Mechanical, electrical, and thermal expansion properties of carbon nanotube-based silver and silver–palladium alloy composites

The mechanical, electrical, and thermal expansion properties of carbon nanotube（CNT）-based silver and silver–palladium（10：1, w/w） alloy nanocomposites are reported. To tailor the properties of silver, CNTs were incorporated into a silver matrix by a modified molecular level-mixing process. CNTs interact weakly with silver because of their non-reactive nature and lack of mutual solubility. Therefore, palladium was utilized as an alloying element to improve interfacial adhesion. Comparative microstructural characterizations and property evaluations of the nanocomposites were performed. The structural characterizations revealed that decorated type-CNTs were dispersed, embedded, and anchored into the silver matrix. The experimental results indicated that the modification of the silver and silver–palladium nanocomposite with CNT resulted in increases in the hardness and Young＇s modulus along with concomitant decreases in the electrical conductivity and the coefficient of thermal expansion（CTE）. The hardness and Young＇s modulus of the nanocomposites were increased by 30%？40% whereas the CTE was decreased to 50%-60% of the CTE of silver. The significantly improved CTE and the mechanical properties of the CNT-reinforced silver and silver–palladium nanocomposites are correlated with the intriguing properties of CNTs and with good interfacial adhesion between the CNTs and silver as a result of the fabrication process and the contact action of palladium as an alloying element.

STUDY ON THE STRUCTURE, ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES AND CONDUCTION MECHANISM 0F THE MULTICRYSTAL MULTIPHASE MATERIAL Li_2MO_2-xWxO_6

The conductivity of non-crystalline fast ionic conductor for B_2O_3-Li_2O-LiCl-Al_2O_3 system is studiedin this paper. The glass structure of this system is discussed by means of infrared spectrum and X-ray fluorescence analysis, and the effects of LiCl and A1_2O_3 on the conductivity of Li^+ in the system are studied as well. Adding Li_2O to the system gives rise to transfer from [BO_3] triangular units to [BO_4] tetrahedral. When Li_2O content exceeds 30mol%, the main group of the glass is the diborate group with more [BO_4] tetrahedra. The adding of LiCl has no obvious influence on the glass structure, and LiCl is under a state dissociated by network, but with the increase of LiCl, the increase of conductivity is obvious. By adding A1_2O_3, the glass can be formed when the room-temperature is cooling down,the conductivity decreases while the conductive activatory energy increases for the glass. The experiment shows that conductivity in the room-temperature is σ= 6.2×10^(-6)Ω^(-1)cm^(-1), when at 300℃, the σ=6.8×10^(-3)Ω^(-1)cm^(-1). The conductive activatory energy computed is 0.6～1.0eV.

Preparation of ZAO film by low-temperature hydrothermal approach and its electrical property

Al-doped ZnO (ZAO) films were successfully deposited on the surface of common glasses by using low-temperature hydrothermal approach. In the reaction solution, the molar ratio of Al3+ to Zn2+ was 1∶100, the annealing temperature and time were 200 ℃ and 2-6 h, respectively. The structure of the thin films was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the surface morphology and thickness of the thin films were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the electrical performance of the thin films was measured by four-point probes. It was shown that the films with an average particle size of 27.53 nm had a preferential orientation along (002), Al3+ had replaced the position of Zn2+ in the lattice without forming the Al2O3 phase and its thickness was 20-25 μm. With the increased annealing time, the intensity of diffraction peaks was decreased, the film exhibited irregular surface morphology gradually, and the resistivity of ZAO films was increased. The lowest resistivity obtained in this study was 3.45×10-5Ω·cm.

Mechanical Properties and Compression Sensibility of Ironstone Aggregate Concrete

Radiation-shielding concrete was made with ironstone aggregate. The compressive strength is affected by multi factors. The electrical conductive properties and smart performance was discovered and investigated. Experimental results show that concrete conductivity rapidly declines with increasing loading, and the conductivity is much lower than the initial value of conductive aggregate of concrete, which may be related to special characters of ironstone. This kind of concrete has widely potential applications due to its special characters and low cost.

Influence of graphene nanoplatelet incorporation and dispersion state on thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of biodegradable matrices

Graphene nanoplatelets （GNPs） were used as multifunctional nanofiller to enhance thermal and mechanical properties as well as electrical conductivity of two different biodegradable thermoplastics： poly lactide （PLA） and poly （butylene adipate-co-terephthalate） （PBAT）. Morphological investigations showed different levels of GNP dispersion in the two matrices, and consequently physical properties of the two systems exhibited dissimilar behaviours with GNP incorporation. Crystallinity of PLA, determined from differential scanning calorimetry, was observed to increase markedly with addition of GNPs in contrast to the decrease in crystallinity of PBAT. Isothermal and non-isothermal thermogravimetric analyses also revealed a more significant delay in thermal decomposition of PLA upon addition of GNPs compared to that of PBAT. Furthermore, results showed that increasing GNP content of PLA and PBAT nanocomposites influenced their Young＇s modulus and electrical conductivity in different ways. Modulus of PBAT increased continuously with increasing GNP loading while that of PLA reached a maximum at 9wt% GNPs and then decreased. Moreover, despite the higher conductivity of pure PBAT compared to pure PLA, conductivity of PLA/GNP nanocomposites overtook that of PBATIGNP nanocomposites above a certain GNP concentration. This demonstrated the determining effect of nanoplatelets dispersion state on the matrices properties.

A high-strength,ductile Al-0.35Sc-0.2Zr alloy with good electrical conductivity strengthened by coherent nanosized-precipitates

Ductility and electrical conductivity of metallic materials are inversely correlated with their strength,resulting in a difficulty of optimizing all three simultaneously. We design an Al-Sc-Zr-based alloy using semisolid extrusion to yield a good trade-off between strength and ductility along with excellent electrical conductivity. The Al-0.35Sc-0.2Zr wire with a diameter of 3 mm exhibited the best combined properties： a tensile strength of 210 ± 2 MPa, elongation of 7.6% ± 0.5%, and an electrical conductivity of 34.9 ± 0.05 MS/m. The average particle size of nanosized Al3（Sc, Zr） precipitates increased from 6.5 ± 0.5 nm to 25.0 ± 0.5 nm as the aging time increased from 1 h to 96 h at 380 °C, accompanied by the corresponding volume fraction variation from（6.2 ± 0.1） × 10^（-4） to（3.7 ± 0.1） × 10^（-3）. As proved by transmission electron microscopy observation, the high strength originates from the effective blockage of dislocation motion by numerous nanosized Al3（Sc, Zr） precipitates whilst both electrical conductivity and ductility remain at a high level due to the coherent precipitates possessing an extremely low electrical resistivity.

Aluminum matrix composites reinforced by molybdenum-coated carbon nanotubes

To extend the application of carbon nanotubes （CNTs） and explore novel aluminum matrix composites,CNTs were coated by molybdenum layers using metal organic chemical vapor deposition,and then Mo-coated CNT （Mo-CNT）/Al composites were prepared by the combination processes of powder mixing and spark plasma sintering.The influences of powder mixing and Mo-CNT content on the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the composites were investigated.The results show that magnetic stirring is better than mechanical milling for mixing the Mo-CNTs and Al powders.The electrical conductivity of the composites decreases with increasing Mo-CNT content.When the Mo-CNT content is 0.5wt%,the tensile strength and hardness of Mo-CNT/Al reach their maximum values.The tensile strength of 0.5wt% Mo-CNT/Al increases by 29.9%,while the electrical conductivity only decreases by 7.1%,relative to sintered pure Al.The phase analysis of Mo-CNT/Al composites reveals that there is no formation of Al carbide in the composites.

Performance improvement of continuous carbon nanotube fibers by acid treatment

Continuous CNT fibers have been directly fabricated in a speed of 50 m/h-400 m/h,based on an improved chemical vapor deposition method.As-prepared fibers are further post-treated by acid.According to the SEM images and Raman spectra,the acid treatment results in the compaction and surface modification of the CNTs in fibers,which are beneficial for the electron and load transfer.Compared to the HNO3 treatment,HClSO_3 or H_2SO_4 treatment is more effective for the improvement of the fibers＇ properties.After HCISO_3 treatment for 2 h,the fibers＇ strength and electrical conductivity reach up to-2 GPa and-4.3 MS/m,which are promoted by-200%and almost one order of magnitude than those without acid treatment,respectively.The load-bearing status of the CNT fibers are analyzed based on the downshifts of the G＇ band and the strain transfer factor of the fibers under tension.The results reveal that acid treatment could greatly enhance the load transfer and inter-bundle strength.With the HCISO3 treatment,the strain transfer factor is enhanced from-3.9%to-53.6%.

Optical,UV-Vis spectroscopy studies,electrical and dielectric properties of transition metal-based of the novel organic–inorganic hybrid(C_(6)H_(10)N_(2))(Hg_(2)Cl_(5))_(2)·3H_(2)O

In this work,we are interested in the synthesis of new hybrid material(C_(6)H_(10)N_(2))(Hg_(2)Cl_(5))_(2)·3H_(2)O grown by hydrothermal methods.X-ray diffraction indicates that this compound crystallizes at 150(2)K in the monoclinic system with C2/c space group,with the following unit cell parameters:a=19:6830(15)Å,b=18:1870(15)Å,c=6:8567(6)Å,β=93:224ð3Þ○and Z=4.On the other hand,the optical properties of this compound were studied using ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis)spectroscopy in the range 200-800 nm.Furthermore,the optical absorbances are used to determine the absorption coefficientαand the optical band gap E g,so the Tauc model was used to determine the optical gap energy of the compound(C_(6)H_(10)N_(2))(Hg_(2)Cl_(5))_(2)·3H_(2)O.The analysis of the results revealed the existence of optical allowed indirect transition mechanisms with the band gap energy equal to(2.37 eV)for liquid and(4.33 eV)for solid.Impedance measurements indicate that the electrical and dielectric properties are strongly dependent on both temperature and frequency.Nyquist plots(Z'' versus Z ')show that the conductivity behavior is accurately represented by an equivalent circuit model which consists of a series combination of bulk and grain boundary.Furthermore,the angular frequency dependence plots of the real and imaginary parts,ε' andε'',of complex dielectric permittivityε*and tanδlosses at several temperatures between 303 and 453 K were studied for the title compound.Finally,the modulus plots can be characterized by the presence of two relaxation peaks.

Flexible conductive polymer composites for smart wearable strain sensors

Wearable strain sensors based on flexible conductive polymer composites(FCPCs)have attracted great attention due to their applications in the fields of human–machine interaction,disease diagnostics,human motion detection,and soft robotic skin.In recent decades,FCPC‐based strain sensors with high stretchability and sensitivity,short response time,and excellent stability have been developed,which are expected to be more versatile and intelligent.Smart strain sensors are required to provide wearable comfort,such as breathability,selfcooling ability,and so forth.To adapt to the harsh environment,wearable strain sensors should also be highly adaptive to protect the skin and the sensor itself.In addition,portable power supply system,multisite sensing capability,and multifunctionality are crucial for the next generation of FCPC‐based strain sensor.