This Thematic Series reports on advances in composite materials employing carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, graphene and few-layer graphene (FLG) which are featured in nanocarbon reinforcement materials and also improve the interfacial bonding between the nanocarbon reinforcement elements and the composite matrix.
The contributions include original research leading to the strengthening and development of composite nanomaterials, for example:
New composite carbon nanomaterials with electrical, electronic and multifunctional properties
In addition to the synthesis and development of the composite nanomaterials, works reporting the characterization of such nanocarbon composites, applications exemplifying the improved nanocomposite properties (strength, conductivity, etc.) and theoretical modelling of such nanocarbons and composites have be included.
Figure 1: Particle size distribution in miniemulsion polymerization of MMA/BA/HEMA in the presence of various...
Figure 2: Conversion vs time curves for the MMA/BA/HEMA miniemulsion polymerizations with different MWCNT con...
Figure 3: SEM images of the fractured surface of films made of MMA/BA/HEMA/MWCNT in situ hybrid latexes at di...
Figure 4: (a) Storage modulus and (b) loss modulus of the films made of MMA/BA/HEMA/air-sonicated MWCNT.
Figure 5: Stress–strain behavior of MWCNT/polymer composites (a) at 25 ºC and (b) at 60 ºC.
Scheme 1: Microwave-assisted formation of nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots from arginine [6].
Figure 1: Hydrogels obtained from DLeu-Phe-Phe (15 mM) and NCNDs at 1 mg/mL (15% w/w relative to the peptide)...
Figure 2: Oscillatory rheometric data for the hydrogels. Time sweeps (left) and stress sweeps (right) for the...
Figure 3: a) NCND–peptide hydrogel fluorescence as seen under UV-light illumination. b) Excitation-dependent ...
Figure 4: a) CD spectra of self-assembled hydrogel evolution over time. The arrow indicates the direction of ...
Figure 5: Thioflavin T fluorescence assay.
Figure 6: TEM micrographs of hydrogels containing peptide (a) and NCNDs added to either alkaline (b) or acidi...
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of interfaces of (a) 0D-2D (b) 1D-2D, and (c) 2D-2D materials.
Figure 2: Schematic illustration of the preparation of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) from graphite. Reprinted ...
Figure 3: (a) Triazine, (b) tri-s-triazine (heptazine) structures of g-C3N4, (c) thermal polymerization of di...
Figure 4: The principle of (a) photoelectrochemical water splitting and (b) photocatalytic water splitting fo...
Figure 5: Band gaps and band positions of a) n-type semiconductors and b) p-type semiconductors used for nano...
Figure 6: Energy level diagrams of GO with different degrees of reduction in comparison with the potentials f...
Figure 7: (a) Comparative H2 production rate over various GO–CdS nanocomposites under visible light irradiati...
Figure 8: (a,b) TEM images of TiO2–MoS2–graphene composites and (c,d) high-resolution TEM images of TiO2–MoS2...
Figure 9: Proposed mechanism for the photocatalytic H2 generation over TiO2–MoS2–graphene composite. Reprinte...
Figure 10: Proposed mechanism of BCN-T system under visible irradiation for H2 generation, pollutant removal a...
Figure 11: (a) Schematic illustration of the photocatalytic H2 production over CaIn2S4/g–C3N4 catalysts and (b...
Figure 12: (a) Schematic diagram showing the effect of SCN acid treatment that leads to the formation of a com...
Figure 13: (a) HRTEM image of 1 wt % Au–g-C3N4 nanocomposite where the inset presents the corresponding SAED p...
Figure 14: Proposed mechanism for the enhanced electron transfer in the graphene–g-C3N4 composites for photoca...
Figure 15: Schematic illustration depicting the photosensitizer role of graphene in GR–ZnO nanocomposites for ...
Figure 16: (a) Diagram showing the superior photocatalytic activity of the Au–RGO–ZnO heterostructures, (b) re...
Figure 17: Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism of the g-C3N4–Ag3PO4 hybrid photocatalyst under visible-light irr...
Figure 1: a) Web of aligned PAN nanofibers produced with rotating collector and b) web of PAN nanofibers prod...
Figure 2: Stress–strain plots of webs of aligned and non-aligned PAN nanofibers.
Figure 3: Schematic description of carbonization process starting from polyacrylonitrile.
Figure 4: ATR-FTIR results of oxidized webs with GO and of the carbon nanofiber web. The inset represents the...
Figure 5: TGA curves representing the experimental conditions of oxidation for 300 min of different oxidation...
Figure 6: a) Nyquist plots of webs of oxidized PAN nanofibers. Inset: Randles circuit model. b) Bode magnitud...
Figure 7: Raman spectrum of carbon nanofiber webs.
Figure 8: GO-containing PAN-based electrospun, oxidized and carbonized nanofibers.
Figure 9: AFM image of GO-containing oxidized PAN nanofiber webs.
Figure 10: a) SEM image of GO; b) TEM images of GO-containing PAN nanofibers; c) carbon nanofibers.
Figure 11: SEM images of (a) oxidized PAN nanofiber webs and (b) GO-containing oxidized PAN nanofiber webs wit...
Figure 12: Nyquist plots of oxidized PAN and GO-containing oxidized PAN nanofiber webs (inset: Nyquist plots o...
Figure 13: Bode phase plots of oxidized PAN nanofiber webs and GO-containing oxidized PAN nanofiber webs.
Figure 14: Bode magnitude plots of oxidized PAN nanofiber webs and GO-containing oxidized PAN nanofiber webs (...
Figure 15: Cyclic voltammograms of carbon nanofibers and GO-containing carbon nanofiber webs at scan rate of 5...
Scheme 1: Synthesis of BODIPY derivatives 2 and 3. i) 2,4-dimethylpyrrole, TFA, DCM, DIPEA, BF3OEt2; ii) 4-(N,...
Scheme 2: Procedure for the preparation of carboxy-functionalized oxi-CNO and fluorescently labelled fluo-CNO...
Figure 1: Emission spectra of BODIPY 3 (blue line: Excitation at 680 nm; emission at 737 nm) and BODIPY 4 (re...
Figure 2: A) Protonated (fluo-CNOs-1a) and non-protonated (fluo-CNOs-1b) forms of fluo-CNOs. B) Emission spec...
Figure 3: Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) spectra of the functionalized CNOs. TGA (solid lines) and the corr...
Figure 4: Raman spectra of the functionalized CNOs. The Raman spectra are normalized to the G-band at 1580 cm...
Figure 5: Effective hydrodynamic diameter of oxi-CNOs (black line) and fluo-CNOs (red line) in PBS at a conce...
Figure 6: Cellular viability of HeLa cells treated with different concentrations (1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 µg mL−1)...
Figure 7: Confocal fluorescence images of HeLa cells treated with 20 μg mL−1 of fluo-CNOs. (A) PBS for 1 h, p...
Figure 8: Cellular uptake and localization of fluo-CNOs in HeLa cells in acidic conditions (PBS, pH 4.5) obse...
Figure 9: Three-dimensional reconstruction by confocal microscopy of cells incubated for 12 h with 20 µg mL−1...
Figure 1: SEM images of composite materials based on Kevlar fabric (magnification: 2000×). (a) Neat Epoxy mat...
Figure 2: SEM images of composite materials based on carbon fabrics (magnification 5000×). (a) Neat epoxy mat...
Figure 3: SEM images of composite materials based on FG fabrics (magnification: 5000×). (a) Neat Epoxy matrix...
Figure 4: SEM images of composite materials based on FG fabrics, FG treated with MEMO or GLYMO (magnification...
Figure 5: SEM images of composite materials based on FG fabrics, FG treated with 2% Triton X-15 (magnificatio...
Figure 6: SEM images of composite materials based on FG fabrics, FG treated with Triton X-100 or TETA (magnif...
Figure 7: SEM images of FG fabric based composite materials, FG treated with 2% AMEO (magnification: 5000×). ...
Figure 1: Surface morphology of (a) α-MnO2, (b) β-MnO2, (c) γ-MnO2, (d) graphene/α-MnO2, (e) graphene/β-MnO2,...
Figure 2: Cross-sectional SEM images of (a) graphene/α-MnO2, (b) graphene/β-MnO2, and (c) graphene/γ-MnO2 fre...
Figure 3: XRD patterns of (a) α-MnO2, β-MnO2, γ-MnO2, (b) graphene/α-MnO2, graphene/β-MnO2, and graphene/γ-MnO...
Figure 4: Raman spectra of graphene/α-MnO2, graphene/β-MnO2, and graphene/γ-MnO2 freestanding cathodes.
Figure 5: Nyquist curves of graphene/α-MnO2, graphene/β-MnO2, and graphene/γ-MnO2 freestanding cathodes.
Figure 6: Galvanostatic charge/discharge profiles of freestanding (a) graphene/α- MnO2, (b) graphene/β-MnO2, ...
Figure 7: Electrochemical cycling tests of graphene/α-MnO2, graphene/β-MnO2, and graphene/γ-MnO2 freestanding...
Figure 1: Scheme of a gas aggregation cluster source.
Figure 2: SEM images of different types of plasma polymer nanoparticles produced: a) by plasma polymerization...
Figure 3: Experimental arrangements allowing estimation of plasma polymer NP charging: a) electrostatic plate...
Figure 4: C 1s XPS of the NPs prepared a) by plasma polymerization of n-hexane in its mixture with Ar (total ...
Figure 5: SEM images of nitrogen-containing NPs prepared a) by plasma polymerization of n-hexane in its mixtu...
Figure 6: Chemical composition of nitrogen-containing NPs shown in Figure 5: a) FTIR spectra; b) the nitrogen content...
Figure 7: SEM images of NPs prepared by plasma polymerization of HMDSO mixed with Ar: a) without adding oxyge...
Figure 8: Chemical composition of the NPs shown in Figure 7: a) FTIR spectra b) the elemental content calculated from...
Figure 9: Mean diameter of nylon-sputtered, PTFE-sputtered and HMDSO plasma polymer NPs as a function of a) t...
Figure 10: SEM images of the PTFE-sputtered NPs deposited with different intensity of the magnetic field: a) 1...
Figure 11: SEM images of NPs prepared by plasma polymerization of HMDSO in Ar: a) 220 nm NPs produced with 10 ...
Figure 12: Scheme of synthesis of core@shell NPs by GAS: a) core@shell NPs are produced in the GAS by RF magne...
Figure 13: TEM images of core@shell NPs: a) Ag@HMDSO NPs prepared in configuration of Figure 12a (total pressure 190 Pa,...
Figure 14: C/H NPs prepared in GAS by plasma polymerization of n-hexane and overcoated a) with a thin film of ...
Figure 15: Scheme of GLAD: a) preseeding of substrates with nylon-sputtered NPs produced by GAS; b) GLAD of ny...
Figure 16: SEM images with combined top view and cross-sections of the deposits produced as a result of RF mag...
Figure 1: Optical stereomicroscope images (30× magnification) of PC composite films at different MWCNT loadin...
Figure 2: UV–vis absorbance of composite samples with different MWCNT loading.
Figure 3: a) FTIR absorption spectrum of the PC/MWCNT composite films at different loadings (inset: structure...
Figure 4: Raman spectra of PC/MWCNT composite films at different MWCNT loadings.
Figure 5: TGA/DTG and DTA analysis of the PC/MWCNT films at 1 wt % loading under N2 flow. The inset in the lo...
Figure 6: DSC profile of the PC/MWCNT film at 1 wt % loading.
Figure 1: Number of papers and patents published in the past 16 years on the topic of CNTs. The numbers were ...
Figure 2: Subject areas of papers published in the past 16 years on the topic of CNTs. The numbers were deter...
Figure 3: SEM image of a CNT/polymer film. The oriented CNTs are indicated in the fractured part of the compo...
Figure 4: SEM images of a polystyrene (PS) composite film containing 25 wt % CNTs. (a) Random networked CNTs ...
Figure 5: Fracture stretching method containing two steps, hot press and peel off, to align CNTs. (a) The hot...
Figure 6: Schematic setup of a spiral film applicator (a) and SEM image of arranged CNTs (b). Adapted with pe...
Figure 7: Schematic structure of an aligned CNT in a polymer nanofiber. TEM micrograph, adapted with permissi...
Figure 8: An electrospinning workflow illustrates a standard electrospinning setup, including power supply, s...
Figure 9: Schematic of the experimental setup for the wet spinning technique, reproduced with permission from ...
Figure 10: Spray winding apparatus. Step 1. Stretching the CNT array by passing along the stationary rod. Step...
Figure 11: Schematic of the layer-by-layer deposition process. Step 1. Wetting a paper tape with water/poly(vi...
Figure 12: Layer-by-layer technique to fabricate an ultrathin CNT composite membrane. Reproduced with permissi...
Figure 13: Schematic setup of the gas flow orientation system including a pipette to distribute the CNT soluti...
Figure 14: Schematic structure of a liquid crystal (blue ellipsoids) and CNT (black cylinders) rearrangement u...
Figure 15: AFM images of a CNT-thin-film transistor with (a) randomly and (b) well-oriented CNT arrays, adapte...
Figure 16: The filtration apparatus to fabricate the aligned CNT film on the membrane surface. The SEM image c...
Figure 17: Scheme of the Langmuir–Blodgett technique: (a) the CNT suspension in the LB device, (b) the prepara...
Figure 18: Schematic view of the experimental setup for surface acoustic wave (SAW)-based CNT arrangement. (a)...
Figure 19: SEM image of CNTs arranged in ethanol by a magnetic field, reproduced with permission from [108], copyri...
Figure 20: Schematic of a general dielectrophoresis (DEP) system to fabricate the oriented CNT patterns by an ...
Figure 21: XRD results and SEM images of CNTs with various degrees of alignment: (a) as-grown straight CNT arr...
Figure 22: FE-SEM micrographs presenting the microstructural morphology of (a) random and (b) aligned CNT shee...
Figure 1: a) Raman spectra of MLG (ca. 10 layers, lower) and FLG (1–6 layers, upper) – both at 514 nm. b) Hel...
Figure 2: a) and b) AFM detail and profile of a multi-layer graphene (MLG) flake, ca. 10 graphene layers, c) ...
Figure 3: a) GI composite after strength testing made from FLG-polymer A, b) GI composite after strength test...
Figure 4: Change in mean compressive fracture strength with increasing graphene concentration.
Figure 5: Change in mean compressive modulus with increasing graphene concentration.