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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube/Polypropylene Composites with Negative Seebeck Coefficient
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Krause, Beate; Konidakis, Ioannis; Arjmand, Mohammad; Sundararaj, Uttandaraman; Fuge, Robert; Liebscher, Marco; Hampel, Silke; Klaus, Maxim; Serpetzoglou, Efthymis; Stratakis, Emmanuel; Pötschke, Petra
    This study describes the application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes that were nitrogen-doped during their synthesis (N-MWCNTs) in melt-mixed polypropylene (PP) composites. Different types of N-MWCNTs, synthesized using different methods, were used and compared. Four of the five MWCNT grades showed negative Seebeck coefficients (S), indicating n-type charge carrier behavior. All prepared composites (with a concentration between 2 and 7.5 wt% N-MWCNTs) also showed negative S values, which in most cases had a higher negative value than the corresponding nanotubes. The S values achieved were between 1.0 µV/K and −13.8 µV/K for the N-MWCNT buckypapers or powders and between −4.7 µV/K and −22.8 µV/K for the corresponding composites. With a higher content of N-MWCNTs, the increase in electrical conductivity led to increasing values of the power factor (PF) despite the unstable behavior of the Seebeck coefficient. The highest power factor was achieved with 4 wt% N-MWCNT, where a suitable combination of high electrical conductivity and acceptable Seebeck coefficient led to a PF value of 6.1 × 10−3 µW/(m·K2). First experiments have shown that transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) is a useful tool to study the carrier transfer process in CNTs in composites and to correlate it with the Seebeck coefficient.
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    Mixed Carbon Nanomaterial/Epoxy Resin for Electrically Conductive Adhesives
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Lopes, Paulo E.; Moura, Duarte; Hilliou, Loic; Krause, Beate; Pötschke, Petra; Figueiredo, Hugo; Alves, Ricardo; Lepleux, Emmanuel; Pacheco, Louis; Paiva, Maria C.
    The increasing complexity of printed circuit boards (PCBs) due to miniaturization, increased the density of electronic components, and demanding thermal management during the assembly triggered the research of innovative solder pastes and electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs). Current commercial ECAs are typically based on epoxy matrices with a high load (>60%) of silver particles, generally in the form of microflakes. The present work reports the production of ECAs based on epoxy/carbon nanomaterials using carbon nanotubes (single and multi-walled) and exfoliated graphite, as well as hybrid compositions, within a range of concentrations. The composites were tested for morphology (dispersion of the conductive nanomaterials), electrical and thermal conductivity, rheological characteristics and deposition on a test PCB. Finally, the ECA’s shelf life was assessed by mixing all the components and conductive nanomaterials, and evaluating the cure of the resin before and after freezing for a time range up to nine months. The ECAs produced could be stored at −18 °C without affecting the cure reaction.
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    Modelling and Experimental Investigation of Hexagonal Nacre-Like Structure Stiffness
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Rouhana, Rami; Stommel, Markus
    A highly ordered, hexagonal, nacre-like composite stiffness is investigated using experiments, simulations, and analytical models. Polystyrene and polyurethane are selected as materials for the manufactured specimens using laser cutting and hand lamination. A simulation geometry is made by digital microscope measurements of the specimens, and a simulation is conducted using material data based on component material characterization. Available analytical models are compared to the experimental results, and a more accurate model is derived specifically for highly ordered hexagonal tablets with relatively large in-plane gaps. The influence of hexagonal width, cut width, and interface thickness are analyzed using the hexagonal nacre-like composite stiffness model. The proposed analytical model converges within 1% with the simulation and experimental results
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    Metal Plastic Hybrids: Optimisation in model experiments [Metall-Kunststoff-Verbunde: Modellversuche zur Optimierung]
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2019) Bräuer, M.; Edelmann, M.; Lehmann, D.; Tuschla, M.
    Metal plastic hybrids will become more important as components for lightweight constructions. It is reported about optimisation of making three layer hybrids consisted of a steel plate, an adhesion layer based of uretdione powder coating material and a flexible component polyurethane in model experiments. Hybrid formation is performed in a compression moulding process. The adhesion layer and the polyurethane are modified to increase the hybrid bond strength. Peel test are conducted to quantitatively characterize the bond strength and an apparent energy release rate is calculated based on the peel force. For hybrids with widths of 2 mm polyurethane stripes it is possible to increase the apparent energy release rate for about 30 % to 16 N/mm in comparison with a hybrid with unmodified components. These hybrids have the same high bond strength level as the strongest hybrids reported in literature. Concluding the optimisation results are discussed related to their relevancy for the interpretation of the adhesion mechanisms in the interface between adhesion layer and polyurethane. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.
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    Polydopamine-Coated Paraffin Microcapsules as a Multifunctional Filler Enhancing Thermal and Mechanical Performance of a Flexible Epoxy Resin
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Fredi, Giulia; Zimmerer, Cordelia; Scheffler, Christina; Pegoretti, Alessandro
    This work focuses on flexible epoxy (EP) composites containing various amounts of neat and polydopamine (PDA)-coated paraffin microcapsules as a phase change material (PCM), which have potential applications as adhesives or flexible interfaces with thermal management capability for electronics or other high-value-added fields. After PDA modification, the surface of PDA-coated capsules (MC-PDA) becomes rough with a globular appearance, and the PDA layer enhances the adhesion with the surrounding epoxy matrix, as shown by scanning electron microscopy. PDA deposition parameters have been successfully tuned to obtain a PDA layer with a thickness of 53 ± 8 nm, and the total PDA mass in MC-PDA is only 2.2 wt %, considerably lower than previous results. This accounts for the fact that the phase change enthalpy of MC-PDA is only marginally lower than that of neat microcapsules (MC), being 221.1 J/g and 227.7 J/g, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry shows that the phase change enthalpy of the prepared composites increases with the capsule content (up to 87.8 J/g) and that the enthalpy of the composites containing MC-PDA is comparable to that of the composites with MC. Dynamic mechanical analysis evidences a decreasing step in the storage modulus of all composites at the glass transition of the EP phase, but no additional signals are detected at the PCM melting. PCM addition positively contributes to the storage modulus both at room temperature and above Tg of the EP phase, and this effect is more evident for composites containing MC-PDA. As the capsule content increases, the mechanical properties of the host EP matrix also increase in terms of elastic modulus (up to +195%), tensile strength (up to +42%), Shore D hardness (up to +36%), and creep compliance (down to −54% at 60 min). These effects are more evident for composites containing MC-PDA due to the enhanced interfacial adhesion.
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    Understanding the Coupling Effect between Lignin and Polybutadiene Elastomer
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) Hait, Sakrit; De, Debapriya; Ghosh, Prasenjit; Chanda, Jagannath; Mukhopadhyay, Rabindra; Dasgupta, Saikat; Sallat, Aladdin; Al Aiti, Muhannad; Stöckelhuber, Klaus Werner; Wießner, Sven; Heinrich, Gert; Das, Amit
    From an environmental and economic viewpoint, it is a win–win strategy to use materials obtained from renewable resources for the production of high-performance elastomer composites. Lignin, being a renewable biomass, was employed as a functional filler material to obtain an elastomer composite with a higher degree of mechanical performance. In the presence of a suitable coupling agent, an elevated temperature was preferred for the reactive mixing of lignin with polybutadiene rubber (BR). It is quite fascinating that the mechanical performance of this composite was comparable with carbon black-filled composites. The extraordinary reinforcing behavior of lignin in the BR matrix was understood by an available model of rubber reinforcement. In rubber composite preparation, the interfacial interaction between polybutadiene rubber and lignin in the presence of a coupling agent enabled the efficient dispersion of lignin into the rubber matrix, which is responsible for the excellent mechanical properties of the rubber composites. The rubber composites thus obtained may lead to the development of a sustainable and cost-effective end product with reliable performance. This novel approach could be implemented in other type of elastomeric materials, enabling a genuine pathway toward a sustainable globe.