{"title":"Temperature dependence of thermophysical properties of carbon/polyamide410 composite","authors":"Kasahun Niguse Asfew, Jan Ivens, David Moens","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00036-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00036-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, the temperature dependence of the carbon/polyamide 410 composite's heat capacity, thermal expansion, density, and thermal conductivity was investigated. The results demonstrated that the specific heat capacity of the C/PA410 composite increases with temperature, with major transitions observed at the glass transition (Tg) and melting (Tm) temperatures. Due to the presence of fibers, the CTE values in the fiber direction of C/PA410 specimens were one order of magnitude smaller than in the transverse direction. The density measurements reveal that as temperature rises, volume increases, causing density to decrease. The heat diffusivity of the C/PA410 composite was measured using the laser flash technique, which was then used to calculate thermal conductivity. The results show that the average thermal conductivity in the fiber direction increases linearly with temperature, while in the transverse direction it increases linearly with temperature up to 50 °C and then becomes constant between 50 °C and 100 °C.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00036-6","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88239128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Functional rubber composites based on silica-silane reinforcement for green tire application: the state of the art","authors":"Jeevanandham Neethirajan, Arshad Rahman Parathodika, Guo-Hua Hu, Kinsuk Naskar","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00035-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00035-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Silica is the rubber industry’s most essential and cost-effective reinforcing filler after carbon black. The silica reinforcement mechanism with a non-polar elastomer is complicated by the presence of polar functional groups on the silica surface. This polar nature of silica causes filler-to-filler interaction by forming hydrogen bonds. Therefore, sizeable non-dispersed silica clusters remain in a non-polar rubber matrix. To avoid these strong filler-filler interactions and improve rubber/silica compatibility, the silica surface needs to be modified. This can be done using a coupling agent which has functional groups capable of linking both the rubber and silica. It has been discovered that when silica/silane coupling agents are present, the critical properties like rolling resistance and wet grip in the magic triangle of tire tread balance out better than carbon black formulations, bringing the system closer to the green tire goal. In this review article, the efforts made by both the rubber formulation development and chemistry to fully exploit the potential of silica/silane reinforcement for automotive tires are retrospected. Highlights on how compounding ingredients, process technology, functionalized elastomer, novel silanes, and the variant of silicas can enhance the magic triangle and silica-silane reaction mechanism are provided. In addition, the kinetics of silanization and measurements for the degree of silanization is also highlighted. Future research directions in this area are also touched upon. Hopefully, this review can stimulate future silica/silane scientific and technology developments for both academic and industrial-oriented requirements.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00035-7","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79979984","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chigusa Yamada, Atsushi Yasumoto, Tadashi Matsushita, Anke Blume
{"title":"Influence of functionalized S–SBR on silica–filled rubber compound properties","authors":"Chigusa Yamada, Atsushi Yasumoto, Tadashi Matsushita, Anke Blume","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00034-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00034-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Styrene–butadiene–Rubber, SBR, is most often used in tread compounds in order to improve the Rolling Resistance (RR). The functionalized SBRs are used to increase the polymer–filler interaction in the compound to improve RR. In this study, the effect of different types of functional groups in SBR was investigated. Several types of functionalized S–SBR’s were synthesized by anionic polymerization: (i) SBR with an amine group at one end of the polymer chain, (ii) SBR with an alkoxy silane group at one end (iii) SBR with an amine group at one end and an alkoxy silane group at the other end of the polymer chain. A model reaction of silanization was conducted in a solvent to estimate how the amine functional group affects the silanization. Silica filled compounds were prepared with these SBR types. Payne effect and bound rubber measurement were done. The model silanization reaction of TESPT (Bis(triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide) with silica in the presence of amine shows that a higher amount of ethanol (EtOH) is released from TESPT compared to the amine free system. This result indicates that the silanization reaction can be accelerated by the presence of an amine functional group at the SBR polymer chain used in silica–filled compounds. The amine functionalized SBR and the alkoxy silane functionalized SBR show less Payne effect of the compounds which indicates that both functional groups can decrease the filler–filler interaction. More chemical bound rubber was obtained in branched SBRs compared to the corresponding linear SBRs. A branched polymer chain has a higher molecular weight compared to the linear type. Therefore, when one branched polymer chain reacts with silica or creates a silica–silane–polymer bond, more bound rubber can be obtained for the branched than for the linear type. The compound of the SBR with the alkoxy–silane functional group shows lower tan δ compared to the non–functionalized SBR and the amine functionalized SBR compounds. The influence of the type of functionalization of the SBR on tan δ at 70 °C was more significant in branched SBRs than in linear SBRs, due to the before–mentioned effect of the functional group on silanization and bound rubber.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00034-8","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80933056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avia J. Bar, Joey Mead, Hanna Dodiuk, Samuel Kenig
{"title":"Mechanical behavior of stretchable conductive materials based on elastomeric core: experimental and theoretical simulation","authors":"Avia J. Bar, Joey Mead, Hanna Dodiuk, Samuel Kenig","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00033-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00033-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The mechanical behavior of braided carbon nanotube yarns (CNTYs) on an elastomeric core to produce stretchable conductive materials were theoretically modeled and experimentally studied under tension. The elastomeric core served as the stretchable spring and the CNTYs braiding, with shape changing capabilities, as the conductive shell. A variety of samples were produced having various braiding angles on an elastomeric core and subsequently loaded in tension, and their stress–strain behavior was characterized. The model predicts the stress–strain behavior of the composite as a function of the initial braiding angle and the number of pitches. The innovative aspect was included in the model related to the friction between the braid and the core. Results indicated good agreement between the theoretical simulations and the experimental results which was not discussed in previous studies. Since the rate of the diameter decrease of the CNTYs braid was higher than that of the elastomeric core diameter, squeezing out of the core through the braid inter yarn space occurred. This limited the maximum potential extension of the braid. Thus, a critical strain was defined where the braid came into contact with the core. The addition of the friction stresses made a significant contribution to the overall stresses and the accuracy of the theoretical simulation, and its agreement with the experimental results. An apparent friction coefficient was proposed to account for the effect of the elastomer core/braid interactive restriction and squeezing out of the elastomer through the braiding, as observed in experimental results. As the CNTYs are conductive, a stretchable conductive composite was obtained having a resistivity of 9.05 × 10<sup>–4</sup> Ohm*cm, which remained constant throughout the tensile loading until failure and under cyclic loading.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00033-9","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73382367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Molecular sieving through 'layer-by-layer' self-assembly of polyelectrolytes and highly crosslinked graphene oxide","authors":"Subhasish Maiti, Suryasarathi Bose","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00032-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00032-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Lack of access to potable water and abating levels of ground water level demands the reuse of unconventional water sources after remediating it in a sustainable way. In this context, purifying brackish, land and sea water seems a feasible solution to the ever-growing population.</p><p>In this work, a novel composite membrane was fabricated by 'layer-by-layer' self-assembly of poly-dopamine (PDA) and polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) supported on a highly crosslinked graphene oxide (GO) membrane to sieve ions to purify contaminated water as well as enhance the resistance towards chlorine. This GO membrane was sandwiched between layers of various nanoporous polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes obtained by selectively etching out the PMMA component from the demixed blends. The blend membranes were designed following the melt-extrusion process and subsequent quenching to facilitate confined crystallization of PVDF and selective etching of PMMA. The membranes with different pore sizes were tuned on varying the composition in blends and a gradient in microstructure was achieved by stitching the membranes. Pure water flux, salt rejection, dye removal, and antibacterial activity were performed to study the membrane's efficiency. The GO membrane was chemically crosslinked with methylenediamine to impart dimensional stability and to enhance rejection efficiency through the nanoslits that GO offers. Besides effective rejection, the sandwiched membrane was modified with ‘layer-by-layer’ self-assembly of polyelectrolytes on the surface to improve the chlorine tolerance performance. This strategy resulted in an excellent salt (about 95% and 97% for monovalent and divalent ion, respectively) and dye rejection (100% for both cationic and anionic dye), besides facilitating excellent chlorine tolerance performance. Moreover, this modified membrane showed superior antifouling properties (flux recovery ratio is more than 90%) and excellent antibacterial performance (near about 3 log reduction).</p><p>Thus the concept of using layer-by-layer self-assembly of polycations (PDA) and polyanions (PSS) onto a hierarchical chemically modified GO sandwiched PVDF membrane proved to be a productive strategy to purify contaminated water. Thus the membrane can be a potential candidate for domestic as well as industrial application.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00032-w","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76493562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring the effect of block copolymer architecture and concentration on the microstructure, electrical conductivity and rheological properties of PP/PS blend nanocomposites","authors":"Lilian Azubuike, Uttandaraman Sundararaj","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00031-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00031-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The interface between polymer matrices and nanofillers is critical for efficient interaction to achieve the desired final properties. In this work, block copolymers were utilized to control the interface and achieve optimum interfacial interaction. Specifically, we studied the compatibilizing effects of styrene-ethylene/butadiene-styrene (SEBS) and styrene-ethylene/propylene (SEP) block copolymers on the morphology, conductivity, and rheological properties of polypropylene-polystyrene (PP/PS) immiscible blend with 2 vol% multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) at different blend compositions of PP/PS 80:20, 50:50 and 20:80.</p><p>MWCNTs induced co-continuity in PP/PS blends and did not obstruct with the copolymer migration to the interface. Copolymers at the interface led to blend morphology refinement. Adding block copolymers at a relatively low concentration of 1 vol% to compatibilize the PP/PS 80:20 blend substantially increased the electrical conductivity from 5.15*10<sup>−7</sup>S/cm for the uncompatibilized blend to 1.07*10<sup>−2</sup>S/cm for the system with SEP and 1.51*10<sup>−3</sup>S/m for the SEBS system. These values for the compatibilized blends are about 4 orders of magnitude higher due to the interconnection of the droplet domains. For the PP/PS 50:50 blend, the SEBS copolymer resulted in a huge increase in conductivity at above 3 vol% concentration (conductivity increased to 3.49*10<sup>−3</sup>S/cm from 5.16*10<sup>−7</sup>S/cm). Both the conductivity and the storage modulus increased as the SEBS copolymer content was increased. For the PP/PS 20:80 blend, we observed an initial decrease in conductivity at lower copolymer concentrations (1–3 vol%) and then an increase in conductivity to values higher than the uncompatibilized system, but only at a higher copolymer concentration of 10 vol%. The triblock copolymer (SEBS), which had 60 wt% PS content, shows a more significant increase in rheological properties compared to the diblock copolymer (SEP). The morphology shows that the interaction between MWCNT and PS is stronger than the interaction between MWCNT and PP, hence there is selective localization of the nanofiller in the PS phase as predicted by Young’s equation and by molecular simulation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00031-x","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4484841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bing Zhang, Hele Guo, Longsheng Zhang, Xu Zhang, Chao Zhang, Tianxi Liu
{"title":"Carbon composites from iron-chelating pyridine nitrogen-rich coordinated nanosheets for oxygen reduction","authors":"Bing Zhang, Hele Guo, Longsheng Zhang, Xu Zhang, Chao Zhang, Tianxi Liu","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00030-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00030-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The exploration of a noble-metal-free and nitrogen-doped carbon (M–N/C) composite electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains a great challenge. The activities of the M–N/C composite electrocatalysts are mainly affected by the metal active sites, pyridinic nitrogen, and graphitic nitrogen. In the present work, the iron-coordinated self-assembly is proposed for the preparation of iron-chelating pyridine nitrogen-rich coordinated nanosheet (IPNCN) composites as electrocatalysts. Due to the highly conjugated structure of the IPNCN precursor, the pyridine nitrogen elements at both ends of the tetrapyrido [3,2-<i>a</i>:2<i>'</i>,3<i>'</i>-<i>c</i>:3<i>''</i>,2<i>''</i>-<i>h</i>:2<i>'''</i>,3<i>'''</i>-<i>j</i>] phenazine (TP) provide the multiple ligands, and the coordination interactions between the irons and the pyridine nitrogen further improve the thermodynamic stability, where the metal active sites and nitrogen elements are uniformly distributed in the whole structure. The resultant IPNCN composites exhibit excellent ORR performance with an onset potential of 0.93 V and a half potential of 0.84 V. Furthermore, the IPNCN composite electrocatalysts show the higher methanol resistance and electrochemical durability than the commercial Pt/C catalysts. It could be convinced that the as-designed IPNCN composite catalysts would be a promising alternative to the noble metal Pt-based catalysts in the practical applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00030-y","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4581435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Superhydrophobic micro-nanofibers from PHBV-SiO2 biopolymer composites produced by electrospinning","authors":"Saad Rabbani, Reza Jafari, Gelareh Momen","doi":"10.1186/s42252-022-00029-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s42252-022-00029-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Electrospinning is a relatively simple technique for producing continuous fibers of various sizes and morphologies. In this study, an intrinsically hydrophilic poly(3-hydroxybutarate-<i>co</i>-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) biopolymer strain was electrospun from a solution under optimal processing conditions to produce bilayers of beadless micro-fibers and beaded nano-fibers. The fibrous mats produced from the pure PHBV solution exhibited hydrophilicity with complete wetting. Incorporation of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) treated silica into the electrospinning solutions resulted in a non-wetting state with increased fiber roughness and enhanced porosity; however, the fiber mats displayed high water droplet-adhesion. The SiO<sub>2</sub>–incorporated fibrous mats were then treated with stearic acid at an activation temperature of 80 °C. This treatment caused fiber surface plasticization, creating a tertiary hierarchical roughness owing to the interaction of PHBV chains with the polar carboxyl groups of the stearic acid. Scanning electron microscopy was used to assess the influence of the electrospinning process parameters and the incorporation of nanoparticles on surface morphology of the fibers; energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the presence of SiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was performed to study the incorporation of SiO<sub>2</sub> and the interaction of stearic acid with PHBV at various concentrations. The chemical interaction between stearic acid and PHBV was confirmed, while SiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles were successfully incorporated into the PHBV fibers at concentrations up to 4.5% by weight. The incorporation of nanoparticles and plasticization altered the thermal properties of PHBV and a decrease in crystalline fraction was observed. The stearic acid modified bilayers produced from the micro-nano-fibrous composites showed very low water droplet sticking, a roll off angle of approximately 4° and a high static contact angle of approximately 155° were achieved.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3>\u0000 <figure><div><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></div></figure>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":576,"journal":{"name":"Functional Composite Materials","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://functionalcompositematerials.springeropen.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s42252-022-00029-5","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4927277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}