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    Nanofiller dispersion, morphology, mechanical behavior, and electrical properties of nanostructured styrene-butadiene-based triblock copolymer/CNT composites
    (Basel : MDPI, 2019) Staudinger, Ulrike; Satapathy, Bhabani K.; Jehnichen, Dieter
    A nanostructured linear triblock copolymer based on styrene and butadiene with lamellar morphology is filled with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of up to 1 wt% by melt compounding. This study deals with the dispersability of the MWCNTs within the nanostructured matrix and its consequent impact on block copolymer (BCP) morphology, deformation behavior, and the electrical conductivity of composites. By adjusting the processing parameters during melt mixing, the dispersion of the MWCNTs within the BCP matrix are optimized. In this study, the morphology and glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the hard and soft phase are not significantly influenced by the incorporation of MWCNTs. However, processing-induced orientation effects of the BCP structure are reduced by the addition of MWCNT accompanied by a decrease in lamella size. The stress-strain behavior of the triblock copolymer/MWCNT composites indicate higher Young’s modulus and pronounced yield point while retaining high ductility (strain at break ~ 400%). At a MWCNT content of 1 wt%, the nanocomposites are electrically conductive, exhibiting a volume resistivity below 3 × 103 Ω·cm. Accordingly, the study offers approaches for the development of mechanically flexible functional materials while maintaining a remarkable structural property profile.
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    Epitaxial stannate pyrochlore thin films: Limitations of cation stoichiometry and electron doping
    (Melville, NY : AIP Publishing, 2021) Hensling, Felix V. E.; Dahliah, Diana; Dulal, Prabin; Singleton, Patrick; Sun, Jiaxin; Schubert, Jürgen; Paik, Hanjong; Subedi, Indra; Subedi, Biwas; Rignanese, Gian-Marco; Podraza, Nikolas J.; Hautier, Geoffroy; Schlom, Darrell G.
    We have studied the growth of epitaxial films of stannate pyrochlores with a general formula A2Sn2O7 (A = La and Y) and find that it is possible to incorporate ∼25% excess of the A-site constituent; in contrast, any tin excess is expelled. We unravel the defect chemistry, allowing for the incorporation of excess A-site species and the mechanism behind the tin expulsion. An A-site surplus is manifested by a shift in the film diffraction peaks, and the expulsion of tin is apparent from the surface morphology of the film. In an attempt to increase La2Sn2O7 conductivity through n-type doping, substantial quantities of tin have been substituted by antimony while maintaining good film quality. The sample remained insulating as explained by first-principles computations, showing that both the oxygen vacancy and antimony-on-tin substitutional defects are deep. Similar conclusions are drawn on Y2Sn2O7. An alternative n-type dopant, fluorine on oxygen, is shallow according to computations and more likely to lead to electrical conductivity. The bandgaps of stoichiometric La2Sn2O7 and Y2Sn2O7 films were determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry to be 4.2 eV and 4.48 eV, respectively. © 2021 Author(s).