• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.53-58
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• 2013

Graphene-based polymer nanocomposites are very promising candidates for new high-performance materials that offer improved mechanical, barrier, thermal and electrical properties. Herein, an approach is presented to improve the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) by using graphene nano sheets (GNS). The extent of dispersion of GNS into the polymer matrix was also observed by using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which indicated homogeneous dispersion of GNS through the UPR matrix and strong interfacial adhesion between the GNS and UPR matrix were achieved in the UPR composite, which enhanced the mechanical properties. The tensile strength of the nanocomposites improved at a tune of 52% at a GNS concentration of 0.05%. Again the flexural strength also increased around 92% at a GNS concentration of 0.05%. Similarly the thermal properties and the electrical properties for the nanocomposites were also improved as evidenced from the differential scanning caloriemetry (DSC) and dielectric strength measurement.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.297-301
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• 2007

In this work, polymer/(layered silicate) nanocomposites (PLSN) based on poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO), ethylene carbonate (EC) as a plasticizer, lithium salt ($LiClO_4$), and sodium montmorillonite ($Na^+-MMT$) or organic montmorillonite (organic MMT) clay were fabricated. And the effects of organic MMT on the polymer matrix were investigated as a function of ionic conductivity. For the application to electrolytes an Li batteries, polymer electrolytes containing the organic nanoclays were used in this work. As a result, the spacing between layers and hydrophobicity of the organic nanoclays were increased, affecting on the exfoliation behaviors of the MMT layers in clay/PEO nanocomposites. From ion-conductivity results, the organic-MMT showed higher values than those of $Na^+-MMT$, and the MMT-20A sample that was treated by methyl dihydrogenated tallow ammonium, showed the highest conductivity in this system.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.15-29
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• 2016

A low cost environmentally benign surface coating binder is highly desirable in the field of material science. In this report, castor oil based hyperbranched polyester/bitumen modified fly ash nanocomposites were fabricated to achieve the desired performance. The hyperbranched polyester resin was synthesized by a three-step one pot condensation reaction using monoglyceride of castor oil based carboxyl terminated pre-polymer and 2,2-bis (hydroxymethyl) propionic acid. Also, the bulk fly ash of paper industry waste was converted to hydrophilic nano fly ash by ultrasonication followed by transforming it to an organonano fly ash by the modification with bitumen. The synthesized polyester resin and its nanocomposites were characterized by different analytical and spectroscopic tools. The nanocomposite obtained in presence of 20 wt% styrene (with respect to polyester) was found to be more homogeneous and stable compared to nanocomposite without styrene. The performance in terms of tensile strength, impact resistance, scratch hardness, chemical resistance and thermal stability was found to be improved significantly after formation of nanocomposite compared to the pristine system after curing with bisphenol-A based epoxy and poly(amido amine). The overall results of transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis and performance showed good exfoliation of the nano fly ash in the polyester matrix. Thus the studied nanocomposites would open up a new avenue on development of low cost high performing surface coating materials.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.13-19
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• 2018

Effects of multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) type and flow type (shear and elongational flow) on the electrical conductivity of polycarbonate (PC)/ MWCNT nanocomposites were investigated. Two different MWCNTs produced a huge difference in electrical conductivity in an injection molded PC/MWCNT nanocomposite. It was observed that MWCNTs having a higher aspect ratio provide much lower electrical conductivity in injection molded PC/MWCNT nanocomposites while the conductivities of compression molded samples from two different MWCNTs were the same. We found that this is due to a difference in the deformability of the two MWCNTs. As the aspect ratio of the MWCNT increases, the orientation of MWCNT by the external force becomes easier and the conductive path diminishes. Consequently the conductivity of the nanocomposites decreases. Nanocomposite samples prepared at a higher extensional rate and shear rate showed lower electrical conductivity. This is also attributed to the flow induced orientation and reduced conductive path of the MWCNTs. The experimental results were discussed in relation to variation in the tube-tube contact due to the change of the MWCNT orientation.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.75-81
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• 2013

Epoxy matrix based composites were fabricated by adding SiC nano fillers. The interfacial properties of composites were varied with different shapes of SiC nano fillers. To investigate the shape effects on the interfacial properties, beta and whisker type SiC nano fillers were used for this evaluation. The dispersion states of nano SiC-epoxy nanocomposites were evaluated by capacitance measurements. FE-SEM was used to observe the fracture surface of different structures of SiC-epoxy nanocomposites and to investigate for reinforcement effect. Interfacial properties between carbon fiber and SiC-epoxy nanocomposites were also evaluated by ILSS (interlaminar shear strength) and IFSS (interfacial shear strength) tests. The interfacial adhesion of beta type nanocomposites was better than whisker type.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.108-113
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• 2005

Biomimetic actuators that can produce soft-actuation but large force capability are of interest. Nafion, an effective ionomeric material from DuPont, has been shown to produce large deformation under low electric fields (<10V/mm). Carbon nanotube/polymer nanocomposites were cast to enhance the electromechanical properties of the composites. Multiwalled carbon nanotube (M-CNT)/Nafion nanocomposites were prepared by a solution casting to investigate the effect of M-CNT loading in the range of 0 to 7 wt% on electromechanical properties of the M-CNT/Nafion nanocomposites. The measured elastic modulus and actuation force of the M-CNT/Nafion nanocomposites are drastically different, showing larger elastic modulus and improved electromechanical coupling, from the one without M-CNT.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2009

This paper describes the preparation of manufacturing a new nanocomposite material, which involves adding a multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) to improve thermal characteristics of poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA). We irradiated the prepared nanocomposites with doses of 50 kGy, 100 kGy and 200 kGy at a dose rate of $5kGy\;hr^{-1}$ and examined their thermal stability, activation energy and crosslink level by using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and gel fraction experiments. TGA results indicated that the samples with a MWCNT had higher Derivative Thermo Gravimetry (DTG) 2nd peak temperatures than those without a MWCNT. And activation energy of the samples reduced as the absorption dose and the MWCNT content increased. Finally, the gel fraction increased rapidly up to 100 kGy as total absorption dose increased, and then the growth rate of all samples was slowly increased from 100 kGy.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2014

Polymer nanocomposites are advanced nanomaterials which exhibit dramatic improvements in various mechanical, thermal and barrier properties as compared with the neat polymer. Polystyrene/ alumina nanocomposites were prepared by an ultrasound-assisted solution casting method at filler loadings ranging from 0.2 to 2% and also at different ultrasonic frequencies, viz. 58 kHz, 192/58 kHz, 430 kHz, 470 kHz and 1 MHz. The composites were subjected to mechanical property tests (tensile and impact tests) and cavitation erosion tests to study the enhancement in functional properties. Filler dispersion in the polymer matrix was observed by SEM analysis. The effect of frequency on filler dispersion in the matrix was studied by SEM analysis and functional property enhancement of the composite material. The composites prepared at dual (high/ low) frequency (192/58 kHz) were found to show better property enhancement at low filler loadings as compared with neat polymer and also with composites prepared without ultrasound, thus reinforcing the finding that ultrasound-assisted synthesis is a promising method for the synthesis of nanocomposites.

• Carbon letters
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.329-334
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• 2009

In this work, the effect of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) addition on physicochemical characteristics of CNFs-reinforced epoxy matrix nanocomposites was studied. Poly(amide imide) solutions in dimethylformamide were electrospun into webs consisting of $250{\pm}50$ nm fibers which were used to produce CNFs through stabilization and carbonization processes. As a result, the CNFs with average diameter of $200{\pm}20$ nm were obtained after carbonization process. The nanocomposites with CNFs showed an improvement of thermal stability parameters and fracture toughness factors, compared to those of the specimen without CNFs, which could be probably attributed to the higher specific surface area and larger aspect ratio of CNFs, resulting in improving the mechanical interlocking in the nanocomposites. Also, the applied external loading can effectively transfer to CNFs because strong interactions are resulted between the epoxy matrix and the CNFs.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.351-368
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• 2022

Recently, promising structural technologies like multi-function, ultra-load bearing capacity and tailored structures have been put up for discussions. Finite Element (FE) modelling is probably the best-known option capable of treating these superior properties and multi-domain behavior structures. However, advanced materials such as Functionally Graded Material (FGM) and nanocomposites suffer from problems resulting from variable material properties, reinforcement aggregation and mesh generation. Motivated by these factors, this research proposes a unified shape function for FGM, nanocomposites, graded nanocomposites, in addition to traditional isotropic and orthotropic structural materials. It depends not only on element length but also on the beam's material properties and geometric characteristics. The systematic mathematical theory and FE formulations are based on the Timoshenko beam theory for beam structure. Furthermore, the introduced element achieves C1 degree of continuity. The model is proved to be convergent and free-off shear locking. Moreover, numerical results for static and free vibration analysis support the model accuracy and capabilities by validation with different references. The proposed technique overcomes the issue of continuous properties modelling of these promising materials without discarding older ones. Therefore, introduced benchmark improvements on the FE old concept could be extended to help the development of new software features to confront the rapid progress of structural materials.