Trade-offs between ion-conducting and mechanical properties: The case of polyacrylate electrolytes

Polymer electrolytes(PEs)have been long recognized as the key materials to enable energy-dense batteries and render flexible energy devices practically viable,owing to their chemical and mechanical reliability.However,much of their promise is yet to be realized.The roomtemperature ion conductivity of existing PEs still falls short of the implementation criterion of 10^(-4) S cm^(-1) on the promise of acceptable mechanical properties,thereby precluding their practical application.The twin but inversely related duties of polymers,that is,functioning as both an ion-conducting medium and a structural backbone,underlie this issue but are less elucidated systematically.The polyacrylate(PA)family is among promising polymer matrices on account of ester polarity,electrode compatibility,chemical tunability,and mechanical durability.The extensive applicability of PA in plasticized gels,dry solids,and emerging composites makes PA-based PEs representative to illustrate the trade-off between ion conduction and mechanical strength.We herein seek to outline the stated long-standing conflict exemplified by PA-based PEs,focusing on crucial strategies toward balancing and reconciling the two mutually exclusive properties,with the intention of offering designing guidelines for next-generation PEs.

Effect of Zn content on microstructure,mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of extruded Mg-Zn-Ca-Mn alloys

Mg-Zn-Ca-Mn series alloys are developed as promising candidates of 5G communication devices with excellent thermal conductivities,great ductility,and acceptable strength.In present paper,Mg-x Zn-0.4Ca-0.2Mn(x=2wt%,4wt%,6wt%)alloys were prepared by a near-solidus extrusion and the effect of Zn content on mechanical and thermal properties were investigated.The results showed that the addition of minor Ca led to the formation of Ca_(2)Mg_(6)Zn_(3) eutectic phase at grain boundaries.A type of bimodal microstructure occurred in the as-extruded alloys,where elongated coarse deformed grains were embedded in refined recrystallized grains matrix.Correspondingly,both yield strength and ductility of the alloys were significantly enhanced after extrusion due to the great grain refinement.Specially,higher Zn content led to the increment in yield strength and a slight reduction in elongation due to the larger fractions of second phase particles.The room temperature thermal conductivity of as-extruded alloys was also improved compared with that of as-cast counterparts.The increment of Zn content decreased the thermal conductivity of both as-cast and as-extruded alloys,which was due to the increased second phase fraction and solution atoms in the matrix,that hindering the motion of electrons.The as-extruded Mg-2Zn-0.4Ca-0.2Mn(wt%)alloy exhibited the highest elongation of 27.7% and thermal conductivity of 139.2 W/(m·K),combined with an acceptable ultimate tensile strength of 244.0 MPa.The present paper provides scientific guidance for the preparation of lightweight materials with high ductility and high thermal conductivity.

Temperature-mediated structural evolution of vapor–phase deposited cyclosiloxane polymer thin films for enhanced mechanical properties and thermal conductivity

Polymer-derived ceramic(PDC) thin films are promising wear-resistant coatings for protecting metals and carbon-carbon composites from corrosion and oxidation.However,the high pyrolysis temperature hinders the applications on substrate materials with low melting points.We report a new synthesis route for PDC coatings using initiated chemical vapor deposited poly(1,3,5-trivinyl-1,3,5-trimethylcyclotrisiloxane)(pV_3D_3) as the precurs or.We investigated the changes in siloxane moieties and the network topology,and proposed a three-stage mechanism for the thermal annealing process.The rise of the connectivity number for the structures obtained at increased annealing temperatures was found with strong correlation to the enhanced mechanical properties and thermal conductivity.Our PDC films obtained via annealing at 850℃ exhibit at least 14.6% higher hardness than prior reports for PDCs synthesized below 1100℃.Furthermore,thermal conductivity up to 1.02 W(mK)^(-1) was achieved at the annealing temperature as low as 700℃,which is on the same order of magnitude as PDCs obtained above 1100℃.Using minimum thermal conductivity models,we found that the thermal transport is dominated by diffusons in the films below the percolation of rigidity,while ultra-short mean-free path phonons contribute to the thermal conductivity of the films above the percolation threshold.The findings of this work provide new insights for the development of wear-resistant and thermally conductive PDC thin films for durable protection coatings.

Effects of Conductive Carbon Black on Thermal and Electrical Properties of Barium Titanate/Polyvinylidene Fluoride Composites for Road Application

In the field of roads,due to the effect of vehicle loads,piezoelectric materials under the road surface can convert mechanical vibration into electrical energy,which can be further used in road facilities such as traffic signals and street lamps.The barium titanate/polyvinylidene fluoride(BaTiO_(3)/PVDF)composite,the most common hybrid ceramic-polymer system,was widely used in various fields because the composite combines the good dielectric property of ceramic materials with the good flexibility of PVDF material.Previous studies have found that conductive particles can further improve the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of other composites.However,few studies have investigated the effect of conductive carbon black on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of BaTiO_(3)/PVDF composites.In this study,BaTiO_(3)/PVDF/conductive carbon black composites were prepared with various conductive carbon black contents based on the optimum ratio of BaTiO_(3)to PVDF.The effects of conductive carbon black content on the morphologies,thermal performance,conductivities,dielectric properties,and piezoelectric properties of the BaTiO_(3)/PVDF/conductive carbon black composites were then investigated.The addition of conductive carbon black greatly enhances the conductivities,dielectric properties,and piezoelectric properties of the BaTiO_(3)/PVDF/conductive carbon black composites,especially when the carbon black content is 0.8%by weight of PVDF.Additionally,the conductive carbon black does not have an obvious effect on the morphologies and thermal stabilities of BaTiO_(3)/PVDF/conductive carbon black composites.

Experimental Evaluation of Thermal Conductivity and Other Thermophysical Properties of Nanofluids Based on Functionalized (-OH) Mwcnt Nanoparticles Dispersed in Distilled Water

A possible way to increase thermal conductivity of working fluids, while keeping pressure drop at acceptable levels, is through nanofluids. Nanofluids are nano-sized particles dispersed in conventional working fluids. A great number of materials have potential to be used in nanoparticles production and then in nanofluids;one of them is Multi-Walled Carbon Nano Tubes (MWCNT). They have thermal conductivity around 3000 W/mK while other materials used as nanoparticles like CuO have thermal conductivity of 76.5 W/mK. Due to this fact, MWCNT nanoparticles have potential to be used in nanofluids production, aiming to increase heat transfer rate in energy systems. In this context, the main goal of this paper is to evaluate from the synthesis to the experimental measurement of thermal conductivity of nanofluid samples based on functionalized (-OH) MWCNT nanoparticles. They will be analyzed nanoparticles with different functionalization degrees (4% wt, 6% wt, and 9% wt). In addition, it will be quantified other thermophysical properties (dynamic viscosity, specific heat and specific mass) of the synthetized nanofluids. So, the present work can contribute with experimental data that will help researches in the study and development of MWCNT nanofluids. According to the results, the maximum increment obtained in thermal conductivity was 10.65% in relation to the base fluid (water).

Optical and electrical properties of BaSnO_(3) and In_2O_(3) mixed transparent conductive films deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique at room temperature

For the crystalline temperature of BaSnO_(3)(BTO)was above 650℃,the transparent conductive BTO-based films were always deposited above this temperature on epitaxy substrates by pulsed laser deposition or molecular beam epitaxy till now which limited there application in low temperature device process.In the article,the microstructure,optical and electrical of BTO and In_(2)O_(3) mixed transparent conductive BaInSnO_(x)(BITO)film deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique(FCVA)on glass substrate at room temperature were firstly reported.The BITO film with thickness of 300 nm had mainly In_(2)O_(3) polycrystalline phase,and minor polycrystalline BTO phase with(001),(011),(111),(002),(222)crystal faces which were first deposited at room temperature on amorphous glass.The transmittance was 70%–80%in the visible light region with linear refractive index of 1.94 and extinction coefficient of 0.004 at 550-nm wavelength.The basic optical properties included the real and imaginary parts,high frequency dielectric constants,the absorption coefficient,the Urbach energy,the indirect and direct band gaps,the oscillator and dispersion energies,the static refractive index and dielectric constant,the average oscillator wavelength,oscillator length strength,the linear and the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities,and the nonlinear refractive index were all calculated.The film was the n-type conductor with sheet resistance of 704.7Ω/□,resistivity of 0.02Ω⋅cm,mobility of 18.9 cm2/V⋅s,and carrier electron concentration of 1.6×10^(19) cm^(−3) at room temperature.The results suggested that the BITO film deposited by FCVA had potential application in transparent conductive films-based low temperature device process.

Conduction Properties and Scattering Mechanisms in F-doped Textured Transparent Conducting SnO_2 Films Deposited by APCVD

Transparent conducting F-doped texture SnO2 films with resistivity as low as 5× 10-4 Ω ·cm,with carrier concentrations between 3.5 × 1020 and 7× 1020 cm-3 and Hall mobilities from 15.7 to 20.1 cm2/(V/s) have been prepared by atmosphere pressure chemical vapour deposition (APCVD). These polycrystalline films possess a variable preferred orientation, the polycrystallite sizes and orientations vary with substrate temperature. The substrate temperature and fluorine flow rate dependence of conductivity, Hall mobility and carrier conentration fOr the resultingfilms have been obtained. The temperature dependence of the mobiity and carrier concentrationhave been measured over a temperature range 16～400 K. A systematically theoretical analysis on scattering mechanisms for the highly conductive SnO2 films has been given. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate that for these degenerate, polycrystalline SnO2 ：F films in the low temperature range (below 100 K), ionized impurity scattering is main scattering mechanism. However, when the temperature is higher than 100 K, the lattice vibration scattering becomes dominant. The grain boundary scattering makes a small contribution to limit the mobility of the films.

Boron nitride silicone rubber composite foam with low dielectric and high thermal conductivity

Silicone rubber(SR)is widely used in the field of electronic packaging because of its low dielectric properties.In this work,the porosity of the SR was improved,and the dielectric constant of the SR foam was reduced by adding expanded microspheres(EM).Then,the thermal conductivity of the system was improved by combining the modified boron nitride(f-BN).The results showed that after the f-BN was added,the dielectric constant and dielectric loss were much lower than those of pure SR.Micron-sized modified boron nitride(f-mBN)improved the dielectric and thermal conductivity of the SR foam better than that of nano-sized modified boron nitride(f-nBN),but f-nBN improved the volume resistivity,tensile strength,and thermal stability of the SR better than f-mBN.When the mass ratio of f-mBN and fnBN is 2:1,the thermal conductivity of the SR foam reaches the maximum value of 0.808 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1),which is 6.5 times that before the addition.The heat release rate and fire growth index are the lowest,and the improvement in flame retardancy is mainly attributed to the high thermal stability and physical barrier of f-BN.

Solid-state impedance spectroscopy studies of dielectric properties and relaxation processes in Na_(2)O–V_(2)O_(5)–Nb_(2)O_(5)–P_(2)O_(5) glass

Solid-state impedance spectroscopy(SS-IS)was used to investigate the influence of structural modifications resulting from the addition of Nb2O5 on the dielectric properties and relaxation processes in the quaternary mixed glass former(MGF)system 35Na_(2)O–10V_(2)O_(5)–(55-x)P_(2)O_(5)–xNb_(2)O_(5)(x=0–40,mol%).The dielectric parameters,including the dielectric strength and dielectric loss,are determined from the frequency and temperature-dependent complex permittivity data,revealing a significant dependence on the Nb2O5 content.The transition from a predominantly phosphate glass network(x<10,region I)to a mixed niobate–phosphate glass net-work(10≤x≤20,region II)leads to an increase in the dielectric parameters,which correlates with the observed trend in the direct-cur-rent(DC)conductivity.In the predominantly niobate network(x≥25,region III),the highly polarizable nature of Nb5+ions leads to a fur-ther increase in the dielectric permittivity and dielectric strength.This is particularly evident in Nb-40 glass-ceramic,which contains Na_(13)Nb_(35)O_(94) crystalline phase with a tungsten bronze structure and exhibits the highest dielectric permittivity of 61.81 and the lowest loss factor of 0.032 at 303 K and 10 kHz.The relaxation studies,analyzed through modulus formalism and complex impedance data,show that DC conductivity and relaxation processes are governed by the same mechanism,attributed to ionic conductivity.In contrast to glasses with a single peak in frequency dependence of imaginary part of electrical modulus,M″(ω),Nb-40 glass-ceramic exhibits two distinct contributions with similar relaxation times.The high-frequency peak indicates bulk ionic conductivity,while the additional low-fre-quency peak is associated with the grain boundary effect,confirmed by the electrical equivalent circuit(EEC)modelling.The scaling characteristics of permittivity and conductivity spectra,along with the electrical modulus,validate time-temperature superposition and demonstrate a strong correlation with composition and modification of the glass structure upon Nb_(2)O_(5) incorporation.

Hydrothermal Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Proton-conducting Property of a 3-D Framework Based on Zr_3Na_3-Substituted Polyoxometalate Building Blocks

A novel Zr-substituted polyoxometalate（POM） H2K3[Na6（H2O）9][Zr3Na3O3（H2O）3-（GeW9O（34））2]·12H2O（1） has been made under hydrothermal conditions. 1 was characterized by infrared spectrum, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Crystal data are： H（50）O（95）Na9K3Ge2Zr3W（1）8, hexagonal space group P63/mmc, a = 15.2251（6）, b = 15.2251（6）, c = 25.035（2） , V = 5025.7（6） 3, Z = 2, Dc = 3.716 mg/m3, μ = 21.648 mm（-1）, F（000） = 4726, the final R = 0.0259 and w R = 0.0647 for 1487 observed reflections with I 2σ（I）. Single-crystal X-ray structure analysis reveals that 1 exhibits a 3-dimensional framework structure based on Zr3Na3-substituted polyanions [Zr3Na3O3（H2O）3（GeW9O（34））2]（11-） and [Na6（H2O）9]（6＋） clusters building blocks. UV-Vis spectrum indicates that 1 is a wide-gap semiconductor. In addition, the proton-conducting property of 1 was also investigated.

Unraveling the hydraulic properties of loess for landslide prediction:A study on variations in loess landslides in Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,China

Loess has distinctive characteristics,leading to frequent landslide disasters and posing serious threats to the lives and properties of local re sidents.The involvement of water repre sents a critical factor in inducing loess landslides.This study focuses on three neighboring cities sequentially situated on the Loess Plateau along the direction of aeolian deposition of loess,namely Lanzhou,Dingxi,and Tianshui,which are densely populated and prone to landslide disasters.The variations in hydraulic properties,including water retention capacity and permeability,are investigated through Soil Water Characteristic Curve(SWCC)test and hydraulic conductivity test.The experimental findings revealed that Tianshui loess exhibited the highest water retention capacity,followed by Dingxi loess,while Lanzhou loess demonstrated the lowest water retention capacity.Contrastingly,the results for the saturated permeability coefficient were found to be the opposite:Tianshui loess showed the lowest permeability,whereas Lanzhou loess displayed the highest permeability.These results are supported and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)observation.In addition,the water retention capacity is mathematically expressed using the van Genuchten model and extended to predict unsaturated hydraulic properties of loess.The experimental results exhibit a strong accordance with one another and align with the regional distribution patterns of disasters.

Electrochemical, Photophysical, and Magnetic Properties of Green Emitting bis(2,5-Hexyloxy)-Phenylene-<i>alt</i>-Thiophene Fluorescent Conducting Oligomer Addended Fullerene-Diol Dyad

Towards the development of potential new organic photovoltaic and optoelectronic materials, a simple route to synthesize flexibly ether linked fullerene-bis[oligo-(phenylene-alt-thiophene)] and evaluation of electrochemical, photophysical and magnetic properties is presented. Flexible ether linking of oligo-phenylene-thiophene chain to 1, 2 C60(OH)2 is achieved employing Williamson’s ether synthesis. 7-chain phenylene-thiophene chain fluorescent conducting oligomer is synthesized using Grignard coupling reaction with preservation of bromo end groups. Oligomer is highly ordered and soluble in all organic solvents while on linking to fullerene-diol, solubility of adduct restricts only to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). All the synthesized materials are characterized through spectroscopic techniques and molecular weight is determined by mass spectrometry and GPC. Properties of the material indicate the substantial effect of fullerene. High quenching in fluorescence intensity and strong paramagnetic property are observed in this material.

Dependence of Thermal Annealing on Transparent Conducting Properties of HoF_3-Doped ZnO Thin Films

A kind of n-type HoF_3-doped zinc oxide-based transparent conductive film has been developed by electron beam evaporation and studied under thermal annealing in air and vacuum at temperatures 100–500℃.Effective substitutional dopings of F to O and Ho to Zn are realized for the films with smooth surface morphology and average grain size of about 50 nm.The hall mobility,electron concentration,resistivity and work function for the asdeposited films are 47.89 cm^2/Vs,1.39×10^(20)cm^(-3),9.37×10^(-4)Ω·cm and 5.069 eV,respectively.In addition,the average transmittance in the visible region(400–700 nm)approximates to 87%.The HoF_3:ZnO films annealed in air and vacuum can retain good optoelectronic properties under 300℃,thereinto,more stable electrical properties can be found in the air-annealed films than in the vacuum-annealed films,which is assumed to be a result of improved nano-crystalline lattice quality.The optimized films for most parameters can be obtained at 200℃ for the air-annealing case and at room temperature for the vacuum annealing case.The advisable optoelectronic properties imply that HoF_3:ZnO can facilitate carrier injection and has promising applications in energy and light sources as transparent electrodes.

Investigating Stability Properties for Transition Metal Carbonate Precursors Using Universal Cluster Expansion Technique(UNCLE)as Cathodes for Li-Ion Batteries

The universal cluster expansion technique was used in this study to determine the binary phase diagrams for the transition metal carbonate precursors MCO3(M:Mn,Ni,Co).The use of mixed cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries such as NMC(Ni,Mn and Co)formulations,is a strategic approach to optimize performance,enhance safety and address cost and environmental considerations in the rapidly evolving field of energy storage.This study focuses on the cost issue related to lithium ion batteries by investigating the manganese rich NMC since manganese is more abundant and cost-effective.We doped MnCO3 with nickel and doped MnCO3 with cobalt then ran cluster expansion calculations to generate binary phases.The binary phase diagrams generated indicated that doping MnCO3 with nickel favours the Mn-rich side,while doping MnCO3 with cobalt favours 50%Mn-rich and 50%Co-rich.We further extracted the most stable structures from both binary diagrams and determined their electronic,mechanical and vibrational stabilities using DFT(density functional theory)calculations within the LDA(local gradient approximation)with Hubbard parameter(U).The electronic properties revealed that both materials are semiconductors due to their narrow energy band gap obtained while the mechanical properties showed that structures are mechanically stable since their necessary conditions for trigonal and triclinic systems were satisfied.

Effects of Substrate Temperature on Properties for Transparent Conducting ZnO:A1 Films on Organic Substrate Deposited by r.f. Sputtering

This paper presents the substrate temperature dependence of opto-electrical properties for transparent conducting Al-doped ZnO films prepared on polyisocyanate (PI) substrates by r f sputtering. Polycrystalline ZnO:Al films with good adherence to the substrates having a (002) preferred orientation have been obtained with resistivities in the range from 4.1×10-3to 5.3×104 Ωcm, carrier densities more than 2.6×1020 cm-3 and Hall mobilities between 5.78 and 13.11 cm2/V/s for films. The average transmittance reaches 75% in the visible spectrum. The quality of obtained films depends on substrate temperature during film fabrication.

Properties of doped ZnO transparent conductive thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering using a series of high quality ceramic targets

To obtain high transmittance and low resistivity ZnO transparent conductive thin films,a series of ZnO ceramic targets（ZnO：Al,ZnO：（Al,Dy）,ZnO：（Al,Gd）,ZnO：（Al,Zr）,ZnO：（Al,Nb）,and ZnO：（Al,W）） were fabricated and used to deposit thin films onto glass substrates by radio frequency（RF） magnetron sputtering.X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis shows that the films are polycrystalline fitting well with hexagonal wurtzite structure and have a preferred orientation of the（002） plane.The transmittance of above 86% as well as the lowest resistivity of 8.43 × 10^-3 Ω·cm was obtained.

Effects of surface charges on phonon properties and thermal conductivity in GaN nanofilms

Surface charges can modify the elastic modulus of nanostructure,leading to the change of the phonon and thermal properties in semiconductor nanostructure.In this work,the influence of surface charges on the phonon properties and phonon thermal conductivity of GaN nanofilm are quantitatively investigated.In the framework of continuum mechanics,the modified elastic modulus can be derived for the nanofilm with surface charges.The elastic model is presented to analyze the phonon properties such as the phonon dispersion relation,phonon group velocity,density of states of phonons in nanofilm with the surface charges.The phonon thermal conductivity of nanofilm can be obtained by considering surface charges.The simulation results demonstrate that surface charges can significantly change the phonon properties and thermal conductivity in a GaN nanofilm.Positive surface charges reduce the phonon energy and phonon group velocity but increase the density of states of phonons.The surface charges can change the size and temperature dependence of phonon thermal conductivity of GaN nanofilm.Based on these theoretical results,one can adjust the phonon properties and temperature/size dependent thermal conductivity in GaN nanofilm by changing the surface charges.

On the role of piezoelectricity in phonon properties and thermal conductivity of GaN nanofilms

The effect of piezoelectricity on phonon properties and thermal conductivity of gallium nitride （GaN） nanofilms is theoretically investigated. The elasticity model is utilized to derive the phonon properties in spatially confined GaN nanofilms. The piezoelectric constitutive relation in GaN nanofilms is taken into account in calculating the phonon dispersion relation. The modified phonon group velocity and phonon density of state as well as the phonon thermal conductivity are also obtained due to the contribution of piezoelectricity. Theoretical results show that the piezoelectricity in GaN nanofilms can change significantly the phonon properties such as the phonon group velocity and density of states, resulting in the variation of the phonon thermal conductivity of GaN nanofilms remarkably. Moreover, the piezoelectricity of GaN can modify the dependence of thermal conductivity on the geometrical size and temperature. These results can be useful in modeling the thermal performance in the active region of GaN-based electronic devices.

A Study of the Thermal Conductivity Property of the High-level Radioactive Waste Repository:The Case of Beishan Preselected Site,Gansu Province

The research and development of high-level radioactive waste(HLW)repository is a long-term systematic engineering project.Normally,it involves such stages as foundation study,site selection and assessment,underground research laboratory testing, and the design,construction,operation,and close of the repository.The key issue in repository design

Influence of t-ZrO_2 addition on mechanical property and electrical conductivity of YSZ electrolyte

8YSZ material that has high electrical conductivity is widely used as electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). But its low strength and low fracture toughness hampered the development of SOFCs. In order to find a best method to improve the capability of YSZ electrolyte, the effects of 3Y-TZP additive on the density, strength, conductivity and microstructure were studied by means of X-ray diffraction and Vicker′s hardness apparatus. The strength and conductivity of YSZ electrolyte doped with different amounts of 3Y-TZP were determined. It is shown that the samples sintered at 1450 ℃ for 2 h are the best in properties. When 3Y-TZP powders are added to the YSZ system, the results demonstrate that strength of the electrolyte increases remarkably, and the fracture toughness is improved. The electrical conductivity is lowered only slightly. The results display that the flexural strength and the fracture toughness of ceramics with 30wt.% TZP reach 300 MPa and 3.7 MPa·m1/2, respectively, and the conductivity at 1000 ℃ reaches 0.11 S·cm-1.