Nadeem QuratulAin, Fatima Tasneem, Prinsen Pepijn, Ur Rehman Aziz, Gill Rohama, Mahmood Rashid, Luque Rafael
Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan.
Departamento de Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio Marie Curie, Ctra Nnal IV-A, Km396, E14014 Córdoba, Spain.
Materials (Basel). 2016 Dec 7;9(12):989. doi: 10.3390/ma9120989.
Technological advancements and development of new materials may lead to the manufacture of sustainable energy-conducting devices used in the energy sector. This research attempts to fabricate novel electroconductive and mechanically stable nanocomposites via an electroless deposition (ELD) technique using electrically insulating materials. Metallic Cu is coated onto Al₂O₃ by ELD, and the prepared filler is then integrated (2-14 wt %) into a matrix of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene-graft-maleic anhydride (PS--(PE--B)--PS--MA). Considerable variations in composite phases with filler inclusion exist. The Cu crystallite growth onto Al₂O₃ was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicts a uniform Cu coating on Al₂O₃, while homogeneous filler dispersion is exhibited in the case of composites. The electrical behavior of composites is enhanced drastically (7.7 × 10 S/cm) upon incorporation of Cu-Al₂O₃ into an insulating polymer matrix (4.4 × 10 S/cm). Moreover, mechanical (Young's modulus, tensile strength and % elongation at break) and thermal (thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)) properties of the nanocomposites also improve substantially. These composites are likely to meet the demands of modern high-strength electroconductive devices.
技术进步和新材料的开发可能会促使制造出用于能源领域的可持续能源传导装置。本研究试图通过化学镀（ELD）技术，使用电绝缘材料制造新型导电且机械稳定的纳米复合材料。通过ELD将金属铜涂覆在氧化铝上，然后将制备好的填料（2 - 14 wt%）掺入聚苯乙烯 - 嵌段 - 聚（乙烯 - 无规 - 丁烯） - 嵌段 - 聚苯乙烯 - 接枝 - 马来酸酐（PS - （PE - B） - PS - MA）基体中。随着填料的加入，复合相存在相当大的变化。通过X射线衍射（XRD）分析和能量色散光谱（EDS）评估了铜在氧化铝上的微晶生长情况。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）显示氧化铝上有均匀的铜涂层，而在复合材料中则表现出填料的均匀分散。将Cu - Al₂O₃掺入绝缘聚合物基体（4.4×10 S/cm）后，复合材料的电学性能大幅提高（7.7×10 S/cm）。此外，纳米复合材料的机械性能（杨氏模量、拉伸强度和断裂伸长率）和热性能（热重分析（TGA）、微商热重分析（DTG）和差示扫描量热法（DSC））也有显著改善。这些复合材料很可能满足现代高强度导电装置的需求。
