Chemical functionalization of graphene oxide for improving mechanical and thermal properties of polyurethane composites

Graphene oxide (GO) was chemically functionalized to manufacture polyurethane (PU) composites with improved mechanical and thermal properties. In order to achieve a well exfoliated and stable GO suspension in organic solvent, 4, 4′- methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate) and polycaprolactone diol – two monomers used to synthesize polyurethane – were employed to functionalize GO sequentially. The obtained functionalized GO (FGO) could form homogeneous dispersions in DMF solvent and the PU matrix, as well as provide a good compatibility with the latter. The most efficient improvement in mechanical properties was achieved when 0.4 wt% FGO was added into the PU matrix, corresponding to increases in the tensile stress, elongation at break and toughness by 34.2%, 27.6% and 64.5%, respectively (compared with those of PU). Regarding the thermal stability, FGO/PU 1 wt% showed the largest enhancement, with T2% and T50% 16 °C and 21 °C higher than those for PU, respectively. A significant improvement in both mechanical properties and thermal stability of FGO/PU composites should be attributed to homogeneous dispersion of FGO in the PU matrix and strong interfacial interaction between them

A One-Component, Fast-Cure, and Economical Epoxy Resin System Suitable for Liquid Molding of Automotive Composite Parts

Imidazole cured epoxy resin systems were evaluated for one-component, fast-curing resins for liquid molding of automotive composite parts according to industry requirements. It was demonstrated that an epoxy resin-1-(cyanoethyl)-2-ethyl-4-methylimidazol(EP-1C2E4MIM) system would cure in a few minutes at 120 °C, while exhibiting acceptable pot life, viscosity profiles, and low water absorption. Moreover, this system yielded high Tg parts with mechanical properties similar to the amine-epoxy systems, which are the mainstream two-component epoxy resin systems for automobiles

Dodecyl sulfate-induced fast faradic process in nickel cobalt oxide–reduced graphite oxide composite material and its application for asymmetric supercapacitor device

In this contribution, we report a facile preparation method of nickel cobalt oxide–reduced graphite oxide (NiCo2O4–rGO) composite material. A fast Faradic process has been realized by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-induced ultrasmall NiCo2O4 nanocrystals on rGO. As a result, this composite material gives a high specific capacitance of 1222 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and 768 F g−1 at 40 A g−1, showing an outstanding rate capability. An asymmetric supercapacitor device with high energy and power densities has been successfully assembled based on NiCo2O4–rGO composite material and activated carbon. The optimized device shows a high energy density of 23.32 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 324.9 W kg−1. In addition, this asymmetric device shows good stability towards multistage current charge–discharge cycles

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofibrous mats with covalently attached SiO 2 nanoparticles as an ionic liquid host: enhanced ion transport for electrochromic devices and lithium-ion batteries

In this article, it is demonstrated that the electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF–HFP)) nanofibrous mat functionalized with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane is a versatile platform for the fabrication of hybrid nanofibrous mats by covalently attaching various types of inorganic oxide nanoparticles on the nanofiber surface via a sol–gel process. In particular, SiO2-on-P(VDF–HFP) nanofibrous mats synthesized using this method is an excellent ionic liquid (IL) host for electrolyte applications. The IL-based electrolytes in the form of free-standing mats are obtained by immersing SiO2-on-P(VDF–HFP) mats in two types of liquid electrolytes, namely LiClO4/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide lithium salt/1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. It is found that the surface attached SiO2 nanoparticles can effectively serve as salt dissociation promoters by interacting with the anions of both ILs and lithium salts through Lewis acid–base interactions. They dramatically enhance the ionic conductivity and lithium transference number of the electrolytes. In addition, better compatibility of the electrolytes with lithium electrodes is also observed in the presence of surface-attached SiO2. Using IL-loaded SiO2-on-P(VDF–HFP) nanofibrous mats as the electrolytes, electrochromic devices display higher transmittance contrast, while Li/LiCoO2 batteries show significantly improved C-rate performance and cycling stability. This class of novel non-volatile electrolytes with high ionic conductivity also has the potential to be used in other electrochemical devices.ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore)Published versio

A Comprehensive Study on the Mechanical Properties of Different 3D Woven Carbon Fiber-Epoxy Composites

In this work, the tensile, compressive, and flexural properties of three types of 3D woven composites were studied in three directions. To make an accurate comparison, three 3D woven composites are made to have the same fiber volume content by controlling the weaving parameters of 3D fabric. The results show that the 3D orthogonal woven composite (3DOWC) has better overall mechanical properties than those of the 3D shallow straight-joint woven composite (3DSSWC) and 3D shallow bend-joint woven composite (3DSBWC) in the warp direction, including tension, compression, and flexural strength. Interestingly their mechanical properties in the weft direction are about the same. In the through-thickness direction, however, the tensile and flexural strength of 3DOWC is about the same as 3DSBW, both higher than that of 3DSSWC. The compressive strength, on the other hand, is mainly dependent on the number of weft yarns in the through-thickness direction

Effects of Styrene-Acrylic Sizing on the Mechanical Properties of Carbon Fiber Thermoplastic Towpregs and Their Composites

Thermoplastic towpregs are convenient and scalable raw materials for the fabrication of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic matrix composites. In this paper, the potential to employ epoxy and styrene-acrylic sizing agents was evaluated for the making of carbon fiber thermoplastic towpregs via a powder-coating method. The protective effects and thermal stability of these sizing agents were investigated by single fiber tensile test and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement. The results indicate that the epoxy sizing agent provides better protection to carbon fibers, but it cannot be used for thermoplastic towpreg processing due to its poor chemical stability at high temperature. The bending rigidity of the tows and towpregs with two styrene-acrylic sizing agents was measured by cantilever and Kawabata methods. The styrene-acrylic sized towpregs show low torque values, and are suitable for further processing, such as weaving, preforming, and winding. Finally, composite panels were fabricated directly from the towpregs by hot compression molding. Both of the composite panels show superior flexural strength (>400 MPa), flexural modulus (>63 GPa), and interlaminar shear strength (>27 MPa), indicating the applicability of these two styrene-acrylic sizing agents for carbon fiber thermoplastic towpregs

Effects of Graphene-Oxide-Modified Coating on the Properties of Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

Graphene oxide (GO) modified with ferrites (GO@Fe3O4) were studied to determine their effect on the interfacial properties of continuous carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites. The GO@Fe3O4 were introduced by mixing them directly in an acrylic-styrene (AS) sizing emulsion suitable for the making of continuous carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics and towpregs. A magnetic field was then generated during the online sizing using coils in order to change the morphology of the coating on the fiber. The effect on the obtained sizing quality and final properties of continuous carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites was then studied. The results showed that the topography of the sized fibers was modified, showing a kind of “drag” effect and more than a 32% increase was obtained for interlaminar shear strength

Layer-by-layer assembled sulfonated-graphene/polyaniline nanocomposite films : enhanced electrical and ionic conductivities, and electrochromic properties

In this article, we report the facile synthesis of sulfonic acid-grafted reduced graphene oxide (S-rGO) using a one-pot method under mild conditions, and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly and electrochromic properties of S-rGO/polyaniline (S-rGO/PANI) nanocomposite thin films. It was found that the multilayer films of S-rGO/PANI exhibit much faster electrochromic switching kinetics than that of corresponding spin-coated PANI thin films. The enhancement can be attributed to the drastically increased electrical and ionic conductivities of the S-rGO/PANI films brought by the graphitic structure of the S-rGO sheets and the sulfonic acid groups attached to S-rGO, which lead to non-diffusion-controlled redox processes of PANI

Developing Easy Processable, Recyclable, and Self-Healable Biobased Epoxy Resin through Dynamic Covalent Imine Bonds

Growing sustainability concerns have promoted the rapid development of reusable and environmentally friendly thermosetting materials. Herein, a recyclable biobased curing agent (vanillin-based imine curing agent) was produced from vanillin in a single-stage process. However, this curing agent was fully solid and difficult to process, requiring large amounts of solvent during processing. Since the viscosity of 4-methyl-1,3-cyclohexendiamine (HTDA) is low, it can be used as a cocuring agent at various amounts to make a viscous liquid curing agent for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol F. The curing behaviors and thermomechanical and mechanical properties of the cured thermosets were evaluated along with their self-healing ability. The results reveal that the viscosity and activation energy of curing are reduced as the weight ratio of HTDA increases, whereas the flexural strength (106–122 MPa), moduli (2365–2587 MPa), and Tg values (95–110 °C) increase gradually. Additionally, the heat-resistant temperature (Ts) values (166–162 °C) and char residue at 700 °C (26–10%) of the cured samples continuously decreased. Overall, 40% HDTA containing VH03 showed a suitable viscous form for processing and mechanical and thermal properties. Subsequently, the flexural strength retention and Tg were still 80% and 115 °C, respectively, and it also demonstrated absolute solvent resistance at room temperature. The excellent integrated properties clarified that VH03 is favorable for easy processability, recyclability, and sustainable improvement