Correlation between carbon oxygenated species of SWCNTs and the electrochemical oxidation reaction of NADH

Effect of Ambient Plasma Treatments on Thermal Conductivity and Fracture Toughness of Boron Nitride Nanosheets/Epoxy Nanocomposites

With the rapid growth in the miniaturization and integration of modern electronics, the dissipation of heat that would otherwise degrade the device efficiency and lifetime is a continuing challenge. In this respect, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) are of significant attraction as fillers for high thermal conductivity nanocomposites due to their high thermal stability, electrical insulation, and relatively high coefficient of thermal conductivity. Herein, the ambient plasma treatment of BNNS (PBNNS) for various treatment times is described for use as a reinforcement in epoxy nanocomposites. The PBNNS-loaded epoxy nanocomposites are successfully manufactured in order to investigate the thermal conductivity and fracture toughness. The results indicate that the PBNNS/epoxy nanocomposites subjected to 7 min plasma treatment exhibit the highest thermal conductivity and fracture toughness, with enhancements of 44 and 110%, respectively, compared to the neat nanocomposites. With these enhancements, the increases in surface free energy and wettability of the PBNNS/epoxy nanocomposites are shown to be attributable to the enhanced interfacial adhesion between the filler and matrix. It is demonstrated that the ambient plasma treatments enable the development of highly dispersed conductive networks in the PBNNS epoxy system.

Determination of the diameter-dependent onset potential for the oxygenation of SWCNTs

The evaluation of the diameter-dependent onset potential for the oxygenation of a SWCNT (single-walled carbon nanotube) is an important issue because its chemical and physical properties, such as chemical reactivity, electronic conductance, and optical characteristics, would be changed. We investigated the diameter-dependent onset potential for the oxygenation of SWCNTs in neutral aqueous solution by using in situ Raman spectroelectrochemical measurements, which was explained quantitatively in terms of the strain energy per carbon atom. These results will be useful for the fabrication of materials in which CNTs are used as a platform for applications such as fuel cells, capacitors, and Li-ion batteries.