备二氧化钛/石墨烯(TiO2/G)复合导电材料,并研究水热温度以及石墨烯用量对TiO2/G复合材料导电性的影响。利用傅里叶变换红外(FTIR)光谱、X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)和电化学阻抗谱等测试手段对复合材料的结构,微观形貌以及导电性能进行表征,并确定最佳的水热温度以及石墨烯的最佳添加量。结果表明:石墨烯添加量为5%(质量分数),水热温度为160℃,TiO2/G复合材料的导电性最佳,其电阻率为13.46Ω·cm。复合材料中TiO2纳米颗粒为球状的锐钛矿相,直径为100~200nm左右,且均匀生长在石墨烯片层表面。其中,TiO2纳米颗粒生长于石墨烯片层上,有效地阻止石墨烯片层的聚集,有利于石墨烯片层间形成导电网络,提高电子迁移效率,赋予二氧化钛复合材料优异的导电性能。     

Effect of processing routes on mechanical and thermal properties of copper–graphene composites

In this paper, copper–graphene composites were fabricated by using two different processing routes (ball milling (BM) and ultrasonication) followed by spark plasma sintering. Vickers hardness and anisotropic thermal conductivity of the composites were measured and observed that ultrasonicated fabricated composites gave better result compared with BM composite and even from pure copper. The hardness values obtained for ultrasonicated copper–graphene composite were 69?HV (57% higher) and thermal conductivity 387?W/m?K (13% higher) by using only 0.5?wt-% of graphene, while for pure copper the values were 44?HV and 341?W/m?K. The value of anisotropic thermal conductivity ultrasonicated composites was also 1.97 which is much higher than pure copper 0.94.     

Growing polystyrene chains from the surface of graphene layers via RAFT polymerization and the influence on their thermal properties

The polystyrene (PS) macromolecular chains were grafted on the surface of graphene layers by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. In this procedure, a RAFT agent, 4-Cyano-4-[(dodecylsulfanylthiocarbonyl) sulfanyl] pentanoic acid, was used to functionalize the thermal reduced graphene oxide (TRGO) to obtain the precursor (TRGO-RAFT). It can be calculated that the grafting density of PS/graphene (PRG) composites was about 0.18 chains per 100 carbons. Successful in-plain attachment of RAFT agent to TRGO and PS chain to TRGO-RAFT was shown an influence on the thermal property of the PRG composites. The thermal conductivity (λ) improved from 0.150 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ of neat PS to 0.250 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ of PRG composites with 10 wt% graphene sheets loading. The thermal property of PRG composites increased due to the homogeneous dispersion and ordered arrangement of graphene sheets in PS matrix and the formation of PRG composites.     

Conductivity enhancement in carbon nanocone adhesive by electric field induced formation of aligned assemblies

We show how an alternating electric field can be used to assemble carbon nanocones (CNCs) and align these assemblies into microscopic wires in a commercial two-component adhesive. The wires form continuous pathways that may electrically connect the alignment electrodes, which leads to directional conductivity (～10(-3) S/m) on a macroscopic scale. This procedure leads to conductivity enhancement of at least 2-3 orders of magnitude in the case where the CNC fraction (～0.2 vol %) is 1 order of magnitude below the percolation threshold (～2 vol %). The alignment and conductivity are maintained on curing that joins the alignment electrodes permanently together. If the aligned CNC wires are damaged before curing, they can be realigned by an extended alignment period. This concept has implications in areas such as electronic packaging technology.     

Electric conductivity-tunable transparent flexible nanowire-filled polymer composites: orientation control of nanowires in a magnetic field

Cobalt compound nanowires were dispersed in a transparent nonconductive polymer film by merely stirring, and the film's transparency and electrical conductivity were examined. This composite film is a unique system in which the average length of the nanowires exceeds the film's thickness. Even in such a system, a percolation threshold existed for the electric conductivity in the direction of the film thickness, and the value was 0.18 vol%. The electric conductivity value changed from ～1 × 10(-12) S/cm to ～1 × 10(-3) S/cm when the volume fraction exceeded the threshold. The electric conductivity apparently followed the percolation model until the volume fraction of the nanowires was about 0.45 vol %. The visible light transmission and electric conductivity of the composite film of about 1 vol % nanowires were 92% and 5 × 10(-3) S/cm, respectively. Moreover, the electric conductivity in the direction parallel to the film surface did not depend on the amount of the dispersed nanowires, and its value was about 1 × 10(-14) S/cm. Even in a weak magnetic field of about 100 mT, the nanowires were aligned in a vertical and parallel direction to the film surface, and the electric conductivity of each aligned composite film was 2.0 × 10(-2) S/cm and 2.1 × 10(-12) S/cm. The relation between the average wire length and the electric conductivity was examined, and the effect of the magnetic alignment on that relation was also examined.     

Mechanical properties of epoxy composites with high contents of nanodiamond

Mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of composites made of nanodiamond with epoxy polymer binder have been studied in a wide range of nanodiamond concentrations (0-25 vol.%). In contrast to composites with a low content of nanodiamond, where only small to moderate improvements in mechanical properties were reported before, the composites with 25 vol.% nanodiamond showed an unprecedented increase in Young’s modulus (up to 470%) and hardness (up to 300%) as compared to neat epoxy. A significant increase in scratch resistance and thermal conductivity of the composites were observed as well. The improved thermal conductivity of the composites with high contents of nanodiamond is explained by direct contacts between single diamond nanoparticles forming an interconnected network held together by a polymer binder.     

Graphene-multilayer graphene nanocomposites as highly efficient thermal interface materials

We found that the optimized mixture of graphene and multilayer graphene, produced by the high-yield inexpensive liquid-phase-exfoliation technique, can lead to an extremely strong enhancement of the cross-plane thermal conductivity K of the composite. The "laser flash" measurements revealed a record-high enhancement of K by 2300% in the graphene-based polymer at the filler loading fraction f = 10 vol %. It was determined that the relatively high concentration of the single-layer and bilayer graphene flakes (~10-15%) present simultaneously with the thicker multilayers of large lateral size (~1 μm) were essential for the observed unusual K enhancement. The thermal conductivity of the commercial thermal grease was increased from an initial value of ~5.8 W/mK to K = 14 W/mK at the small loading f = 2%, which preserved all mechanical properties of the hybrid. Our modeling results suggest that graphene-multilayer graphene nanocomposite used as the thermal interface material outperforms those with carbon nanotubes or metal nanoparticles owing to graphene's aspect ratio and lower Kapitza resistance at the graphene-matrix interface.     

Thermal conductivity of polystyrene–aluminum nitride composite

The thermal conductivity of polymer composites having a matrix of polystyrene (PS) containing aluminum nitride (AlN) reinforcement has been investigated under a special dispersion state of filler in the composites: aluminum nitride filler particles surrounding polystyrene matrix particles. Data for the thermal conductivity of the composites are discussed as a function of composition parameters (aluminum nitride concentration, polystyrene particle size) and temperature. It is found that the thermal conductivity of composites is higher for a polystyrene particle size of 2 mm than that for a particle size of 0.15 mm. The thermal conductivity of the composite is five times that of pure polystyrene at about 20% volume fraction of AlN for the composite containing 2 mm polystyrene particle size. The relationship between thermal conductivity of composites and AlN filler concentrations has been compared with the predictions of two theoretical models from the literature.     

Fabrication and effective thermal conductivity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforced Cu matrix composites for heat sink applications

A novel particles-compositing method was used for the first time to disperse different contents of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in micron sized copper powders, which were subsequently consolidated into CNT/Cu composites by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Microstructural observations showed that the homogeneous distribution of CNTs and dense composites could be obtained for 0–10 vol.% CNT contents. The CNT clusters were appeared in the powder mixture with 15 vol.% CNTs, which resulted in an insufficient densification of the composites. The effective thermal conductivity of the composites was analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. The addition of CNTs showed no enhancement in overall thermal conductivity of the composites due to the interface thermal resistance associated with the low phase contrast of CNT to copper and the random tube orientation. Besides, the composite containing 15 vol.% CNTs led to a rather low thermal conductivity due possiblely to the combined effect of unfavorable factors induced by the presence of CNT clusters, i.e. large porosity, lower effective conductivity of CNT clusters themselves and reduction of SPS cleaning effect. The CNT/Cu composites may be a promising thermal management material for heat sink applications.     

TPU/GO-ODA复合材料的结构与导电性能

目的以十八烷基胺(ODA)修饰的氧化石墨烯(GO-ODA)和热塑性聚氨酯(TPU)为主要材料,制备具有良好导电性能的复合材料。方法采用溶液浇注法与热压工艺制备热塑性聚氨酯/功能化石墨烯(TPU/GO-ODA)复合材料,考察GO-ODA的结构和导电性能,分析GO-ODA对TPU/GO-ODA复合材料的导电性能、拉伸-电阻敏感性的影响。结果 GO-ODA的导电性能明显优于GO;所制备的TPU/GO-ODA复合材料具有良好的导电性能,且它的拉伸-电阻敏感行为可重复性良好。结论 TPU/GO-ODA具有良好的导电性能、应变响应能力和可重复性。     

石墨烯添加量对铜基复合材料性能的影响

采用一步化学还原法结合放电等离子烧结工艺制备石墨烯增强铜基复合材料,利用XRD、SEM、拉曼光谱、拉伸试验机、纳米压痕仪、涡流电导率仪等研究石墨烯含量对复合材料微观组织、力学性能和导电性能的影响。结果表明:石墨烯在复合材料基体中均匀分布,石墨烯的添加能显著增强铜基体的力学性能。与纯铜相比,添加0.025%(质量分数)的氧化石墨烯,可使其屈服强度提高219.8%,抗拉强度提高35.9%,弹性模量提高6.9%,此外,其导电率仍有93.1%IACS。随着石墨烯含量的增加,复合材料的屈服强度、抗拉强度及弹性模量均有所下降,这是因为高石墨烯含量复合粉体中部分石墨烯纳米片未能被铜颗粒包覆,其与铜基体界面结合强度低,石墨烯的剪切应力转移强化效果降低。     

石墨烯季戊四醇相变复合材料导热性能的分子动力学研究

低导热是限制储能材料实际应用的一大缺点,具有极高导热系数的石墨烯可作为导热填料有效改善储能材料的导热性能。本文通过反向非平衡分子动力学的方法,借助Materials Studio软件,模拟研究了石墨烯(GE)质量分数为0.5%、1%、1.5%、2%、2.5%、3%的石墨烯/季戊四醇(GE/PE)固-固相变复合材料的导热性能和内部相互作用。结果表明:石墨烯的添加可有效提升季戊四醇的导热性能,随着GE质量分数的增加,GE/PE复合相变材料的导热率、界面热导以及相互作用能均逐渐增大,且趋势幅度相一致,材料整体导热系数的增加归因于石墨烯结构的变化。本文可为石墨烯改善季戊四醇导热性的实验研究提供指导。     

High performance cellulose acetate propionate composites reinforced with exfoliated graphene

This paper deals with the preparation, structural characterization, and physical performances of composites composed of biomass-based cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) and exfoliated graphene (EG). As a reinforcing nanofiller, EG is thus prepared by an oxidation/thermal expansion process of natural graphite flakes and it is characterized to consist of disordered graphene platelets. Structural features, thermal stability, mechanical modulus, and electrical resistivity of CAP/EG composites are investigated as a function of EG content. SEM and X-ray diffraction data demonstrate that graphene platelets of EG are well dispersed and exfoliated in the CAP matrix for the composites with up to ～1 wt.% EG, although they are partially aggregated in the composites with higher EG contents above ～3 wt.%. Thermo-oxidative stability of CAP/EG composites under active oxygen gas condition is improved substantially due to the gas barrier effect of graphene platelets of EG dispersed in the CAP matrix. Dynamic mechanical modulus of the composites is also enhanced significantly with increasing the EG content. This mechanical enhancement of CAP/EG composites is analyzed by adopting the Halpin–Tsai model. The electrical volume resistivity of CAP/EG composites prepared by melt-compounding is decreased dramatically from ～10¹⁵ to ～10⁶ Ω cm by forming the electrical conduction path at a certain EG content between 5 and 7 wt.%.