The influence of fiber orientation on electromagnetic shielding in liquid-crystal polymers

The influence of conductive carbon-fiber orientation and weight percentage on the electromagnetic (EM) shielding effectiveness (SE) in liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) composites was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experimental results show that the SE of LCP composites with longitudinal fiber orientation is higher than random fiber orientation under the same weight percentage of carbon fibers filled. This is because longitudinal fiber orientation is parallel to the electric field of the incident EM wave, and most of the energy of the incident wave is reflected by the longitudinal fiber. In comparison with nylon66 composites, the SEs of LCP composites with longitudinal fiber orientation are also higher than nylon66 composites with the same content of carbon fibers. Furthermore, the SE of 20% conductive carbon-fiber-filled LCP composites was measured to be 50 dB at a frequency of 0.3 GHz and 53 dB at 1 GHz, which is at least 10 dB higher than that of nylon66 composites. The SE predicted by theoretical models and measured by experiments was in good agreement for carbon-fiber-filled LCP composites of longitudinal and random fiber orientations.     

High‐Performance Epoxy Nanocomposites Reinforced with Three‐Dimensional Carbon Nanotube Sponge for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Light‐weight and high‐performance electromagnetic interference (EMI)‐shielding epoxy nanocomposites are prepared by an infiltration method using a 3D carbon nanotube (CNT) sponge as the 3D reinforcement and conducting framework. The preformed, highly porous, and electrically conducting framework acts as a highway for electron transport and can resist a high external loading to protect the epoxy nanocomposite. Consequently, a remarkable conductivity of 148 S m^?1 and an outstanding EMI shielding effectiveness of around 33 dB in the X‐band are achieved for the epoxy nanocomposite with 0.66 wt% of CNT sponge, which is higher than that achieved for epoxy nanocomposites with 20 wt% of conventional CNTs. More importantly, the CNT sponge provides a dual advantage over conventional CNTs in its prominent reinforcement and toughening of the epoxy composite. Only 0.66 wt% of CNT sponge significantly increases the flexural and tensile strengths by 102% and 64%, respectively, as compared to those of neat epoxy. Moreover, the nanocomposite shows a 250% increase in tensile toughness and a 97% increase in elongation at break. These results indicate that CNT sponge is an ideal functional component for mechanically strong and high‐performance EMI‐shielding nanocomposites.     

A novel structure of woven continuous-carbon fiber composites with high electromagnetic shielding

A novel structure employing the woven continuous-carbon fiber (CCF) epoxy composite with high electromagnetic (EM) shielding is presented experimentally and theoretically. The influences of weave type, number, and angle of overlapped plates upon the shielding effectiveness (SE) of the woven CCF-epoxy composite are investigated. The minimum SE of the single, double, and triple-plain or balanced-twill woven CCF-composite plates was measured to be as high as 50 dB, 60 dB, and 70 dB, respectively. More than 100 dB in SE was obtained for the triple-overlapped, plain-weave CCF composite at a frequency of 0.9 GHz. The weight percentage of the single CCF-composite plate required for electronic application is 4.8% only, which is less than one quarter of the CF content, and the performance in SE is 10 dB higher in comparison with long, CF-filled, liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) composites. The SE calculated theoretically is consistent with that measured by the experiment.     

High Electromechanical Response of Ionic Polymer Actuators with Controlled‐Morphology Aligned Carbon Nanotube/Nafion Nanocomposite Electrodes

Recent advances in fabricating controlled‐morphology vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA‐CNTs) with ultrahigh volume fraction create unique opportunities for markedly improving the electromechanical performance of ionic polymer conductor network composite (IPCNC) actuators. Continuous paths through inter‐VA‐CNT channels allow fast ion transport, and high electrical conduction of the aligned CNTs in the composite electrodes lead to fast device actuation speed (>10% strain/second). One critical issue in developing advanced actuator materials is how to suppress the strain that does not contribute to the actuation (unwanted strain) thereby reducing actuation efficiency. Here, experiments demonstrate that the VA‐CNTs give an anisotropic elastic response in the composite electrodes, which suppresses the unwanted strain and markedly enhances the actuation strain (>8% strain under 4 V). The results reported here suggest pathways for optimizing the electrode morphology in IPCNCs using ultrahigh volume fraction VA‐CNTs to further enhanced performance.     

Carbon Nanotubes: High Electromechanical Response of Ionic Polymer Actuators with Controlled‐Morphology Aligned Carbon Nanotube/Nafion Nanocomposite Electrodes (Adv. Funct. Mater. 19/2010)

Recent advances in fabricating controlled‐morphology vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA‐CNTs) with ultrahigh volume fraction create unique opportunities for markedly improving the electromechanical performance of ionic polymer conductor network composite (IPCNC) actuators. Continuous paths through inter‐VA‐CNT channels allow fast ion transport, and high electrical conduction of the aligned CNTs in the composite electrodes lead to fast device actuation speed (>10% strain/second). One critical issue in developing advanced actuator materials is how to suppress the strain that does not contribute to the actuation (unwanted strain) thereby reducing actuation efficiency. Here, experiments demonstrate that the VA‐CNTs give an anisotropic elastic response in the composite electrodes, which suppresses the unwanted strain and markedly enhances the actuation strain (>8% strain under 4 V). The results reported here suggest pathways for optimizing the electrode morphology in IPCNCs using ultrahigh volume fraction VA‐CNTs to further enhanced performance.     

Effective electromagnetic shielding of plastic packaging in low-cost optical transceiver modules

A low-cost plastic package of the standard 1 /spl times/ 9 type with effective electromagnetic (EM) shielding ability is developed. Optical transceiver modules with transmission rates of 155 Mb/s and 1.25 Gb/s are tested to evaluate the EM shielding against emitted radiation from the plastic packaging. The results show that the packaged optical transceiver modules exhibit shielding effectiveness (SE) of over 20 dB. The EM shielding properties of plastic materials consisting of nylon66 and liquid crystal polymer (LCP) with carbon fiber reinforced are investigated. The effects of weight percentage of fibers, carbon fiber length, and material thickness on the SE of the plastic composites are studied both from the plane-wave and near-field sources approaches. The packaged plastic optical transceiver modules with their good SE are suitable for use in low-cost and low electromagnetic interference (EMI) Gigabit Ethernet lightwave transmission systems.     

High electromagnetic shielding of plastic package for 2.5-Gb/s optical transceiver modules

A lightweight, low-cost plastic package for a 2.5-Gb/s optical transceiver module, that also has good electromagnetic shielding properties, has been fabricated using woven continuous carbon fiber (CCF) epoxy composite. The shielding effectiveness (SE) of the CCF epoxy composite has been modeled theoretically and measured from 500 MHz to 3 GHz using the ASTM D4935 and a near-field test method. Two types of weaving patterns were studied: a balanced twill structure (BTS) and a parallel structure. The BTS was able to achieve an SE of about 80 dB under plane wave conditions and about 50 dB under near-field conditions because of the numerous conductive between crossing fibers. The SE of the proposed package is at least 20 dB greater than the previous package which used a liquid crystal polymer composite. In addition to better shielding performance, the proposed package costs less because it uses less carbon fiber. The proposed package for an optical transceiver is suitable for use in a low-cost lightwave transmission system     

Tailoring the Mechanical Properties of High‐Aspect‐Ratio Carbon Nanotube Arrays using Amorphous Silicon Carbide Coatings

The porous nature of carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays allows for the unique opportunity to tailor their mechanical response by the infiltration and deposition of nanoscale conformal coatings. Here, we fabricate novel photo‐lithographically defined CNT pillars that are conformally coated with amorphous silicon carbide (a‐SiC) to strengthen the interlocking of individual CNTs at junctions using low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). We further quantify the mechanical response by performing flat‐punch nanoindentation measurements on coated CNT pillars with various high‐aspect‐ratios. We discovered new mechanical failure modes of coated CNT pillars, such as “bamboo” and brittle‐like composite rupture as coating thickness increases. Furthermore, a significant increase in strength and modulus is achieved. For CNT pillars with high aspect ratio (1:10) and coating thickness of 21.4 nm, the compressive strength increases by an order of magnitude of 3, towards 1.8 GPa (from below 1 MPa for uncoated CNT pillars) and the elastic modulus increases towards 125 GPa. These results show that our coated CNT pillars, which can serve as vertical interconnects and 3D super‐capacitors, can be transformed into robust high‐aspect‐ratio 3D‐micro architectures with semiconductor device compatible processes.     

The Fusion of Imidazolium‐Based Ionic Polymer and Carbon Nanotubes: One Type of New Heteroatom‐Doped Carbon Precursors for High‐Performance Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Rational design of sulfur host materials with high electrical conductivity and strong polysulfides (PS) confinement is indispensable for high‐performance lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. This study presents one type of new polymer material based on main‐chain imidazolium‐based ionic polymer (ImIP) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs); the polymer composites can serve as a precursor of CNT/NPC‐300, in which close coverage and seamless junction of CNTs by N‐doped porous carbon (NPC) form a 3D conductive network. CNT/NPC‐300 inherits and strengthens the advantages of both high electrical conductivity from CNTs and strong PS entrapping ability from NPC. Benefiting from the improved attributes, the CNT/NPC‐300‐57S electrode shows much higher reversible capacity, rate capability, and cycling stability than NPC‐57S and CNTs‐56S. The initial discharge capacity of 1065 mA h g^?1 is achieved at 0.5 C with the capacity retention of 817 mA h g^?1 over 300 cycles. Importantly, when counter bromide anion in the composite of CNTs and ImIP is metathesized to bis(trifluoromethane sulfonimide), heteroatom sulfur is cooperatively incorporated into the carbon hosts, and the surface area is increased with the promotion of micropore formation, thus further improving electrochemical performance. This provides a new method for optimizing porous properties and dopant components of the cathode materials in Li–S batteries.     

Achieving High Mid‐IR Bolometric Responsivity for Anisotropic Composite Materials from Carbon Nanotubes and Polymers

An anisotropic carbon nanotube (CNT)‐polymer composite for bolometric applications in the mid‐IR spectral range (2.5–20 μm) is studied. Composite alignment in conjunction with non‐uniform distribution of CNTs in the polymer matrix allows for a significant enhancement of the temperature coefficient of resistance (0.82% K^?1) with respect to uniform composite (0.24% K^?1). As a result a responsivity of ≈ 500 V W^?1 is reached, which is the highest for CNT‐based bolometers reported to date. Such remarkable optical and thermal characteristics are explained in terms of fluctuation tunneling theory taking into account the composite anisotropy and the gradient of the CNT concentration. Flatness of the photoresponse in the broad spectral mid‐IR range and enhanced responsivity provide a great potential for the use of such novel composite for applications in IR spectroscopy and thermal imaging.     

Origin and Control of Polyacrylonitrile Alignments on Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Nanoribbons

While one of the most promising applications of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is to enhance polymer orientation and crystallization to achieve advanced carbon fibers, the successful realization of this goal has been hindered by the insufficient atomistic understanding of polymer–CNT interfaces. Herein, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)‐CNT hybrid structures are theoretically studied as a representative example of polymer–CNT composites. Based on density functional theory calculations, it is first found that the relative orientation of polar PAN nitrile groups with respect to the CNT surface is the key factor that determines the PAN–CNT interface energetics and the lying‐down PAN configurations are much more preferable than their standing‐up counterparts. The CNT curvature is identified as another important factor, giving the largest binding energy in the zero‐curvature graphene limit. Charge transfer analysis explains the unique tendency of linear PAN alignments on the CNT surface and the possibility of ordered PAN–PAN assembly. Next, performing large‐scale molecular dynamics simulations, it is shown that the desirable linear PAN–CNT alignment can be achieved even for relatively large initial misorientations and further demonstrate that graphene nanoribbons are a promising carbon nano‐reinforcement candidate. The microscopic understanding accumulated in this study will provide design guidelines for the development of next‐generation carbon nanofibers.     

Correlations between Percolation Threshold,Dispersion State,and Aspect Ratio of Carbon Nanotubes

Critical factors that determine the percolation threshold of carbon nanotube (CNT)‐reinforced polymer nanocomposites are studied. An improved analytical model is developed based on an interparticle distance concept. Two dispersion parameters are introduced in the model to correctly reflect the different dispersion states of CNTs in the matrix—entangled bundles and well‐dispersed individual CNTs. CNT–epoxy nanocomposites with different dispersion states are fabricated from the same constituent materials by employing different processing conditions. The corresponding percolation thresholds of the nanocomposites vary over a wide range, from 0.1 to greater than 1.0 wt %, and these variations are explained in terms of dispersion parameters and aspect ratios of CNTs. Important factors that control the percolation threshold of nanocomposites are identified based on the comparison between modeling data and experimental results.     

High‐Conductivity Polymer Nanocomposites Obtained by Tailoring the Characteristics of Carbon Nanotube Fillers

We present a detailed study of the influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) characteristics on the electrical conductivity of polystyrene nanocomposites produced using a latex‐based approach. We processed both industrially‐produced multi‐wall CNT (MWCNT) powders and MWCNTs from vertically‐aligned films made in‐house, and demonstrate that while the raw CNTs are individualized and dispersed comparably within the polymer matrix, the electrical conductivity of the final nanocomposites differs significantly due to the intrinsic characteristics of the CNTs. Owing to their longer length after dispersion, the percolation threshold observed using MWCNTs from vertically‐aligned films is five times lower than the value for industrially‐produced MWCNT powders. Further, owing to the high structural quality of the CNTs from vertically‐aligned films, the resulting composite films exhibit electrical conductivity of 10³ S m^?1 at 2 wt% CNTs. On the contrary, composites made using the industrially‐produced CNTs exhibit conductivity of only tens of S m^?1. To our knowledge, the measured electrical conductivity for CNT/PS composites using CNTs from vertically‐aligned films is by far the highest value yet reported for CNT/PS nanocomposites at this loading.     

Hierarchically Structured Composite Fibers for Real Nanoscale Manipulation of Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced polymer fibers have broad applications in electrical, thermal, optical, and smart applications. The key for mechanically robust fibers is the precise microstructural control of these CNTs, including their location, dispersion, and orientation. A new methodology is presented here that combines dry-jet-wet spinning and forced assembly for scalable fabrication of fiber composites, consisting of alternating layers of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and CNT/PAN. The thickness of each layer is controlled during the multiplication process, with resolutions down to the nanometer scale. The introduction of alternating layers facilitates the quality of CNT dispersion due to nanoscale confinement, and at the same time, enhances their orientation due to shear stress generated at each layer interface. In a demonstration example, with 0.5 wt% CNTs loading and the inclusion of 170 nm thick layers, a composite fiber shows a significant mechanical enhancement, namely, a 46.4% increase in modulus and a 39.5% increase in strength compared to a pure PAN fiber. Beyond mechanical reinforcement, the presented fabrication method is expected to have enormous potential for scalable fabrication of polymer nanocomposites with complex structural features for versatile applications.     

Lightweight and Anisotropic Porous MWCNT/WPU Composites for Ultrahigh Performance Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Lightweight, flexible and anisotropic porous multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/water‐borne polyurethane (WPU) composites are assembled by a facile freeze‐drying method. The composites contain extremely wide range of MWCNT mass ratios and show giant electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) which exceeds 50 or 20 dB in the X‐band while the density is merely 126 or 20 mg cm^?3, respectively. The relevant specific SE is up to 1148 dB cm³ g^?1, greater than those of other shielding materials ever reported. The ultrahigh EMI shielding performance is attributed to the conductivity of the cell walls caused by MWCNT content, the anisotropic porous structures, and the polarization between MWCNT and WPU matrix. In addition to the enhanced electrical properties, the composites also indicate enhanced mechanical properties compared with porous WPU and CNT architectures.     

Low-cost and low-electromagnetic-interference packaging of optical transceiver modules

The low-cost and low-electromagnetic-interference (EMI) packaging of optical transceiver modules employing housings of plastic composites are developed and fabricated. Optical transceiver modules fabricated by the plastic composites with transmission rates of 1.25 and 2.5 Gb/s are tested to evaluate the electromagnetic (EM) shielding against emitted radiation from the plastic packaging. The results show that these packaged optical transceiver modules with their high shielding effectiveness (SE) are suitable for use in low-cost and low-EMI Gigabit Ethernet lightwave transmission systems. By comparison of cost, weight, and shielding performance for optical transceiver modules fabricated by the housings of nylon and liquid-crystal polymer with carbon fiber filler composites, woven continuous carbon fiber (WCCF), and nanoscale hollow carbon nanocapulses (HCNCs) epoxy composites, the WCCF composite shows lower cost, lighter weight, and higher EM shielding than the other types of composites. Future studies may develop the low-cost and low-EMI optical transceiver modules using nanoscale HCNCs that have the combination of excellent physical and mechanical properties, light weight, and thinness compared with the conventional fabrication techniques.     

RF-PECVD法研究碳纳米管的生长特性

采用射频等离子体增强化学气相沉积(RF-PECVD),以Fe作为催化剂,在Si基片上生长了碳纳米管(CNT),采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM),高分辨透射电子显微镜(HR TEM)以及显微Raman光谱等对制备的CNT的形貌及结构进行了表征.结果表明:700℃和800℃温度下生长的CNT均取向无序、弯曲缠结,由整齐排列的圆...     

Ordered Mesoporous Carbon/Fused Silica Composites

A series of novel, dense, and interesting ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC)/fused silica composites with different carbon contents has been prepared by a controllable but simple sol‐gel method followed by hot‐pressing. In the as‐sintered OMC/fused silica composites the carbon particles still exist in the form of perfectly ordered carbon nanowires. Conductivity measurements on the composites indicate that these novel composites are electrically conductive and have a typical percolation threshold of 3.5–5 vol% OMC. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding efficiency (SE) of an OMC/fused silica composite containing 10 vol% OMC is as high as 40 dB in the X band which is higher than that of a carbon nanotube (CNT)/ fused silica composite with the same carbon content (～30 dB). This indicates that these conductive OMC/fused silica composites are very suitable for an application as EMI shielding materials. Upon increasing the volume content of OMC in the composite the overall contribution as well as the increase rate of the microwave absorption are larger than those of the microwave reflection, which suggest that OMC/fused silica composites may also be promising electromagnetic (EM) wave absorbing materials. Based on the promising properties of these composites this work will hopefully lead to the development of new low‐cost and highly efficient EMI shielding or EM wave absorbing materials.     

碳纳米管与外电路的连接技术进展

首先,介绍了碳纳米管电子器件应用中的关键工艺技术——碳纳米管与外电路的连接技术,回顾了碳纳米管与外电路装配的发展历程。从碳纳米管在电极间的随机连接到电场定位组装和原子力显微镜的可控操纵,描述了各种装配方法的特点。其次,讨论了碳纳米管与外电路连接的可靠性问题,并介绍了电子束、扫描探针显微镜和超声波等多种改善接触性能的焊接方法。最后,简单展望了碳纳米管与外电路连接的发展趋势,指出数目可控的碳纳米管组装技术和规模化的焊接工艺是今后研究工作的重点。