Synthesis of highly conductive polyaniline nanofibers

Polyaniline nanofiber product synthesized by using both potassium biiodate, KH(IO₃)₂, and sodium hypochlorite oxidant shows high electrical conductivity of greater than 100 S cm^− 1. The nanofiber product also shows not only a long nano-size fibril structure with average diameter of ~ 50 nm and length of ~ 4 μm but also high crystallinity. It was observed that the nanofibers synthesized using the two oxidants give both high electrical conductivity and high crystallinity compared to polyaniline synthesized using commonly known ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) oxidant. We also found that dimensional and morphological uniformity of PANI nanofibers were greatly improved when the two oxidants were used. The long length and high crystallinity will probably be the contributing factors to have high conductivity. Order of the oxidant addition for the synthesis has no effect on quality of the product. Characterization study was made via UV/Vis absorption spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as well as conductivity measurement.     

MOCVD of highly conductive CdO thin films

Thin films of cadmium oxide have been deposited onto alumino–silicate glass substrates by atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition using DMCd and n-butanol, a novel oxygen source. Studies were conducted to evaluate how different conditions such as temperature and precursor concentration influenced the film growth. Film characterization showed that at an optimum temperature range of 270–290 °C, CdO exhibits low spreading resistance of 17.1 per square, for a 400 nm film, compared with 10 per square for 1.1 m indium tin oxide film, and high transmittance, between 600 and 900 nm, up to 90% with a band gap of 2.4 eV. Within this optimum temperature range, the grain size and surface roughness are shown to be a minimum.     

Dielectric response ofp-terphenyl

Dielectric properties ofp-terphenyl crystals (large- and small-grained polycrystalline layers and compressed pellets) have been measured. An anisotropy of the dielectric properties of the crystals has been found. The dielectric losses in disorderedp-terphenyl structures proved to be of injected carrier origin: a discontinuous change of dielectric losses in the disordered structures being found near 285 K.     

Dielectric breakdown model for a conductive crack and electrode in piezoelectric materials

The strip dielectric breakdown (DB) model introduced by Zhang and Gao [T.Y. Zhang, C.F. Gao, Fracture behavior of piezoelectric materials, Thero. Appl. Fract. Mech. 41 (2004) 339–379] is used to study the generalized 2D problem of a conductive crack and an electrode in an infinite piezoelectric material. The energy release rate and stress intensity factors are derived based on the Stroh formalism, and then they are applied as failure criteria to predict the critical fracture loads. It is found that the DB strip may take the shielding effect on a conductive crack or electrode. For the case of an electrode, the local energy release rate and stress intensity factor become zero when DB happens ahead of the electrode tip. For the case of a mode-I conductive crack in a transversely isotropic piezoelectric solid, the results based on the DB model show that the critical stress intensity factor linearly increases as the applied electric field parallel to the poling direction increases, while it linearly decreases as the applied electric field anti-parallel to the poling direction increases. Finally, the upper and lower bounds of the actual critical fracture loads are proposed for a conductive crack in a piezoelectric material under combined mechanical–electrical loads.     

A study on the preparation of highly conductive graphene

The effects of the washing conditions of graphite oxide (GO) and pyrolysis times on the thermal reduction of graphene are discussed in this article. Graphene samples that had been pyrolyzed for 30 s and 5 min remained homogeneous in N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) for one month, whereas those samples that had been pyrolyzed for 20 and 40 min precipitated after one day. The conductivity of graphene increased with pyrolysis time. The resistivity of graphene thermally post-treated for 40 min reached 0.01 Ωcm. Whether or not GO was washed with deionized water had little effect on the structure and electric properties of graphene.     

Dielectric breakdown of an unpoled piezoelectric material with a conductive channel

The dielectric breakdown of an unpoled piezoelectric ceramic, PZT807, with a conductive channel, is investigated. Cylindrical bar specimens with a conductive channel are used for breakdown tests of the unpoled piezoelectric ceramic under purely electrical loads. Narrow tubular channels emanating from the head of the initial channel are observed in the specimens after breakdown occurs. The radius of the tubular channel that is created at the surface of the initial channel head is insensitive to various types of channel formation. The problem of a fine tubular channel that emanates from the initial channel head is numerically solved to evaluate the three-dimensional J integral, which is directly related to the energy that is available at breakdown, at the initiation of a new channel in the specimen. The critical J integral at the onset of breakdown is obtained.     

Dielectric response of polymer relaxors

Dielectric response of vinylidene fluoride type ferroelectric polymers is dominated by that of segmental motions in the amorphous phase in temperature range 200–300 K and contributions related to the local mode and ferroelectric–paraelectric transition in the crystalline phase of the polymer at higher temperatures. Diffuse and frequency-dependent dielectric anomaly observed in fast electron irradiated polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene P(VDF/TrFE) has been related to relaxor-like behavior induced in the semicrystalline ferroelectric copolymers. As random field and the response of polar nanosize clusters determine the relaxor behavior the effects of disorder and fast electron irradiation (below and above T _C) on the three contributions to the dielectric response of PVDF, P(VDF/TrFE)(75/25) and P(VDF/TrFE)(50/50) are shown. The processes involved in radiation-induced functionalization of PVDF-type polymers are discussed on the basis of results of ESR, IR and Raman spectroscopy studies.     

Dielectric response of humid phlogopite

The dielectric response of phlogopite mica has been measured for frequency lying between 10 mHz and 10 kHz with humidity as a parameter. The measured complex capacitance shows a low frequency dispersion (LFD) at high humidities. A weak loss peak is also present at high frequencies and low humidity levels. Work carried out at former Chelsea College, London University, London.     

Low-temperature PECVD deposition of highly conductive microcrystalline silicon thin films

In this paper, we present the characterization results of doped n-type microcrystalline hydrogenated-silicon (c-Si : H) films deposited in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition in the temperature range between 70 and 250 °C. The interest in these films arises from the fact that they combine the high optical absorption of amorphous silicon with the electronic behavior of the crystalline silicon, making them interesting for the production of large electronic devices such as solar cells, image sensors, and flat panels. It is shown that n-type c-Si : H films with high electrical conductivity can be obtained even at low temperature deposition, around 120 °C (=2.9 S cm^–1). The structural properties of the films have been studied by Raman and infrared spectroscopy that allowed for the determination of the crystalline fraction. Electrical measurements were performed by a.c. impedance spectroscopy, Hall effect, and dark conductivity. Characteristics suitable for application in electronic devices were obtained with the developed deposition parameters set-up; the best dark conductivity values were around 1 S cm^–1 for deposition temperatures within the 120–140 °C range. Some conclusions regarding the correlation between electrical and structural properties are presented for the considered temperature range.     

Numerical modelling of thermomechanical solids with highly conductive energetic interfaces

Interfaces within a solid can play a significant role in the overall response of a body. The influence of an interface increases as the scale of the problem decreases. Furthermore, the thermomechanical properties of the interface can differ significantly from those of the surrounding bulk. Such effects are described here using interface elasticity theory. The objective of this contribution is to detail the computational aspects of modelling thermomechanical solids with highly conductive energetic interfaces. The interface is termed energetic in the sense that it possesses its own energy, entropy, constitutive relations and dissipation. The equations governing the fully nonlinear, transient problem are given. They are then solved using an efficient finite element scheme. Full details of the consistent linearisation of the nonlinear governing equations are provided. Key features of highly conductive energetic interfaces are then elucidated via a series of three‐dimensional numerical examples. In particular and in contrast to highly conductive thermal interfaces, it is clearly shown that a jump in the heat flux across the interface is possible even in the absence of a heat flux along the interface. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于外力诱导取向的高导热聚合物基复合材料研究进展

随着半导体制备技术的快速发展,小型化和集成化是电子设备发展的趋势,散热能力成了制约电子元器件发展的关键因素,对热界面和封装材料的导热性能提出了更高的要求.导热填料与聚合物基体之间简单的共混难以实现低填充量下的高导热性.填料的取向有助于实现各向异性的热导率和降低导热逾渗阈值,因此如何在聚合物基体中构筑导热填料的取向结构从...     

Transparent and highly conductive liquid-phase exfoliated graphite films treated with low-temperature air-annealing

This article presents a novel and simple method of liquid-phase exfoliation to fabricate graphene films that possess high conductivity and good light transparency. Graphite was exfoliated in water–ethanol mixture, with the aid of Nafion, to give highly stable graphene dispersion. Transparent graphene thin films were easily deposited by vacuum filtration from the Nafion-stabilized graphene dispersion. More important, low-temperature air-annealing (at 250 °C for 2 h) was employed to treat freshly-prepared graphene films for the first time. It demonstrates that the technique is advantageous and quite efficient for the fabrication of exfoliated graphite films with defect-free structure and high purity, confirmed by TEM, SEM, FTIR, XPS, and Raman spectra. The resulting graphene films possess a sheet resistance lower than 2.86 kΩ sq⁻¹ and optical transmittance over 84% at a typical wavelength of 550 nm.     

Thermally stable, highly conductive, and transparent Ga-doped ZnO thin films

Highly conductive and transparent films of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition using a ZnO target with Ga₂O₃ dopant of 3 wt.% in content added. Films with resistivity as low as 3.3 × 10^− 4 Ω cm and transmittance above 80% at the wavelength between 400 and 800 nm can be produced on glass substrate at room temperature. It is shown that a stable resistivity for use in oxidation ambient at high temperature can be attained for the films. The electrical and optical properties, as well as the thermal stability of resistivity, of GZO films were comparable to those of undoped ZnO films.     

Two-dimensional conductive metal-organic framework nanowire arrays for highly performed soft electrochemical actuators

正The demand for high-performance low-voltage driven electromechanical actuators is growing because of their potential applications,such as in soft robotics,artificial muscles,biomimetic flying insects, and micro/nano-electromechanical systems[1].     

Prospects for nanowire-doped polycrystalline graphene films for ultratransparent, highly conductive electrodes

Traditional transparent conducting materials such as ITO are expensive, brittle, and inflexible. Although alternatives like networks of carbon nanotubes, polycrystalline graphene, and metallic nanowires have been proposed, the transparency-conductivity trade-off of these materials makes them inappropriate for broad range of applications. In this paper, we show that the conductivity of polycrystalline graphene is limited by high resistance grain boundaries. We demonstrate that a composite based on polycrystalline graphene and a subpercolating network of metallic nanowires offers a simple and effective route to reduced resistance while maintaining high transmittance. This new approach of "percolation-doping by nanowires" has the potential to beat the transparency-conductivity constraints of existing materials and may be suitable for broad applications in photovoltaics, flexible electronics, and displays.     

Preparation of highly conductive graphene-coated glass fibers by sol-gel and dip-coating method

In order to fabricate highly-conductive glass fibers using graphene as multi-functional coatings, we reported the preparation of graphene-coated glass fibers with high electrical conductivity through sol-gel and dip-coating technique in a simple way. Graphene oxide (GO) was partially reduced to graphene hydrosol, and then glass fibers were dipped and coated with the reduced GO (rGO). After repeated sol-gel and dip-coating treatment, the glass fibers were fully covered with rGO coatings, and consequently exhibited increased hydrophobicity and high electrical conductivity. The graphene-coated fibers exhibited good electrical conductivity of 24.9 S/cm, being higher than that of other nanocarbon-coated fibers and commercial carbon fibers, which is mainly attributed to the high intrinsic electrical conductivity of rGO and full coverage of fiber surfaces. The wettability and electrical conductivity of the coated fibers strongly depended on the dip-coating times and coating thickness, which is closely associated with coverage degree and compact structure of the graphene coatings. By virtue of high conductivity and easy operation, the graphene-coated glass fibers have great potential to be used as flexible conductive wires, highly-sensitive sensors, and multi-functional fibers in many fields.     

Modal analysis and suppression of the Fourier modal method instabilities in highly conductive gratings

The Fourier modal method (FMM), often also referred to as rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA), is known to suffer from numerical instabilities when applied to low-loss metallic gratings under TM incidence. This problem has so far been attributed to the imperfect conditioning of the matrices to be diagonalized. The present analysis based on a modal vision reveals that the so-called instabilities are true features of the solution of the mathematical problem of a binary metal grating dealt with by truncated Fourier representation of Maxwell's equations. The extreme sensitivity of this solution to the optogeometrical parameters is the result of the excitation, propagation, coupling, interference, and resonance of a finite number of very slow propagating spurious modes. An astute management of these modes permits a complete and safe removal of the numerical instabilities at the price of an arbitrarily small and controllable reduction in accuracy as compared with the referenced true-mode method.     

PEDOT:PSS nano-gels for highly electrically conductive silver/epoxy composite adhesives

In this work, we report a methanol-facilitated approach to directly use aqueous Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):Poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) in the silver/epoxy composites for preparation of highly electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) and an investigation of the interaction between PEDOT:PSS nano-gels and silver microflakes. PEDOT:PSS nano-gel (18?<?d?<?30 nm) aqueous dispersion is immiscible with epoxy resin and difficult to incorporate into the conventional silver-filled ECAs. To overcome this challenge, we used methanol to facilitate the dispersion of PEDOT:PSS and silver microflake in epoxy resin. The synergetic interactions between PEDOT:PSS and silver and the effect of methanol were investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and scanning electron microscope. When PEDOT:PSS was exposed to methanol, its morphology changed from coil to coil/linear structure; the contact potential difference between silver microflake and PEDOT:PSS increased from 9.47 to 22.56 mV, showing an increased conductivity between PEDOT:PSS and silver microflake. It was found that the introduction of a small amount of PEDOT:PSS (0.1 wt%) to the conventional ECA with 60 wt% silver microflake remarkably improved the electrical conductivity from 104 to 386 S/cm. A significantly high conductivity of 2526 S/cm was achieved by further increasing the PEDOT:PSS concentration to 1 wt%. The impact of PEDOT:PSS on the adhesive bonding strength towards copper substrate was also examined; the bonding strength slightly decreased when <?1 wt% PEDOT:PSS was used, but abruptly dropped when PEDOT:PSS content was further increased beyond 1 wt%. The incorporation of the optimal 1 wt% PEDOT:PSS into conventional ECAs with 60% silver microflake greatly increased the electrical conductivities by 25 times with limited impact on the shear strength. The results provide insights to the synergetic interplay of conductive polymer and metallic fillers, and might have profound technical implications on the development of advanced conductive composites.