Ultrasound-assisted-pressure-induced-flow leading to superior polymer/carbon nanotube composites and foams

Pressure-induced flow processing behind the superior mechanical properties and heat-resistance performance of poly(butylene succinate)

We propose a pressure-induced flow (PIF) processing method for the simultaneous enhancement of strength, toughness, and heat resistance of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). The pressure and temperature were systematically adjusted to optimize the tensile strength of PBS. Under the optimized processing conditions, the structured PBS was characterized by relatively high strength of 89.5 MPa, toughness of 21.4 kJ·m−2, and improved heat resistance without deterioration of much of its ductility. Microscopic analyses witnessed denser and highly oriented crystalline domains along the flow direction caused by PIF processing. Detailed crystallization analysis made by 2D-WAXD and 2D-SAXS unraveled the extremely ordered PBS domains, which were featured by a significant increase in the orientation degree from 0.25 for the reference to 0.73 for PIF-processed PBS. Such a highly ordered microstructure substantially boosted the degree of crystallinity and heat-resistance temperature of PBS. We believe that our findings would offer a facile, green, and cost-effective approach for fabricating biodegradable polymers with outstanding properties and performance.

A thin TiO2 NTs/GO hybrid membrane applied as an interlayer for lithium–sulfur batteries

Lithium–sulfur batteries hold great promise for serving as next generation high energy density batteries.

Polystyrene/multi-wall carbon nanotube composite and its foam assisted by ultrasound vibration

Polystyrene/multi-wall carbon nanotube composite with an interconnected honeycomb-like structure was prepared by firstly coating the surface of the polystyrene pellets with multi-wall carbon nanotube, and sequentially welded through an ultrasound vibration technique. The mechanical and morphological properties of as-prepared composite were investigated in various measurements. It was found that an aggregative and honeycomb-like morphology of multi-wall carbon nanotube existed in the polystyrene/multi-wall carbon nanotube composite according to the polarized optical microscopic and scanning electron microscopic results; the ultrasound vibration could benefit to the performance of flexural strength. Furthermore, different composite foams were studied in this work, employing supercritical carbon dioxide as a blowing agent. Compared to other foams prepared by the conventional methods, the compressive strength of the foams derived from as-described novel method, was significantly improved. Also, being ascribed to this interconnected structure by coating carbon nanotube on polystyrene pellets, good electrical conductivity of 0.05–0.11 S/m was achieved in the novel composite foams.

Enhanced strength and foamability of high-density polyethylene prepared by pressure-induced flow and low-temperature crosslinking

We report a high-performance high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with significantly enhanced mechanical strength by means of pressure-induced flow (PIF) and low-temperature crosslinking treatment.

Enhanced electrochemical performance by a three-dimensional interconnected porous nitrogen-doped graphene/carbonized polypyrrole composite for lithium–sulfur batteries

3D interconnected porous nitrogen-doped graphene/carbonized polypyrrole nanotubes are employed as sulfur hosts, they exhibit excellent electrochemical performance for lithium–sulfur batteries.