Organic/inorganic nanocomposite polymer electrolyte

The organic/inorganic nanocomposites polymer electrolytes were designed and synthesized. The organic/inorganic nanocomposites membrane materials and their lithium salt complexes have been found thermally stable below 200 °C. The conductivity of the organic/inorganic nanocomposites polymer electrolytes prepared at room temperature was at magnitude range of 10(?6) S/cm.

Some basic aspects of polymer nanocomposites: A critical review

Polymer nanocomposites have been investigated for about three decades. To get deep insights into the modifying effects of various nanofillers on mechanical and physical properties of polymer nanocomposites, the three basic aspects of processing, characterization and properties are critically reviewed in this paper. Nanofillers can be classified into three major types of two-dimensional (2D) layered, one-dimensional (1D) fibrous and zerodimensional (0D) spherical ones and this review thus discusses in detail the processing, characterization and properties of the three types of polymer nanocomposites. It starts with an introduction of various nanoscale fillers such as two-dimensional (2D) nano-clay, graphene and MXene, one dimensional (1D) carbon nanofibers and nanotubes, zero dimensional (0D) silica nanoparticles and ZnO quantum dots as well as nanofiller-polymer interfaces. The processing of these polymer nanocomposites using different methods and the characterization of nanofillers and polymer nanocomposites using various techniques are described. Finally, the mechanical and physical properties of these polymer nanocomposites are discussed by considering the effects of nanofiller type, dispersion and contents;also, interface properties show significant effects on the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites and are discussed in some details.

Tailoring Practically Accessible Polymer/Inorganic Composite Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries:A Review

Solid-state electrolytes(SSEs)are widely considered the essential components for upcoming rechargeable lithium-ion batteries owing to the potential for great safety and energy density.Among them,polymer solid-state electrolytes(PSEs)are competitive candidates for replacing commercial liquid electrolytes due to their flexibility,shape versatility and easy machinability.Despite the rapid development of PSEs,their practical application still faces obstacles including poor ionic conductivity,narrow electrochemical stable window and inferior mechanical strength.Polymer/inorganic composite electrolytes(PIEs)formed by adding ceramic fillers in PSEs merge the benefits of PSEs and inorganic solid-state electrolytes(ISEs),exhibiting appreciable comprehensive properties due to the abundant interfaces with unique characteristics.Some PIEs are highly compatible with high-voltage cathode and lithium metal anode,which offer desirable access to obtaining lithium metal batteries with high energy density.This review elucidates the current issues and recent advances in PIEs.The performance of PIEs was remarkably influenced by the characteristics of the fillers including type,content,morphology,arrangement and surface groups.We focus on the molecular interaction between different components in the composite environment for designing high-performance PIEs.Finally,the obstacles and opportunities for creating high-performance PIEs are outlined.This review aims to provide some theoretical guidance and direction for the development of PIEs.

Recent Advances in Fabrication and Characterization of Graphene-Polymer Nanocomposites

Graphene has attracted considerable interest over recent years due to its intrinsic mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. Incorporation of small quantity of graphene fillers into polymer can create novel nanocomposites with im- proved structural and functional properties. This review introduced the recent progress in fabrication, properties and potential applications of graphene-polymer composites. Recent research clearly confirmed that graphene-polymer na-nocomposites are promising materials with applications ranging from transportation, biomedical systems, sensors, elec-trodes for solar cells and electromagnetic interference. In addition to graphene-polymer nanocomposites, this article also introduced the synergistic effects of hybrid graphene-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the properties of composites. Finally, some technical problems associated with the development of these nanocomposites are discussed.

Ameliorating the interfacial issues of all-solid-state lithium metal batteries by constructing polymer/inorganic composite electrolyte

Lithium metal is one of the most promising anodes for next-generation batteries due to its high capacity and low reduction potential.However,the notorious Li dendrites can cause the short life span and safety issues,hindering the extensive application of lithium batteries.Herein,Li_(7)La_(3)Zr_(2)O_(12)(LLZO)ceramics are integrated into polyethylene oxide(PEO)to construct a facile polymer/inorganic composite solid-state electrolyte(CSSE)to inhibit the growth of Li dendrites and widen the electrochemical stability window.Given the feasibility of our strategy,the designed PEO-LLZO-LiTFSI composite solid-state electrolyte(PLLCSSE)exhibits an outstanding cycling property of 134.2 mAh g^(-1) after 500 cycles and the Coulombic efficiency of 99.1%after 1000 cycles at 1 C in LiFePO_(4)-Li cell.When cooperated with LiNi_(0.6)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.2)O_(2)(NCM622)cathode,the PLL-CSSE renders a capacity retention of 82.4%after 200 cycles at 0.2 C.More importantly,the uniform dispersion of LLZO in PEO matrix is tentative tested via Raman and FT-IR spectra and should be responsible for the improved electrochemical performance.The same conclusion can be drawn from the interface investigation after cycling.This work presents an intriguing solid-state electrolyte with high electrochemical performance,which will boost the development of all-solid-state lithium batteries with high energy density.

PVDF-Based Micro Inorganic Fillers-Containing Polymer Electrolyte Membranes

Polymer electrolyte membranes based on poly （vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene） （PVDFHFP） with and without different types of micro inorganic fillers were prepared by phase-inversion process. Morphologies, porosities and electrochemical properties ＇of the as-prepared membranes were investigated by means of scanning electronic microscopy （SEM）, PC （propylene carbonate） uptake and alternating current （AC） impedance technique. Compared with other membranes, the membrane with micro SiO2 filler shows a dense morphology so that its PC uptake is the highest, namely, 339 %. The membrane filled with micro TiO2 exhibits good electrochemical performances： the ion conductivity is as high as 1.1 × 10^-3 S/cm at 18 ℃, which can meet the demand of lithium ion batteries. Moreover, its initial charge-discharge efficiency exceeds 89 %. The composite membranes with micro SiO2, TiO2 and Al2O3 are more suitable for the utilization in lithium ion batteries due to better cycle.ability, whereas the battery assembled with the blank membrane containing no inorganic fillers encounters a short circuit after the 5th cycle.

The critical role of inorganic nanofillers in solid polymer composite electrolyte for Li+transportation

Compared with commercial lithium batteries with liquid electrolytes,all-solidstate lithium batteries(ASSLBs)possess the advantages of higher safety,better electrochemical stability,higher energy density,and longer cycle life;therefore,ASSLBs have been identified as promising candidates for next-generation safe and stable high-energy-storage devices.The design and fabrication of solid-state electrolytes(SSEs)are vital for the future commercialization of ASSLBs.Among various SSEs,solid polymer composite electrolytes(SPCEs)consisting of inorganic nanofillers and polymer matrix have shown great application prospects in the practice of ASSLBs.The incorporation of inorganic nanofillers into the polymer matrix has been considered as a crucial method to achieve high ionic conductivity for SPCE.In this review,the mechanisms of Li+transport variation caused by incorporating inorganic nanofillers into the polymer matrix are discussed in detail.On the basis of the recent progress,the respective contributions of polymer chains,passive ceramic nanofillers,and active ceramic nanofillers in affecting the Li+transport process of SPCE are reviewed systematically.The inherent relationship between the morphological characteristics of inorganic nanofillers and the ionic conductivity of the resultant SPCE is discussed.Finally,the challenges and future perspectives for developing high-performance SPCE are put forward.This review aims to provide possible strategies for the further improvement of ionic conductivity in inorganic nanoscale filler-reinforced SPCE and highlight their inspiration for future research directions.

Layered Foam/Film Polymer Nanocomposites with Highly Efficient EMI Shielding Properties and Ultralow Reflection

Lightweight,high-efficiency and low reflection electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding polymer composites are greatly desired for addressing the challenge of ever-increasing electromagnetic pollution.Lightweight layered foam/film PVDF nanocomposites with efficient EMI shielding effectiveness and ultralow reflection power were fabricated by physical foaming.The unique layered foam/film structure was composed of PVDF/SiCnw/MXene(Ti_(3)C_(2)Tx)composite foam as absorption layer and highly conductive PVDF/MWCNT/GnPs composite film as a reflection layer.The foam layer with numerous heterogeneous interfaces developed between the SiC nanowires(SiCnw)and 2D MXene nanosheets imparted superior EM wave attenuation capability.Furthermore,the microcellular structure effectively tuned the impedance matching and prolonged the wave propagating path by internal scattering and multiple reflections.Meanwhile,the highly conductive PVDF/MWCNT/GnPs composite(~220 S m^(−1))exhibited superior reflectivity(R)of 0.95.The tailored structure in the layered foam/film PVDF nanocomposite exhibited an EMI SE of 32.6 dB and a low reflection bandwidth of 4 GHz(R<0.1)over the Kuband(12.4-18.0 GHz)at a thickness of 1.95 mm.A peak SER of 3.1×10^(-4) dB was obtained which corresponds to only 0.0022% reflection efficiency.In consequence,this study introduces a feasible approach to develop lightweight,high-efficiency EMI shielding materials with ultralow reflection for emerging applications.

Vapor Phase Polymerization Deposition Conducting Polymer Nanocomposites on Porous Dielectric Surface as High Performance Electrode Materials

We report chemical vapor phase polymerization(VPP) deposition of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(PEDOT) and PEDOT/graphene on porous dielectric tantalum pentoxide(Ta_2O_5) surface as cathode films for solid tantalum electrolyte capacitors. The modified oxidant/oxidant-graphene films were first deposited on Ta_2O_5 by dip-coating, and VPP process was subsequently utilized to transfer oxidant/oxidant-graphene into PEDOT/PEDOT-graphene films. The SEM images showed PEDOT/PEDOT-graphene films was successfully constructed on porous Ta_2O_5 surface through VPP deposition, and a solid tantalum electrolyte capacitor with conducting polymer-graphene nano-composites as cathode films was constructed. The high conductivity nature of PEDOT-graphene leads to resistance decrease of cathode films and lower contact resistance between PEDOT/graphene and carbon paste. This nano-composite cathode films based capacitor showed ultralow equivalent series resistance(ESR) ca. 12 m? and exhibited excellent capacitance-frequency performance, which can keep 82% of initial capacitance at 500 KHz. The investigation on leakage current revealed that the device encapsulation process has no influence on capacitor leakage current, indicating the excellent mechanical strength of PEDOT/PEDOT-gaphene films. This high conductivity and mechanical strength of graphene-based polymer films shows promising future for electrode materials such as capacitors, organic solar cells and electrochemical energy storage devices.

Atomic insights into synergistic effect of pillared graphene by carbon nanotube on the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to explore the underlying synergistic mechanism of pillared graphene or non-covalent connected graphene and carbon nanotubes(CNTs) on the mechanical properties of polyethylene(PE) nanocomposites. By constructing the pillared graphene model and CNTs/graphene model, the effect of the structure, arrangement and dispersion of hybrid fillers on the tensile mechanical properties of PE nanocomposites was studied. The results show that the pillared graphene/PE nanocomposites exhibit higher Young’s modulus, tensile strength and elongation at break than non-covalent connected CNTs/graphene/PE nanocomposites. The pull-out simulations show that pillared graphene by CNTs has both large interfacial load and long displacement due to the mixed modes of shear separation and normal separation. Additionally, pillared graphene can not only inhibit agglomeration but also form a compact effective thickness(stiff layer), consistent with the adsorption behavior and improved interfacial energy between pillared graphene and PE matrix.

Nanoscale in Wood,Nanowood and Wood-Inorganic Nanocomposites

In order to introduce nano science and technology (NST) into the research field of wood science and technology, and promote the research of wood science and wood-inorganic composites to nanoscale, some new concepts, such as the nano space in wood, nano structure units of wood and nanowood are put forward in this paper based on the layer structure of wood cell wall and the pile-up model of its main components. Furthermore, the process of preparing nanowood is discussed, and wood-inorganic nanocom-posites may be operated in three ways with wood (matrix) and inorganic filler phase in 0-2, 0-3 or 2-3 dimensions respectively. The following results are obtained: (1) The nanoscale voids in wood indicate that wood has inherent space to accommodate nanosized materials, such as nanoparticles, nanotubes and nanosticks; (2) According to the size from top down, the nano structure units in wood can be classified as: nanolayers, nano CMF (cellulose microfibril) and matrix, nano crystallite units and cellulose chain clusters, and these can theoretically form nanowood; (3) The preparation of wood-inorganic nanocomposites can be operated on 0-2, 0-3 or 2-3 dimensions.

Nanocomposite Polymer Hydrogels Reinforced by Carbon Dots and Hectorite Clay

Herein, two nanoparticles with different dimensions, spherical carbon dots (C-dots) and sheetlike hectorite clay, were used as physical crosslinkers to fabricate C-dots-clay-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)nanocompositehydrogels (coded as C-dots-clay-PNIPAm hydrogels). The mechanical properties, fluorescence features and thermal-responsive properties of the C-dots-clay-PNIPAm hydrogels were evaluated. The experimental results indicate that synergistic effects of C-dots and hectorite clay nanoparticles are able to significantly enhance mechanical properties of the hydrogels. The hydrogels can be stretched up to 1730%with strength as high as 250 kPa when the C-dots concentration is 0.1wt%and the clay concentration is 6wt%. The hydrogels exhibit complete self-healing through autonomic reconstruction of crosslinked network a damaged interface. The hydrogels show favorable thermal-responsive properties with the volume phase transition around 34℃. In addition, the hydrogels are endowed with fluorescence features that are associated with C-dots in the hydrogels. It can be expected that the as-fabricated C-dots-clay-PNIPAm hydrogels are promising for applications in sensors, biomedical carriers and tissue engineering.

The roles of polymer-graphene interface and contact resistance among nanosheets in the effective conductivity of nanocomposites

The effective conductivity of graphene-based nanocomposites is suggested by the characteristics of polymer-filler interfacial areas as well as the contact resistance between the neighboring nanosheets.The interfacial properties are expressed by the effective levels of the inverse aspect ratio and the filler volume fraction.Moreover,the resistances of components in the contact regions are used to define the contact resistance,which inversely affects the effective conductivity.The obtained model is utilized to predict the effective conductivity for some examples.The discrepancy of the effective conductivity at various ranks of all factors is clarified.The interfacial conductivity directly controls the effective conductivity,while the filler conductivity plays a dissimilar role in the effective conductivity,due to the incomplete interfacial adhesion.A high operative conductivity is also achieved by small contact distances and high interfacial properties.Additionally,big contact diameters and little tunnel resistivity decrease the contact resistance,thus enhancing the effective conductivity.

A comparative study of polymer nanocomposites containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets

Featuring exceptional mechanical and functional performance, MWCNTs and graphene(nano)platelets(GNPs or Gn Ps;each platelet below 10 nm in thickness) have been increasingly used for the development of polymer nanocomposites. Since MWCNTs are now cost-effective at US$30 per kg for industrial applications, this work starts by briefly reviewing the disentanglement and surface modification of MWCNTs as well as the properties of the resulting polymer nanocomposites. GNPs can be made through the thermal treatment of graphite intercalation compounds followed by ultrasonication;GNPs would have lower cost yet higher electrical conductivity over 1,400 S cmthan MWCNTs. Through proper surface modification and compounding techniques, both types of fillers can reinforce or toughen polymers and simultaneously add anti-static performance. A high ratio of MWCNTs to GNPs would increase the synergy for polymers. Green, solvent-free systhesis methods are desired for polymer nanocomposites. Perspectives on the limitations, current challenges and future prospects are provided.

Synthesis and characterization of luminescent organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite from polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

A novel polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane(POSS)-based organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposite(EF-POSS) was prepared by Pt-catalyzed hydrosilylation reaction of octahydridosilsesquioxane(T_8H_8,POSS) with a luminescent substituted acetylene(2- ethynyl-7-(4-(4-methylstyryl)styryl)-9,9-dioctyl-9H-fluorene(EF)) in high yield.The hybrid nanocomposite was soluble in common solvents such as CH_2Cl_2,CHCl_3,THF and 1,4-dioxane.Its structure and property were characterized by FTIR, NMR,TGA,UV and PL,respectively.The results show that the hybrid nanocomposite with high thermal stability emits stable blue light as a result of photo excitation and possesses high photoluminescence quantum efficiency(φ_(FL)).

SYNTHESIS AND BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF VINYL POLYMERINORGANIC HYBRID AND MESOPOROUS MATERIALS

We describe the sol-gel synthesis of a new family of organic-inorganic hybrid materials, in which various vinyl polymers are covalently bonded to and uniformly distributed in inorganic oxide matrices. The materials can be tailored to have both good toughness and hardness while maintaining excellent optical transparency. Doping the sol-gel metal oxides with optically active compounds such as D-glucose results in new optical rotatory composite materials. Removal of the dopant compounds from the composites affords mesoporous oxide materials; which represents a new, nonsurfactant-templated route to mesoporous molecular sieves. We have successfully immobilized a series of enzymes and other bioactive agents in mesoporous materials. Catalytical activities of the enzyme encapsulated in mesoporous materials were found to be much higher than those encapsulated in microporous materials.

Preparation, Characterization and Frictional Properties of Silane Self-Assembled Elastomeric Nanocomposite Polymer Layers

A novel surface modification method was proposed to improve the tribological property of Si. Multilayers were grown on Si（100） substrate by self-assembling monolayer （SAMs） method and filtered catholic vacuum arc （FCVA） technique. The film composition and structure were characterized by using x-ray photoelectron spectroscope （XPS） and Raman spectroscopy （Raman）. Surface morphology and the roughness were also analyzed by an atomic force microscope （AFM） and a scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The frictional behaviors of the films were evaluated by a UMT tester. Results showed that elastomeric nanocomposite monolayer prepared by SAM was uniformly distributed and isotropy, and the diamond-like carbon （DLC） film was successfully deposited by the FCVA technique. The friction coefficients of the prepared samples were in the range of 0.108-0.188. Furthermore, the friction coefficient slightly increased but the surface quality of the wear trace was improved after adding the copolymer elastomeric macromolecules SEBS on aminopropyl-triethoxysilane （APS） layer due to the inherent long chain of SEBS which abated the immediate impulsion at the interface and changed the kinetic energy into elastic potential energy, and stored it in SEBS.

Photorefractivity in a Bi-functional Polymer Nanocomposites Sensitized by CdS Nanoparticle

We report an organic/inorganic hybridized nanocomposite consisting of a bi-functional poly（N-vinyl）-3-[p-nitrophenylazo]carbazolyl serves as a polymeric charge-transporting and second-order nonliner optical matrix, and CdS nanoparticles as photosensitizers to manifest photorefractive （PR） effect. The unpoled PVNPAK film exhibits a second harmonic generation （SHG） coefficient of 4.7 pm/V due to the possibility of self-alignment of the azo chromophore. Significant enhancement of photoconductivity is noticed with the increase of CdS nanoparticles concentration. The photorefractive property of the polymer nanocomposites were determined by two-beam coupling （TBC） experiment. The TBC gain and diffraction efficiency of 11.89 cm-1 and 3.2% were obtained for PVNPAK/CdS at zero electrical field.

Coagulation Mechanisms during the Substitution of Inorganic Salts with Cationic Polymers to Increase the Sludge Value

Phosphorus in wastewater sludge is a valuable resource although coagulated sludge reported to give only 10% of plant availability of phosphates. Since all Al and Fe added as coagulants end up in sludge, the potential to substitute them with cationic coagulants was studied. During combined coagulation, substitution possibilities up to 44% were observed with low coagulant-to-particle ratio where the adsorption-charge neutralisation (ACN) anticipated being the predominant mechanism. Comparatively high coagulant-to-particle ratio preferred Sweep-floc mechanism giving <20% substitution possibilities, though even lower values anticipated at higher phosphate removals. The cationic polymers’ ability to compete with positively charged Al- and Fe-hydrolysis products was argued as the explanation for higher substitution possibilities during ACN mechanism. Sub-stitutions can be enhanced with dual coagulation with intermediate sludge separation by avoiding competition between two coagulants.