2nd Plasma Nanotechnologies and Bioapplications Workshop

Title in English: 2. ročník workshopu Plazmové nanotechnologie a bioaplikace The Book of Abstracts contains the contributions for presentations during the 2nd Plasma Nanotechnologies and Bioapplications Workshop held on 11st – 14th October 2021 in Broumov. Workshop was attended by the researcher teams from Department of Physical Electronics(CEPLANT), Faculty of Science, Masaryk University in Brno, and Department of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava. Within the workshop the contributions from the following four topics: Surface Modification; Bioapplications; Flexible and Printed Electronics; New Materials & New Challenges were presented in the form of oral presentations

Optimizing Aqueous Processing of Nickel-Rich Cathode Material in Ultra-Thick Lithium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been an instrumental technology since their commercialization in the 1990s. Although much progress has been made in terms of cost and efficiency of production, several challenges remain. Notably, as LIB technology continues to be applied to the transportation sector for electrified mobility in the form of electric vehicles, the question of production ethics and environmental sustainability becomes paramount. The aim of this dissertation is to address some of these concerns in the form of cathode processing techniques. This dissertation focuses on optimization of aqueous processing applied to cathode active materials. First, a study demonstrating the feasibility of aqueous processing for ultra-thick nickel-rich cathode active material via phosphoric acid addition shows both mechanical and electrochemical improvements in aqueous processed full cells. This study is then expanded upon by pursuing structured cathode designs for improved high-rate discharge capacity in ultra-thick cathodes. An improved cathode structure is identified and shown to not only be mechanically robust but also improve the utilization and energy density of the overall battery. Next, drying mechanics of aqueous cathodes are investigated in a comparative study focused on the first stage of slurry drying. A 10X increase in drying rate is identified and benefits are discussed. Finally, polymer electrolytes and the potential of aqueous processing applied to solid-state LIBs is explored and techniques for determining optimal compositions are identified

Applications of Carbon Nanotubes to Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes

Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) have attracted great interest because of their wide range of applications in solar cells, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and touch screen panels (TSPs). Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films as TCEs possess exceptional optoelectronic properties, but they have several disadvantages such as a brittle nature due to their low fracture strain and lack of flexibility, a high processing temperature that damages the flexible substrates, low adhesion to polymeric materials, and relative rarity on Earth, which makes their price unstable. This has motivated several research studies of late for developing alternative materials to replace ITO such as metal meshes, metal nanowires, conductive polymers, graphene, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Out of the abovementioned candidates, CNTs have advantages in chemical stability, thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, and flexibility. However, there are still several problems yet to be solved for achieving CNT-based flexible TCEs with excellent characteristics and high stability. In this chapter, the properties of CNTs and their applications especially for flexible TCEs are presented, including the preparation details of CNTs based on solution processes, the surface modification of flexible substrates, and the various types of hybrid TCEs based on CNTs

Physical and Electrical Characterization of Aluminum Polymer Capacitors

Conductive polymer aluminum capacitor (PA capacitor) is an evolution of traditional wet electrolyte aluminum capacitors by replacing liquid electrolyte with a solid, highly conductive polymer. On the other hand, the cathode construction in polymer aluminum capacitors with coating of carbon and silver epoxy for terminal connection is more like a combination of the technique that solid tantalum capacitor utilizes. This evolution and combination result in the development of several competing capacitor construction technologies in manufacturing polymer aluminum capacitors. The driving force of this research on characterization of polymer aluminum capacitors is the rapid progress in IC technology. With the microprocessor speeds exceeding a gigahertz and CPU current demands of 80 amps and more, the demand for capacitors with higher peak current and faster repetition rates bring conducting polymer capacitors to the center o( focus. This is because this type of capacitors has been known for its ultra-low ESR and high capacitance. Polymer aluminum capacitors from several manufacturers with various combinations of capacitance, rated voltage, and ESR values were obtained and tested. The construction analysis of the capacitors revealed three different constructions: conventional rolled foil, the multilayer stacking V-shape, and a dual-layer sandwich structure. The capacitor structure and its impact on the electrical characteristics has been revealed and evaluated. A destructive test with massive current over stress to fail the polymer aluminum capacitors reveals that all polymer aluminum capacitors failed in a benign mode without ignition, combustion, or any other catastrophic failures. The extraordinary low ESR (as low as 3 mOMEGA), superior frequency independence reported for polymer aluminum capacitors have been confirmed. For the applications of polymer aluminum capacitors in space programs, a thermal vacuum cycle test was performed. The results, as expected, show no impact on the electrical characteristics of the capacitors. The breakdown voltage of polymer capacitors has been evaluated using a steady step surge test. Initial results show the uniform distribution in the breakdown voltage for polymer aluminum capacitors. Polymer aluminum capacitors with a combination of very high capacitance, extraordinary low ESR, excellent frequency stability, and non-ignite benign failure mode make it a niche fit in space applications for both today and future. Polymer capacitors are apparently also the best substitutes of the currently used MnO2-based tantalum capacitors in the low voltage range. However, some critical aspects are still to be addressed in the next phase of the investigation for PA capacitors. These include the long term reliability test of 125 C dry life and 85 C/85%RH humidity, the failure mechanism and de-rating, the radiation tolerance, and the high temperature performance. All of the above requires the continuous NEPP funding and support

NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 14)

Abstracts are cited for 213 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of July 1978 through December 1978. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent

Polyimides for piezoelectric materials, magnetoelectric nanocomposites and battery separators: synthesis and characterization

329 p.Se ha sintetizado una serie de poliimidas y copoliimidas que contienen grupos nitrilo en su estructura, y posteriormente han sido polarizadas por corona con objeto de dotarlas de comportamiento piezoeléctrico. Las condiciones de la polarización por corona han sido optimizadas para las muestras estudiadas, mostrando los coeficientes una buena estabilidad térmica y a lo largo del tiempo. Además, se ha estudiado la influencia en la piezoelectricidad de la unidad repetitiva con dos grupos nitrilo, observando que un incremento progresivo del contenido en el componente con dos grupos nitrilo (2CN) aumenta la respuesta piezoeléctrica. Los films poliméricos han demostrado alta estabilidad térmica mediante DSC y TGA, demostrando su uso a temperaturas superiores a 100ºC.Las propiedades dieléctricas de las muestras han sido determinadas mediante espectroscopia dieléctrica para comprender el comportamiento dieléctrico de los films de poliimida. Se ha analizado la contribución de los grupos nitrilo en las relajaciones dieléctricas y en los tipos de polarización que se ven implicados.El uso de poliimidas en nanocomposites magnetoeléctricos (ME) ha sido demostrado. Se ha medido el coeficiente magnetoeléctrico en un film de nanocomposite, preparado mediante un método de polimerización in-situ, usando nanopartículas esféricas de ferrita de cobalto como inclusión y una copoliimida amorfa, como matriz. Se han preparado diferentes fibras de poliimida mediante electrospinning (electrohilado), han sido caracterizadas y testadas como separadores para baterías de ion Litio

Nanomaterials-Based Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries and Alcohol Fuel Cells

This dissertation describes my research on surfactant-free synthesis of nanomaterials with applications for alcohol fuel-cell electrodes, and design and fabrication of nanomaterials-based current collectors that improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by replacing existing current collectors. Chapter 1 provides a background on the electroanalytical tools used in this research, and an introduction to fuel cells and LIBs. Chapter 2 describes a novel synthesis method for fabricating gold-graphene composites by laser ablation of a gold strip in water. A well-known limitation in the fabrication of a metal-graphene composite is the use of surfactants that strongly adsorb on the metal surface and consequently reduce the catalytic activity of the metal catalyst. I developed a laser ablation-based one-pot synthesis to decorate graphene with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in water without using any surfactants. This linker-free gold-graphene composite was successfully tested as an electrode for the electrocatalytic oxidation of alcohols. A novel electrochemical method for depositing a porous gold-polycurcumin (Au-Polycurcumin) nanocomposite on conducting surfaces is presented in chapter 3. Au-Polycurcumin showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxidation of small organic molecules such as ethanol, and methanol. In chapter 4, I demonstrate that reducing the resistance at the current collector active material interface (CCAMI) is a key factor for enhancing the performance of LIBs. I show that carbon nanotubes (CNTs), either directly grown or spray-coated on Al foils, are highly effective in reducing the CCAMI resistance of traditional LIB cathode materials (LiFePO4 or LFP, and LiNi0.33Co0.33Mn0.33O2 or NMC). The vertically aligned CNT-coated electrodes exhibited energy densities as high as (1) ∼500 W h kg–1 at ∼170 W kg–1 for LFP and (2) ∼760 W h kg–1 at ∼570 W kg–1 for NMC, both with a Li metal anode. In chapter 5, I demonstrate a surfactant-free spray coating process to coat commercial cellulose-based paper with CNTs. The prepared paper-CNTs are capable of replacing the conventional aluminum foil used in LIBs. Paper-CNTs were coated with LiFePO4 as the active material and used as cathodes with Li as the anode, and the assembled LIBs showed a high energy density of 460 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 250 W kg-1

Nonterrestrial utilization of materials: Automated space manufacturing facility

Four areas related to the nonterrestrial use of materials are included: (1) material resources needed for feedstock in an orbital manufacturing facility, (2) required initial components of a nonterrestrial manufacturing facility, (3) growth and productive capability of such a facility, and (4) automation and robotics requirements of the facility

Air pollution monitoring instrumentation A survey

Air pollution monitoring instrumentation developed for aerospace uses surveyed for industrial application