Series-connected substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors with voltage-management circuit

Cell voltage for a fully charged-substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor is about 2.3 V. Therefore, for applications requiring higher DC voltage, several of these ultracapacitors need to be connected in series. However, voltage distribution across each series-connected ultracapacitor tends to be uneven due to tolerance in capacitance and parasitic parallel-resistance values. Accordingly, voltage-management circuit is required to protect constituent ultracapacitors from exceeding their rated voltage. In this study, the design and characterization of the substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor with co-located terminals is discussed. Voltage-management circuit for the ultracapacitor is presented, and its effectiveness is validated experimentally.

A unique strategy towards high dielectric constant and low loss with multiwall carbon nanotubes anchored onto graphene oxide sheets

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were anchored onto graphene oxide sheets (GOs) via diazonium and C-C coupling reactions and characterized by spectroscopic and electron microscopic techniques. The thus synthesized MWNT-GO hybrid was then melt mixed with 50/50 polyamide6-maleic anhydride-modified acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PA6-mABS) blend to design materials with high dielectric constant (30) and low dielectric loss. The phase morphology was studied by SEM and it was observed that the MWNT-GO hybrid was selectively localized in the PA6 phase of the blend. The 30 scales with the concentration of MWNT-GO in the blends, which interestingly showed a very low dielectric loss (< 0.2) making them potential candidate for capacitors. In addition, the dynamic storage modulus scales with the fraction of MWNT-GO in the blends, demonstrating their reinforcing capability as well.

Tailored interface and enhanced elastic modulus in epoxy-based composites in presence of branched poly(ethyleneimine) grafted multiwall carbon nanotubes

In this study, branched poly(ethyleneimine), BPEI, was synthesized from carboxylic acid terminated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) and characterized using FTIR, TEM and TGA. The BPEI was then chemically grafted onto MWNTs to enhance the interfacial adhesion with the epoxy matrix. The epoxy composites with c-MWNTs and the BPEI-g-MWNTs were prepared using a sonication and mechanical stirring method, followed by curing at 100 degrees C and post-curing at 120 degrees C. The dynamic mechanical thermal analysis showed an impressive 49% increment in the storage elastic modulus in the composites. In addition, the nanoindentation on the composites exhibited significant improvement in the hardness and decrease in the plasticity index in the presence of the BPEI-g-MWNTs. Thus, epoxy composites with BPEI-g-MWNTs can be further explored as self-healing materials.

Giant actuation in bulk carbon nanotubes under coupled electric and magnetic fields

We report an enhanced actuation in bulk carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under coupled electric and magnetic fields, which is much higher than that evaluated in the presence of individual fields. Coupled electric and magnetic fields induce a directional actuation demonstrating a transformation from polarity independent to dependent actuation behavior of CNTs. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses are performed to understand this transformation in the bulk CNTs. Moreover, actuations along radial and axial directions of CNTs have also demonstrated a similar directional behavior.

Analyzing the kinetic response of tin oxide-carbon and tin oxide-CNT composites gas sensors for alcohols detection

Tin oxide nanoparticles are synthesized using solution combustion technique and tin oxide - carbon composite thick films are fabricated with amorphous carbon as well as carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and porosity measurements show that the as-synthesized nanoparticles are having rutile phase with average crystallite size similar to 7 nm and similar to 95 m(2)/g surface area. The difference between morphologies of the carbon doped and CNT doped SnO2 thick films, are characterized using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The adsorption-desorption kinetics and transient response curves are analyzed using Langmuir isotherm curve fittings and modeled using power law of semiconductor gas sensors. (C) 2015 Author(s).