Polypyrrole-Fe2O3 nanohybrid materials for electrochemical storage

In Situ Thermal Generation of Silver Nanoparticles in 3D Printed Polymeric Structures

Polymer nanocomposites have always attracted the interest of researchers and industry because of their potential combination of properties from both the nanofillers and the hosting matrix. Gathering nanomaterials and 3D printing could offer clear advantages and numerous new opportunities in several application fields. Embedding nanofillers in a polymeric matrix could improve the final material properties but usually the printing process gets more difficult. Considering this drawback, in this paper we propose a method to obtain polymer nanocomposites by in situ generation of nanoparticles after the printing process. 3D structures were fabricated through a Digital Light Processing (DLP) system by disolving metal salts in the starting liquid formulation. The 3D fabrication is followed by a thermal treatment in order to induce in situ generation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) in the polymer matrix. Comprehensive studies were systematically performed on the thermo-mechanical characteristics, morphology and electrical properties of the 3D printed nanocomposites.

Pure Nanoscale Morphology Effect Enhancing the Energy Storage Characteristics of Processable Hierarchical Polypyrrole

We report a new synthesis approach for the precise control of wall morphologies of colloidal polypyrrole microparticles (PPyMPs) based on a time-dependent template-assisted polymerization technique. The resulting PPyMPs are water processable, allowing the simple and direct fabrication of multilevel hierarchical PPyMPs films for energy storage via a self-assembly process, whereas convention methods creating hierarchical conducting films based on electrochemical polymerization are complicated and tedious. This approach allows the rational design and fabrication of PPyMPs with well-defined size and tunable wall morphology, while the chemical composition, zeta potential, and microdiameter of the PPyMPs are well characterized. By precisely controlling the wall morphology of the PPyMPs, we observed a pure nanoscale morphological effect of the materials on the energy storage performance. We demonstrated by controlling purely the wall morphology of PPyMPs to around 100 nm (i.e., thin-walled PPyMPs) that the thin-walled PPyMPs exhibit typical supercapacitor characteristics with a significant enhancement of charge storage performance of up to 290% compared to that of thick-walled PPyMPs confirmed by cyclic voltametry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. We envision that the present design concept could be extended to different conducting polymers as well as other functional organic and inorganic dopants, which provides an innovative model for future study and understanding of the complex physicochemical phenomena of energy-related materials.

Self-Assembled α-Fe2O3 mesocrystals/graphene nanohybrid for enhanced electrochemical capacitors

Self-assembled α-Fe2O3 mesocrystals/graphene nanohybrids have been successfully synthesized and have a unique mesocrystal porous structure, a large specific surface area, and high conductivity. Mesocrystal structures have recently attracted unparalleled attention owing to their promising application in energy storage as electrochemical capacitors. However, mesocrystal/graphene nanohybrids and their growth mechanism have not been clearly investigated. Here we show a facile fabrication of short rod-like α-Fe2O3 mesocrystals/graphene nanohybrids by self-assembly of FeOOH nanorods as the primary building blocks on graphene under hydrothermal conditions, accompanied and promoted by concomitant phase transition from FeOOH to α-Fe2O3. A systematic study of the formation mechanism is also presented. The galvanostatic charge/discharge curve shows a superior specific capacitance of the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 mesocrystals/graphene nanohybrid (based on total mass of active materials), which is 306.9 F g(-1) at 3 A g(-1) in the aqueous electrolyte under voltage ranges of up to 1 V. The nanohybrid with unique sufficient porous structure and high electrical conductivity allows for effective ion and charge transport in the whole electrode. Even at a high discharge current density of 10 A g(-1), the enhanced ion and charge transport still yields a higher capacitance (98.2 F g(-1)), exhibiting enhanced rate capability. The α-Fe2O3 mesocrystal/graphene nanohybrid electrode also demonstrates excellent cyclic performance, which is superior to previously reported graphene-based hematite electrode, suggesting it is highly stable as an electrochemical capacitor.

Colloidal Inorganic Nanocrystal Based Nanocomposites: Functional Materials for Micro and Nanofabrication

The unique size- and shape-dependent electronic properties of nanocrystals (NCs) make them extremely attractive as novel structural building blocks for constructing a new generation of innovative materials and solid-state devices. Recent advances in material chemistry has allowed the synthesis of colloidal NCs with a wide range of compositions, with a precise control on size, shape and uniformity as well as specific surface chemistry. By incorporating such nanostructures in polymers, mesoscopic materials can be achieved and their properties engineered by choosing NCs differing in size and/or composition, properly tuning the interaction between NCs and surrounding environment. In this contribution, different approaches will be presented as effective opportunities for conveying colloidal NC properties to nanocomposite materials for micro and nanofabrication. Patterning of such nanocomposites either by conventional lithographic techniques and emerging patterning tools, such as ink jet printing and nanoimprint lithography, will be illustrated, pointing out their technological impact on developing new optoelectronic and sensing devices.