The configuration evolution and macroscopic elasticity of fluid-filled closed cell composites : micromechanics and multiscale homogenization modelling

For fluid-filled closed cell composites widely distributed in nature, the configuration evolution and effective elastic properties are investigated using a micromechanical model and a multiscale homogenization theory, in which the effect of initial fluid pressure is considered. Based on the configuration evolution of the composite, we present a novel micromechanics model to examine the interactions between the initial fluid pressure and the macroscopic elasticity of the material. In this model, the initial fluid pressure of the closed cells and the corresponding configuration can be produced by applying an eigenstrain at the introduced fictitious stress-free configuration, and the pressure-induced initial microscopic strain is derived. Through a configuration analysis, we find the initial fluid pressure has a prominent effect on the effective elastic properties of freestanding materials containing pressurized fluid pores, and a new explicit expression of effective moduli is then given in terms of the initial fluid pressure. Meanwhile, the classical multiscale homogenization theory for calculating the effective moduli of a periodical heterogeneous material is generalized to include the pressurized fluid "inclusion" effect. Considering the coupling between matrix deformation and fluid pressure in closed cells, the multiscale homogenization method is utilized to numerically determine the macroscopic elastic properties of such composites at the unit cell level with specific boundary conditions. The present micromechanical model and multiscale homogenization method are illustrated by several numerical examples for validation purposes, and good agreements are achieved. The results show that the initial pressure of the fluid phase can strengthen overall effective bulk modulus but has no contribution to the shear modulus of fluid-filled closed cell composites.

On toughening of epoxies and their carbon fibre-reinforced composites

Compared to the neat matrix material, FRC has highly favorable mechanical properties, and their strength-to-weight ratios are superior. In addition, FRCs have potential for use in many applications in dentistry and are expected to gain increasing applications in the future. This book includes both review and research papers in different FRC areas from contributors around the world.

Structural composites embedded with lithium polymer batteries

Structural battery composites that concurrently carry load and store electric energy will
transform future vehicles. They can replace inert structural components and simultaneously provide supplementary power for light load applications. Rechargeable lithium polymer battery cells are embedded into carbon fibre/epoxy matrix composite laminates, which are then tested under tension and three-point bending to investigate the mechanical and electrical performances of structural batteries. The experimental results show that the integration of battery cells into composite laminates has negligible impact on the mechanical strengths of the composite structures. Furthermore, the battery cells remain 95% effective at loads up to about 60% of the ultimate flexural failure load and 50% of the ultimate tensile failure load.

Control of porosity and pore size of metal reinforced carbon nanotube membranes

Membranes are crucial in modern industry and both new technologies and materials need to be designed to achieve higher selectivity and performance. Exotic materials such as nanoparticles offer promising perspectives, and combining both their very high specific surface area and the possibility to incorporate them into macrostructures have already shown to substantially increase the membrane performance. In this paper we report on the fabrication and engineering of metal-reinforced carbon nanotube (CNT) Bucky-Paper (BP) composites with tuneable porosity and surface pore size. A BP is an entangled mesh non-woven like structure of nanotubes. Pure CNT BPs present both very high porosity (>90%) and specific surface area (>400 m2/g). Furthermore, their pore size is generally between 20–50 nm making them promising candidates for various membrane and separation applications. Both electro-plating and electroless plating techniques were used to plate different series of BPs and offered various degrees of success. Here we will report mainly on electroless plated gold/CNT composites. The benefit of this method resides in the versatility of the plating and the opportunity to tune both average pore size and porosity of the structure with a high degree of reproducibility. The CNT BPs were first oxidized by short UV/O3 treatment, followed by successive immersion in different plating solutions. The morphology and properties of these samples has been investigated and their performance in air permeation and gas adsorption will be reported.

Dielectric percolative composites with high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss based on sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketone) and a-MWCNTs coated with polyaniline

Acidified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (a-MWCNTs) coated with polyaniline (PANI) (a-MWCNTs@PANI) nanofiller were prepared by in situ polymerization. Novel dielectric percolative composites, sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketone) (SPAEK)/a-MWCNTs@PANI, with high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss were fabricated using simple solution blending technique. A SPAEK/a-MWCNTs@PANI composite prepared in this fashion exhibited a high dielectric constant above 800, a dielectric loss tangent less than 1.1 at 10 kHz and room temperature. The morphological study of composites by SEM suggested that the in situ polymerization method of preparing a-MWCNTs@PANI nanofillers was useful to achieve good dispersion of fillers in SPAEK matrix.

Bi-functional oxygen electrocatalysts based on Palladium oxide-Ruthenium oxide composites

Bi-functional oxygen electrodes are an enabling component for rechargeable metal-air batteries and regenerative fuel cells, both of which are regarded as the next-generation energy devices with zero emission. Nonetheless, at the present, no single metal oxide component can catalyze both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with high performance which leads to large overpotential between ORR and OER. This work strives to address this limitation by studying the bi-functional electrocatalytic activity of the composite of a good ORR catalyst compound (e.g. palladium oxide, PdO) and a good OER catalyst compound (e.g. ruthenium oxide, RuO2) in alkaline solution (0.1M KOH) utilizing a thin-film rotating disk electrode technique. The studied compositions include PdO, RuO2, PdO/RuO2 (25wt.%/75wt.%), PdO/RuO2 (50wt.%/50wt.%) and PdO/RuO2 (75wt.%/25wt.%). The lowest overpotential (e.g. E (2 mA cm−2) - E (-2 mA cm−2)) of 0.82 V is obtained for PdO/RuO2 (25wt.%/75wt.%) (versus Ag|AgCl (3M NaCl) reference electrode).

Graphene/zinc nano-composites by electrochemical co-deposition

We describe for the first time the electrochemical co-deposition of composites based on a reactive base metal and graphene directly from a one-pot aqueous mixture containing graphene oxide and Zn2+. In order to overcome stability issues the Zn2+ concentration was kept below a critical threshold concentration, ensuring stable graphene oxide suspensions in the presence of cationic base metal precursors. This approach ensures the compatibility between the cationic base metal precursor and graphene oxide, which is more challenging compared to previously reported anionic noble metal complexes. Spectroscopic evidence suggests that the reason for destabilisation is zinc complexation involving the carboxylate groups of graphene oxide. The composition of the electrodeposited co-composites can be tuned by adjusting the concentration of the precursors in the starting mixture. The nano-composites show zinc particles (<3 nm) being uniformly dispersed amongst the graphene sheets. It is also demonstrated that the composites are electrochemically active and suitable for energy storage and energy conversion applications. However, a factor limiting the discharge efficiency is the reactivity of the base metal (low reduction potential and small particle size) which undergoes rapid oxidation when exposed to aqueous electrolytes.

New insight into non-isothermal crystallization of PVA-graphene composites

The melt crystallization of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and PVA composites has been a controversial subject due to inconclusive evidence and different opinions for its decomposition during crystallization. Using graphene as a model, the melt crystallization of PVA and PVA-graphene composites occurring during single-cycle and multiple-cycle non-isothermal annealing processes was systematically analyzed using different characterization techniques. The results obtained using single-cycle non-isothermal annealing indicated that the entire crystallization process took place through two main stages. The graphene in the PVA matrix regulates the nucleation and crystal growth manner of the PVA, yet resulting in retardation of the entire crystallization. The FTIR and Raman spectroscopic results particularly demonstrated that the annealing process not only improved the crystallinity but also led to clear decomposition in PVA and PVA-graphene composites, such as the elimination of hydroxyl groups and the production of C=C double bonds. The newly produced C=C double bonds were found to be responsible for the retardation of PVA macromolecule crystallization and the breaking of hydrogen bonds among the hydroxyl groups in the PVA chains. In addition, the morphological observation and multi-cycle non-isothermal crystallization further confirmed the existence of decomposition based on the surface damage as well as decreased crystallization enthalpy and crystallization peak temperature. Therefore, the non-isothermal crystallizations of the pure PVA and the PVA-graphene composites were in fact the combination of non-isothermal crystallization and non-isothermal degradation processes.

Ternary graphite nanosheet/copper phthalocyanine/sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketone) dielectric percolative composites: Preparation, micromorphologies and dielectric properties

Novel ternary dielectric percolative composites, consisting of acidified graphite nanosheets (a-GNs)/copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/sulfonated poly (aryl ether ketone) (SPAEK), were fabricated using a simple solution blending technique. A functional intermediate CuPc layer was introduced and coated on a-GNs to ensure a good dispersion of a-GNs in the SPAEK matrix and suppress the mobility of free charge carriers effectively, resulting in significant improvement of the dielectric properties of a-GNs@CuPc/SPAEK in contrast to a-GNs/SPAEK. Furthermore, enhanced mechanical properties of a-GNs@CuPc/SPAEK compared to SPAEK have been also achieved. © 2014 the Partner Organisations.

Surface energy of silk fibroin and mechanical properties of silk cocoon composites

Silkworm cocoons are biological composite structures protecting the silkworms against environmental damage and physical attack by natural predators. In particular, some outdoor reared silk cocoons exhibit outstanding mechanical properties that are relevant to the higher level protection required to enhance the survival chance of silkworms while supporting their metabolic activity. The performance of composite materials strongly depends on the adhesion between the fiber reinforcement and matrix, with the surface properties of the fibers playing a key role in determining the level of adhesion achieved. For this reason it is important to study the surface properties of silk fibroin to further understand the composite properties of the cocoons. In this work, both the mechanical properties of the silk cocoons and silk fibroin were studied. The surface topography was examined using scanning probe microscopy (SPM), which revealed distinct longitudinal ridges and striations along the fiber axis of the four silk fiber types. The fibers were found to exhibit heterogeneity in surface energy as evidenced from inverse gas chromatography (IGC) measurements. The combination of excellent mechanical properties and the more energetically heterogeneous surface nature of the wild A. pernyi silk fibroin fibers correlates well with the excellent mechanical properties of the A. pernyi cocoons. This journal is

Sulfur-doped porous reduced graphene oxide hollow nanosphere frameworks as metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction and as supercapacitor electrode materials.

Chemical doping with foreign atoms is an effective approach to significantly enhance the electrochemical performance of the carbon materials. Herein, sulfur-doped three-dimensional (3D) porous reduced graphene oxide (RGO) hollow nanosphere frameworks (S-PGHS) are fabricated by directly annealing graphene oxide (GO)-encapsulated amino-modified SiO2 nanoparticles with dibenzyl disulfide (DBDS), followed by hydrofluoric acid etching. The XPS and Raman spectra confirmed that sulfur atoms were successfully introduced into the PGHS framework via covalent bonds. The as-prepared S-PGHS has been demonstrated to be an efficient metal-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with the activity comparable to that of commercial Pt/C (40%) and much better methanol tolerance and durability, and to be a supercapacitor electrode material with a high specific capacitance of 343 F g(-1), good rate capability and excellent cycling stability in aqueous electrolytes. The impressive performance for ORR and supercapacitors is believed to be due to the synergistic effect caused by sulfur-doping enhancing the electrochemical activity and 3D porous hollow nanosphere framework structures facilitating ion diffusion and electronic transfer.

Carbon nanotube based elastomer composites-an approach towards multifunctional materials

The current study focuses on giving a basic understanding of tubular graphene sheets or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and points towards their role in fabricating elastomer composites. Since the properties and the performance of CNT reinforced elastomer composites predominantly depend on the rate of dispersion of fillers in the matrix, the physical and chemical interaction of polymer chains with the nanotubes, crosslinking chemistry of rubbers and the orientation of the tubes within the matrix, here, a thorough study of these topics is carried out. For this, various techniques of composite manufacturing such as pulverization, heterocoagulation, freeze drying, etc. are discussed by emphasizing the dispersion and alignment of CNTs in elastomers. The importance of the functionalization technique as well as the confinement effect of nanotubes in elastomer media is derived. In a word, this article is aimed exclusively at addressing the prevailing problems related to the CNT dispersion in various rubber matrices, the solutions to produce advanced high-performance elastomeric composites and various fields of applications of such composites, especially electronics. Special attention has also been given to the non-linear viscoelasticity effects of elastomers such as the Payne effect, Mullin's effect and hysteresis in regulating the composite properties. Moreover, the current challenges and opportunities for efficiently translating the extraordinary electrical properties of CNTs to rubbery matrices are also dealt with.

A simple and effective method to ameliorate the interfacial properties of cellulosic fibre based bio-composites using poly (ethylene glycol) based amphiphiles

In order to overcome interfacial incompatibility issues in natural fibre reinforced polymer bio-composites, surface modifications of the natural fibres using complex and environmentally unfriendly chemical methods is necessary. In this paper, we demonstrate that the interfacial properties of cellulose-based bio-composites can be tailored through surface adsorption of polyethylene glycol (PEG) based amphiphilic block copolymers using a greener alternative methodology. Mixtures of water or water/acetone were used to form amphiphilic emulsions or micro-crystal suspensions of PEG based amphiphilic block copolymers, and their deposition from solution onto the cellulosic substrate was carried out by simple dip-coating. The findings of this study evidence that, by tuning the amphiphilicity and the type of building blocks attached to the PEG unit, the flexural and dynamic thermo-mechanical properties of cellulose-based bio-composites comprised of either polylactide (PLA) or high density polyethylene (HDPE) as a matrix, can be remarkably enhanced. The trends, largely driven by interfacial effects, can be ascribed to the combined action of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic components of these amphiphiles. The nature of the interactions formed across the fibre-matrix interface is discussed. The collective outcome from this study provides a technological template to significantly improve the performance of cellulose-based bio-composite materials.