Frequency dependent conductivity in polymers and other disordered materials

Novel Hybrid Composites Based on Polymers of Diphenyl-Amine-2-Carboxylic Acid and Highly Porous Activated IR-Pyrolyzed Polyacrylonitrile

Hybrid composites based on electroactive polymers of diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (PDPAC) and highly porous carbon with a hierarchical pore structure were prepared for the first time. Activated IR-pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile (IR-PAN-a), characterized by a highly developed surface, was chosen as a highly porous N-doped carbon component of the hybrid materials. IR-PAN-a was prepared using pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in the presence of potassium hydroxide under IR radiation. Composite materials were obtained using oxidative polymerization of diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (DPAC) in the presence of IR-PAN-a both in an acidic and an alkaline medium. The composite materials were IR-heated to reduce the oxygen content and enhance their physical and chemical properties. The chemical structure, morphology, and electrical and thermal properties of the developed IR-PAN-a/PDPAC composites were investigated. The IR-PAN-a/PDPAC composites are thermally stable and electrically conductive. During the synthesis of the composites in an acidic medium, doping of the polymer component occurs, which makes the main contribution to the composite conductivity (1.3 × 10-5 S/cm). A sharp drop in the electrical conductivity of the IR-PAN-a/PDPACac-IR composites to 3.4 × 10-10 S/cm is associated with the removal of the dopant during IR heating. The IR-PAN-a/PDPACalk composites prepared before and after IR heating show a gradual increase in electrical conductivity by five orders of magnitude to 1.6 × 10-5 S/cm at 25-106 Hz. IR heating of the obtained materials leads to a significant increase in their thermal properties. The IR-heated composites lose half of their initial weight in an inert atmosphere at temperatures above 1000 °C, whereas for IR-PAN-a/PDPAC, the temperature range is 840-849 °C.

Electrical, Thermo-Electrical, and Electromagnetic Behaviour of Epoxy Composites Reinforced with Graphene Nanoplatelets with Different Average Surface Area

The influence of the average surface area of different graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) on the thermo-electrical behaviour, associated with Joule heating, and the attenuation of electromagnetic signals of epoxy composites has been studied, analysing the effect of the morphology obtained as a function of the dispersion time by ultrasonication and the GNP content added. Gravity moulding was used as the first stage in the scaling-up, oriented to the industrial manufacture of multilayer coatings, observing a preferential self-orientation of nanoparticles and, in several conditions, a self-stratification too. The increase of sonication time during the GNP dispersion provides a decrease in the electrical conductivity, due to the GNP fragmentation. Instead, the thermal conductivity is enhanced due to the higher homogeneous distribution of GNPs into the epoxy matrix. Finally, the lower surface area of GNPs reduces the thermal and electrical conductivity due to a greater separation between nanosheets. Regarding the study of the attenuation of electromagnetic waves, it has been discovered that in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 20 MHz, this attenuation is independent of the direction of analysis, the type of graphene, the sonication time, and the state of dispersion of the nano-reinforcement in the matrix. Furthermore, it has also been observed that the conservation of the constant shielding values for the three types of GNPs are in a range of average frequencies between 0.3 and 3 MHz.

Hopping Conductivity and Dielectric Relaxations in Ag/PAN Nanocomposites

The dependence of the conductivity and electric modulus of silver/polyacrylonitrile nanocomposites on the frequency of an alternating electric field has been studied at different temperatures and starting mixture AgNO₃ contents. The frequency dependences on the conductivity of the nanocomposites in the range of 10³-10⁶ Hz are in good agreement with the power law f^0.8. The observed relaxation maxima in the relation of the imaginary part of the electric modulus on the frequency can be explained by interfacial polarization. It was shown that the frequency dispersions of conductivity and electric modulus were well described by the Dyre and Cole-Davidson models, respectively. Using these models, we have estimated the relaxation times and the activation energies of these structures. A mechanism of charge transport responsible for the conductivity of nanocomposites is proposed. An assumption is made regarding the presence of Ag₄²⁺ and Ag₈²⁺ silver clusters in the polymer.

Hybrid Electromagnetic Nanomaterials Based on Polydiphenylamine-2-carboxylic Acid

Hybrid ternary nanomaterials based on conjugated polymer polydiphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (PDPAC) (poly-N-phenylanthranilic acid), Fe3O4 nanoparticles and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) were prepared for the first time. Polymer-metal-carbon Fe3O4/SWCNT/PDPAC nanocomposites were synthesized via in situ oxidative polymerization of diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (DPAC) by two different ways: in an acidic medium and in the interfacial process in an alkaline medium. In an alkaline medium (pH 11.4), the entire process of Fe3O4/SWCNT/PDPAC-1 synthesis was carried out in one reaction vessel without intermediate stages of product extraction and purification. In an acidic medium (pH 0.3), to prepare the Fe3O4/SWCNT/PDPAC-2 nanocomposites, prefabricated magnetite nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of obtained SWCNT/PDPAC-2. The phase composition of the nanocomposites does not depend on the synthesis reaction medium pH. The influence of the reaction medium pH on the structure, morphology, thermal, magnetic, and electrical properties of the obtained ternary nanocomposites was studied.

Formation Features of Hybrid Nanocomposites Based on Polydiphenylamine-2-Carboxylic Acid and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Hybrid nanocomposites based on electroactive polydiphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (PDPAC) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were obtained for the first time. Polymer-carbon nanomaterials were synthesized via in situ oxidative polymerization of diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid (DPAC) in the presence of SWCNTs by two different ways. Hybrid SWCNT/PDPAC nanocomposites were prepared both in an acidic medium and in the heterophase system in an alkaline medium. In the heterophase system, the monomer and the SWCNTs are in the organic phase (chloroform) and the oxidant (ammonium persulfate) is in an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide. The chemical structure, as well as the electrical and thermal properties of the developed SWCNT/PDPAC nanocomposite materials were investigated.

Hybrid Materials Based on Poly-3-amine-7-methylamine-2-methylphenazine and Magnetite Nanoparticles Immobilized on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Polymer-metal-carbon hybrid nanomaterials based on thermostable electroactive poly-3-amine-7-methylamine-2-methylphenazine (PAMMP), single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), and magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles were synthesized for the first time. Hybrid Fe₃O₄/SWCNT/PAMMP nanomaterial synthesis was carried out via in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of 3-amine-7-methylamine-2-methylphenazine hydrochloride in the presence of metal-carbon Fe₃O₄/SWCNT nanocomposites. Fe₃O₄/SWCNT nanocomposites were obtained by the immobilization of magnetite nanoparticles on the SWCNT surface in the course of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles synthesis in alkaline medium. The developed nanocomposite materials were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission (FE-SEM) scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and magnetometry. The chemical structure and phase composition, magnetic and electrical properties, and thermal stability of the obtained multifunctional nanomaterials, depending on synthesis conditions, were investigated.

2D Ti3C2Tx (MXene)-reinforced polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers with enhanced mechanical and electrical properties

Novel 2D Ti3C2Tx (MXene)-reinforced polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers have been successfully fabricated by an electrospinning technique. The high aspect ratio, hydrophilic surfaces, and metallic conductivity of delaminated MXene nanosheet render it promising nanofiller for high performance nanocomposites. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were used to improve the mechanical properties of the nanofibers. The obtained electrospun nanofibers had diameter from 174 to 194 nm depending on ratio between PVA, CNC and MXene. Dynamic mechanical analysis demonstrated an increase in the elastic modulus from 392 MPa for neat PVA fibers to 855 MPa for fibers containing CNC and MXene at 25°C. Moreover, PVA nanofibers containing 0.14 wt. % Ti3C2Tx exhibited dc conductivity of 0.8 mS/cm conductivity which is superior compared to similar composites prepared using methods other than electrospinning. Improved mechanical and electrical characteristics of the Ti3C2Tx /CNC/PVA composites make them viable materials for high performance energy applications.

ac conductivity spectra of alkali tellurite glasses: composition-dependent deviations from the Summerfield scaling

We report, for the first time, deviations from the Summerfield scaling in the ac conductivity spectra of single ion conducting glasses. In contrast to the extensively studied borate and germanate glasses, the conductivity isotherms of alkali tellurite glasses do not superimpose upon application of the Summerfield scaling. The deviations depend on the alkali oxide content as well as on the type of the alkali ion. Remarkably, our experimental findings differ considerably from theoretical results describing the hopping dynamics of charge carriers in random barrier landscapes.

Scaling and universality of ac conduction in disordered solids

Recent scaling results for the ac conductivity of ionic glasses by Roling et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2160 (1997)] and Sidebottom [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 3653 (1999)] are discussed. We prove that Sidebottom's version of scaling is completely general. A new approximation to the universal ac conductivity arising in the extreme disorder limit of the symmetric hopping model, the "diffusion cluster approximation," is presented and compared to computer simulations and experiments.