Improvement of thermal stability and gamma-ray absorption in microwave absorbable poly(methyl methacrylate)/graphene nanoplatelets nanocomposite

The graphene nanofiller (2 wt%) was dispersed in poly(methyl methacrylate) by in situ polymerization method. The optimum high frequency (microwave) absorption was evaluated at X-band due to changes in the scattering parameters (determined by using a vector network analyzer). The slight improvement has been attained in gamma attenuation coefficient of the polymer nanocomposite by using gamma transmission technique. The addition of graphene nanoplatelets (2 wt%) resulted in a thermal improvement from 196.73 to 243.00°C (with 5% weight loss) in TGA analysis. The graphene nanoplatelets provided an optimum decrease in scattering of the microwaves due to the elimination of the defects and the prevention of the agglomeration of the graphene nanoplates. The improvement of microwave absorption (between 8 and 12 GHz) suggested that the nanocomposite was a suitable candidate as a microwave absorbing material. This multipurpose nanocomposite has provided thermal stability and it has ensured the optimum gamma-ray and microwave absorption depending on the development of the structural properties. The development of these physical characteristics has enabled to improve the electrical conductivity as a result of the progress in the structural properties.     

Highly flexible fabric strain sensor based on graphene nanoplatelet–polyaniline nanocomposites for human gesture recognition

Flexible and wearable smart fabrics are becoming increasingly popular in healthcare and motion monitoring because of their potential applications in flexible and stretchable electronics. The integration of ordinary fabric with conductive fillers provides the fabric with new and intriguing functions, such as sensation. In this study, a low‐cost and efficient manner was used to fabricate a highly reliable conductive composite on fabric as an effective sensing material for gesture recognition. A strain sensor was fabricated by the incorporation of the highly conductive polyaniline (PANI) polymer, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), and a handful of silicon rubber (SR) onto elastic Lycra fabric via a spin‐coating method. We demonstrated that the fabric strain sensor was able to detect and monitor the bending angle of a human finger. By means of the covered structure of the PANI and GNPs, the composite fabric could bear a 40% maximum strain and possess the pleasant characteristic of stretching and bending. The gauge factor of the fabric strain sensor reached 67.3; this was an improvement of approximately four times compared to sensors without PANI microparticles. Finally, the superior performance of our strain sensor through the integration of five strain sensors on a glove for the motion detection of fingers was demonstrated. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45340.     

3D-Printed Flexible Piezoresistive Sensors for Stretching and Out-of-Plane Forces

Conductive polymer composites (CPCs) of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphite nanosheet (GNP)-filled thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are 3D-printed into flexible piezoresistive sensors via fused filament fabrication. The sensor, with a customized lever-cross structure, allows detection of stretching and out-of-plane forces of different magnitudes and frequencies. The out-of-plane force direction is obtained by combing the relative electrical resistance change in the cross section of the sensor with a force analysis. The 75-CNT/25-GNP sensor (CNT-to-GNP mass ratio of 75%-to-25%) demonstrates excellent sensing performance at a total nanoparticle loading of 3 wt%. The linearity of the 75-CNT/25-GNP sensor is 0.98, while those of the 100-CNT and 50-CNT/50-GNP sensors are 0.93 and 0.86, respectively. The gauge factor of the 75-CNT/25-GNP sensor is 52% higher than that of the 100-CNT sensor, and its sensing strain range is 79% above that of the 50-CNT/50-GNP sensor. Excellent sensing stability is demonstrated for the 75-CNT/25-GNP sensor after 1500 stretching (out-of-plane force) cycles. The synergistic effect of CNTs and GNPs on sensing performance of piezoresistive sensors is clearly shown in this study.     

Functional nanocomposites with graphene-DNA hybrid fillers: Synthesis and surface properties under UV irradiation

In this work, nanocomposites containing assemblies of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) and double-stranded DNA are investigated as UV-sensitive materials, as they show good electrical properties combined with the chemical sensitivity of DNA to UV radiation, particularly to the more energetic UV-C band. Nanocomposite films were prepared by drop-casting technique after embedding the graphene-DNA fillers in a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix using a suitable solvent. The synthesis was optimized in order to improve the dispersion of the graphene-DNA elements in the polymer matrix, as the sensing properties of the nanocomposite materials are highly affected by the amount and homogeneity of the filler dispersion. The electrical and thermal properties of the GNP-DNA/PDMS films, as well as their surface morphology and wettability, were investigated before and after exposure to UV-C radiation using complementary techniques. Results give information on the potential applications of these novel functional nanocomposites for radiation monitoring in environments that are characterized by high levels of biologically-damaging UV radiation.     

剪切对聚丙烯/石墨烯微片纳米复合材料形态和性能的影响

设计了一种带分流板的挤出机片材机头,以产生高剪切作用,并研究剪切对石墨烯微片剥离、取向形态以及聚丙烯/石墨烯微片纳米复合材料导电、导热和结晶性能的影响。结果表明,带分流板的机头内部最大剪切速率是无分流板机头的10倍,使得带分流板机头制备的材料中石墨烯微片剥离程度更大,且呈高取向形态,这使得聚丙烯/石墨烯微片纳米复合材料的结晶度提高,导电渗流阈值从10 %降低至8 %,当石墨烯微片含量达到12 %时,在不带分流板与带分流板的挤出机片材机头挤出下,热导率分别提高到0.90、 1.20 W/(m·K)。     

A High–Performance Flexible Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor Features an Integrated Design of Conductive Fabric Electrode and Polyurethane Sponge

Due to its porous structure and good elasticity, conductive polyurethane (PU) sponge is used as the main substrate of the flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor. The effective combination of conductive PU sponge and electrode material is the foundation for the pressure sensor, but it needs to be bonded by expensive conductive silver paste or copper paste. In addition, the common electrode materials weaken the flexibility of the PU sponge pressure sensors because of their rigidity. Herein, PU sponge and polyester (PET) fabric are first bonded to produce (PET-PU) composite, which is then impregnated with graphene oxide (GO). The obtained reduced graphene oxide(rGO)@PET fabric and rGO@PU are used as electrode and piezoresistive material, respectively. Then rGO@(PET-PU) composite is assembled into a pressure sensor only by using wire connections in the rGO@PET fabric. Benefiting from excellent piezoresistive behavior, rGO@(PET-TPU) pressure sensor displays high sensitivity (0.255 kPa⁻¹ at below 2.6 kPa), wide detection limit (≈0–85.0%), and long durability (over 1800 cycles). Besides, the pressure sensor demonstrates good performance in monitoring human activities, including finger bending, clicking keyboard, breathing, elbow bending, and walking posture, thus providing a promising material for human activity monitoring.     

Fabrication of electrical and thermal conductive thermoplastic polyurethanes-based nanocomposite with azide polyurethane as interfacial compatibilizer

Electrical and thermal conductive polymers have aroused extensive interest in research recently due to their hi-tech applications in the fields of novel electronics. A novel electrical and thermal conductive nanocomposite (MWCNTs@PU/TPU) made with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) by using azide polyurethane (PU) as interfacial compatibilizer. The MWNTs could form well-developed electrical and thermal conductive networks in the TPU matrix. The developed nanocomposite inherited advantageous properties from its constituents, namely the high conductivity and diathermancy from MWNTs, and the high mechanical properties from the TPU. Conductivity tests showed that, compared with neat MWCNTs/TPU, the electrical conductivity of MWCNTs@PU/TPU was significantly enhanced (up to 3.4 × 10⁻⁶ S/cm), with incorporating only 3.0 wt% MWCNTs@PU. And most importantly, the thermal conductivity was greatly improved by about 46.4% when the MWCNTs@PU loading was 6.0 wt%.     

Dispersion of Graphene Nanoplatelets in Polylactic Acid with the Aid of a Zwitterionic Surfactant: Evaluation of the Shape Memory Behavior

Developments in the dispersion of graphene nanoplatelets in polylactic acid were achieved with the aid of a zwitterionic surfactant. The graphene nanoplatelet surface modification was tracked by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and elemental analysis. Different amounts of graphene nanoplatelets and surface-modified graphene nanoplatelets (3 and 6 phr) were used to prepare the polylactic acid nanocomposite through a solvent-mixing method. It was found that surface-modified graphene nanoplatelets were exfoliated and homogeneously dispersed in the polylactic acid matrix. Better dispersion of surface-modified graphene nanoplatelets compared with graphene nanoplatelets was due to enhancement of the polymer–graphene interaction induced by the zwitterionic surfactant. The shape memory properties of nanocomposites were evaluated using thermomechanical analysis. The obtained results revealed that the shape memory performance of nanocomposite samples was affected by the degree of dispersion. Higher shape recovery of nanocomposite samples in comparison with that of neat polylactic acid was obtained, which originated from their higher elastic glassy modulus. Up to 91% shape recovery was determined in nanocomposite samples containing surface-modified graphene nanoplatelets, which was attributed to the good dispersion of surface-modified graphene nanoplatelets in the polylactic acid matrix.     

Thermal behavior of thermoplastic polymer nanocomposites containing graphene nanoplatelets

Polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanocomposites filled with 5 wt % of two different kinds of commercially available graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were prepared. Composites materials were characterized in terms of thermal properties (thermal conductivity and thermal stability) in order to study the effect of different fillers within different thermoplastic matrices. The exfoliation process and the mechanical properties were also investigated. We chose three different thermoplastic polymers (polyolefin, copolymer and elastomer) to cover a wide range of thermoplastic materials and identify a guideline in the use of GNPs for nanocomposite materials. No drastic differences were observed in terms of mechanical properties when the same matrices were filled with different GNPs. Concerning thermal conductivity, it was observed that the GNPs plane dimensions play a crucial role in the increase of conductive properties. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44814.     

一步法制备AgNPs@石墨烯及其在柔性应力传感器方面的应用

本文以天然鳞片石墨、硝酸银（AgNO3）、柠檬酸钠、N-甲基吡咯烷酮（NMP）为原料，采用一步法制备AgNPs@石墨烯复合材料。随后在复合材料表面涂覆热塑性聚氨酯（TPU），得到了基于AgNPs@石墨烯柔性应力传感器。采用XRD、TEM、SEM对AgNPs@石墨烯复合材料进行表征，通过拉伸测试仪和数据采集仪对柔性应力传感器考察其电学和机械性能。结果表明：AgNPs@石墨烯柔性应力传感器灵敏度可达299，远高于纯石墨烯的灵敏度。同时拥有优秀的阻尼振动响应和循环稳定性，在1000次拉伸循环后性能依旧稳定。能有效地识别拉伸应变和压缩应变，实时跟踪监测人体表面肌肉运动，是潜在的人工智能皮肤。     

石墨烯量子点修饰柔性硅纳米线阵列用于NO2检测

将化学刻蚀法与金属辅助刻蚀法相结合,制备了形貌统一、分布均匀的高质量柔性硅纳米线阵列结构,用石墨烯量子点对其表面进行修饰,得到了表面稳定且具有强载流子传输能力的柔性石墨烯量子点/硅纳米线核?壳结构阵列,用其制备气敏设备检测NO2. 结果表明,基于该阵列的电阻式气敏设备对NO2的检测灵敏性及可重复性极高,检测浓度极限达20 mg/m3;不同弯曲度的柔性石墨烯量子点/硅纳米线阵列的气敏特性未大幅度降低,弯曲90o时响应电流峰值为未弯曲时的70%.     

High-performance thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites induced by hybrid application of functionalized graphene and carbon nanotubes

A hybrid polymeric system containing carbon nanofillers with different geometrical dimensions is proposed for strategic applications, particularly for electrical properties. Two different carbon nanofillers including functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (fCNTs) and functionalized graphene nanoplatelets (fGnPs) were added to thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to prepare single and hybrid nanofiller filled TPU through solution mixing. Sufficient exfoliation of the fGNPs in the single nanocomposites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, while single filler and hybrid TPU nanocomposites containing fCNTs showed some re-aggregation of these nanofillers. Linear rheology together with scanning electron microscopy revealed a proper exfoliation and dispersion degree for fGnPs and fCNTs, respectively. We have shown that simultaneous addition of fCNTs–fGnPs in the form of a hybrid system into the TPU made a large surface area available and strong interfacial interactions were formed between the hybrid network and the TPU matrix. This in turn led to electrical, thermal and mechanical properties, which were superior to those predicted by the mixture law. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48520.     

Self‐Powered Flexible Sensor Based on the Graphene Modified P(VDF‐TrFE) Electrospun Fibers for Pressure Detection

Polymer P(VDF‐TrFE) has been extensively applied in modern flexible electronics, such as nanogenerators and pressure sensors. In this study, a repolarization method is proposed to exploit the piezoelectric properties of the P(VDF‐TrFE) electrospinning film modified by the reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Then, the repolarized composite film is applied as the self‐powered flexible pressure sensor. Notably, the piezoelectric output voltage and current of the repolarized composite film are up to 1.5 V and 0.125 µA, respectively. Typically, the piezoelectric voltage of the composite film is three times as high as that of the pure spinning film. Meanwhile, this composite film also exhibits piezoresistive effect, which is ascribed to the 3D network structure of the electrospun nanofibers. In addition, the highest piezoresistive sensitivity of the pressure sensor is 0.072 kPa^?1. To sum up, the pressure sensor fabricated in this study allows to simultaneously detect the static and dynamic pressure loads, which thereby has great application potentials in electronic skins (e‐skins) for human motion monitoring, such as motion state and finger bending.     

加载条件对纳米石墨烯片水泥基复合材料压敏性能的影响

研究不同纳米石墨烯片(GNPs)掺量下加载幅值(15 MPa、20 MPa、25 MPa)和加载速率(100 N/s、300 N/s、500 N/s)对纳米石墨烯片水泥基复合材料(GNPs/CC)压敏性能的影响。试验结果表明:在GNPs掺量低于0.25%(质量分数,下同)时,GNPs/CC的压敏性能与空白组相近;在掺量达到0.3%时,GNPs/CC的电阻变化率最大,且重复性最好。在GNPs掺量为0.3%的情况下,GNPs/CC的电阻变化率与应变随加载幅值的增加而增大,在加载幅值不大于20 MPa时,GNPs/CC的电阻变化率与应变的增加幅度相近,材料的灵敏因子变化较小;在加载幅值达到25 MPa时,由于电阻变化率的增加幅度大于应变的增加幅度,材料的灵敏因子出现了较明显的增加。而加载速率在纳米石墨烯片掺量为0.3%时,对材料的压敏性能无明显影响。     

High frequency dielectric characterization of graphene doped flexible ceramics multilayers

This paper explores the tape casting technique to produce flexible heterostructured multilayers composed of graphene nanoplatelets doped Alumina and Ceria doped Nickel Oxide-Gadolinium. Given the excellent mechanical and electrical properties of graphene, multilayers were structured to explore the dielectric properties at a high-frequency regime. The stability of the suspensions, measured by rheological characterization, showed a pseudoplastic behavior. The structural properties of the flexible tapes were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Electrical properties obtained through I ? V curves showed an insulating behavior. The dielectric characterization was measured at a high-frequency regime (0.01 up to 1.5 GHz). The findings reflect the strong dependence of the dielectric behavior with the multilayer structure and graphene nanoplatelets doping concentration in the Alumina. The results open new perspectives of multifunctionalization flexible ceramics tapes for high-frequency applications.     

Durable and highly sensitive flexible sensors for wearable electronic devices with PDMS-MXene/TPU composite films

MXenes, as two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides, carbonitrides, and nitrides, have very excellent electrical properties and surface activity and are increasingly used in supercapacitors, batteries, electromagnetic interference shielding, and composite materials. Still, the poor stability of MXene when exposed to aqueous oxygen and the poor ability to interact with the polymer matrix have become important factors limiting its’ practical applications. To enhance stability, highly conductive and stretchable Ti₃C₂MXene/TPU sensing elements were prepared by a simple spraying process using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as a substrate, and the sensing elements were encapsulated by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to obtain MXene-TPU/PDMS constructed flexible strain sensors with excellent performance. This strain sensor features low detection limits (less than 0.005%, 0.5 μm), a wide sensing range (0–90%), a short response time (120.1 ms), and excellent durability (>3000 cycles). This strain sensor can be applied to a range of applications such as health detection, motion signals, detection of robot movements, and wearable electronic devices.     

Eco-Friendly Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Materials from Flexible Reduced Graphene Oxide Filled Polycaprolactone/Polyaniline Nanocomposites

Hybrid nanocomposites have the unique ability of enhancing material properties due to the existing synergistic effect of the fillers. In this study, the authors report such an eco-friendly hybrid nanocomposite comprising of polyaniline and reduced graphene oxide in polycaprolactone. The conducting polyaniline improved the processability of polycaprolactone, and the final composites were prepared by incorporating graphene oxide reduced at 200 and 600°C temperatures to the polycaprolactone–polyaniline blend. Polyaniline, polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide200, and polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide600 imparted good electrical conductivity to polycaprolactone, and the fabricated flexible polycaprolactone–polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites exhibited good mechanical property, increased thermal stability, and excellent electromagnetic interference shielding up to 42 dB at 13 GHz.     

Dispersion optimization of exfoliated graphene nanoplatelet in polyetherimide nanocomposites: Extrusion,precoating, and solid state ball milling

Polyetherimide (PEId) nanocomposites reinforced with exfoliated graphite (graphene) nanoplatelets (GNP) were fabricated by various processing methods to achieve good dispersion including: melt‐extrusion, precoating, solid state ball milling (SSBM) as well as combinations of these methods. As a result of the precoating approach, the electrical conductivity is greatly increased with a percolation threshold as low as 2 wt% as compared to 10 wt% for melt‐extrusion, with the cost of lower mechanical properties. SSBM was investigated as an alternative process to enhance dispersion, adhesion and to reduce GNP size. High electrical conductivity and improved modulus were achieved by this approach. Further improvements to the mechanical properties could be made by combining the extrusion and SSBM approaches. Examination of the nanocomposite morphology explains the effect of these combined compounding approaches on GNP particle dispersion and their relation to the improved GNP/PEId nanocomposite performance. POLYM. COMPOS., 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Electromagnetic interference shielding behavior of chemically and thermally reduced graphene based multifunctional polyurethane nanocomposites: A comparative study

This article presents the effect of exfoliation, dispersion, and electrical conductivity of graphene sheets onto the electrical, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and gas barrier properties of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) based nanocomposite films. The chemically reduced graphene (CRG) and thermally reduced/annealed graphene (TRG) having Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface areas of 18.2 and 159.6 m²/g, respectively, when solution blended with TPU matrix using N,N-dimethylformamide as a solvent. Graphene sheets based TPU nanocomposites have been evaluated and compared for EMI shielding in Ku band, electrical conductivity, and gas barrier property. TRG/TPU nanocomposite films showed excellent gas barrier against N₂ gas as compared to CRG/TPU. The EMI shielding effectiveness for neat CRG and TRG graphene sheets is found to be −80, −45 dB, respectively, at 2 mm thickness. The EMI shielding data revealed that TRG/TPU nanocomposites showed better shielding at lower concentration (10 wt %), while CRG displayed better attenuation at higher concentrations. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47666.     

Investigation of mechanical and thermal properties of nanostructure-doped bulk nanocomposite adhesives

ABSTRACT

In recent years, findings in nanoscience and nanotechnology have deeply influenced many disciplines including the material and mechanical sciences. Polymers including nanostructures have attracted attention as their adoptions in general engineering composites have yielded efficient results. In this study, three different two-component (epoxy-hardener) adhesives were doped with graphene nanoplatelets, graphene oxide nanoplatelets, carbon nanotube, and fullerene C60 at three different rates (0.5%, 1%, and 2% by weight) and the mechanical and thermal properties of the nanocomposite adhesives were examined. The nanocomposite adhesives’ mechanical properties were analyzed via tensile tests and thermal properties were analyzed via Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) thermograms and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra. Results showed that doping nanostructures improve the stress-strain capacity of the adhesives. Both mechanical and thermal properties of the nanocomposite adhesives seem to change depending on the amount of nanostructure. Additionally, DSC and FT-IR curves showed an agreement with these improvements in the adhesives’ mechanical properties.