• Carbon letters
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.67-77
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• 2015

Carbon fibers (CFs) have a unique combination of properties which allow them to be widely used as reinforcing materials in advanced polymer composites. The mechanical properties of CF-reinforced polymer composites are governed mainly by the quality of interfacial adhesion between the CFs and the polymer matrix. Surface treatments of CFs are generally carried out to introduce chemical functional groups on the fiber surfaces, which provide the ability to control the surface characteristics of CFs. In this study, we review recent experimental studies concerning various surface treatment methods for CFs. In addition, direct examples of the preparation and properties of CF-reinforced thermosetting composites are discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.1091-1092
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• 2006

Silicon nitride - silicon carbide composite was developed by using an abrasive SiC powders as a raw material. The composites were prepared by mixing abrasive SiC powder with silicon, pressing and sintering at $1400^{\circ}C$ under nitrogen atmosphere in atmosphere controlled vacuum furnace. The proportion of silicon in the initial mixtures varied from 20 to 50 wt%. After sintering, crystalline phases and microstructure were characterized. All composites consisted of ${\alpha}-Si_3N_4$ and ${\beta}-Si_3N_4$ as the bonding phases in SiC matrix. Their physical and mechanical properties were also determined. It was found that the density of the obtained composites increased with an increase in the $Si_3N_4$ content formed in the reaction.

• Composites Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 2013

This work presents the tensile properties and water uptake behavior of plasma treated abaca fibers reinforced epoxy composites. The composites were prepared by vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. The effects of treatment on tensile properties and sorption characteristics of abaca fiber composites in distilled water and salt solution at room temperature were investigated. The tensile strength of the composites increased with plasma treatment. With plasma treatment, an improvement of 92.9% was obtained in 2.5 min exposure time in plasma. This is attributed to high fiber-matrix compatibility. Less improvement on tensile properties of hybrid treatment of sodium hydroxide and plasma was obtained. However, both treatments reduced overall water uptake in distilled water and salt solution. Hydrophilicity of the fibers decreased upon plasma and sodium hydroxide treatment, which decreases water uptake.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.126-131
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• 2023

Growing environmental concerns regarding pollution caused by conventional plastics have increased interest in biodegradable polymers as alternative materials. The purpose of this study is to develop a 100% biodegradable nanocomposite material by introducing organic nucleating agents into the biodegradable and thermoplastic resin, poly(lactic acid), to improve its properties. Accordingly, cellulose nanofibers, an eco-friendly material, were adopted as a substitute for inorganic nucleating agents. To achieve a uniform dispersion of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) within PLA, the aqueous solution of nanofibers was lyophilized to maintain their fibrous shape. Then, they were subjected to primary mixing using a twin-screw extruder. Test specimens with double mixing were then produced by injection molding. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to confirm the reinforced physical properties, and it was found that the addition of 1 wt% CNFs acted as a reinforcing material and nucleating agent, reducing the cold crystallization temperature by approximately 14℃ and increasing the degree of crystallization. This study provides an environmentally friendly alternative for developing plastic materials with enhanced properties, which can contribute to a sustainable future without consuming inorganic nucleating agents. It serves as a basis for developing 100% biodegradable green nanocomposites.

• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.127-137
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• 2019

Recently, high electrochemical performance anode materials for lithium ion secondary batteries are of interest. Here, we present silicon-carbon-graphene (Si-C-GR) composites for high performance anode materials of lithium ion secondary battery (LIB). Aerosol process and heat-treatment were employed to prepare the Si-C-GR composites using a colloidal mixture of silicon, glucose, and graphene oxide precursor. The effects of the size of the silicon particles in Si-C-GR composites on the material properties including the morphology and crystal structure were investigated. Silicon particles ranged from 50 nm to 1 ㎛ in average diameter were employed while concentration of silicon, graphene oxide and glucose was fixed in the aerosol precursor. Morphology of as-fabricated Si-C-GR composites was generally the shape of a crumpled paper ball and the Si particles were well wrapped in carbon and graphene. The size range of composites was about from 2.2 to 2.9 ㎛. The composites including silicon particles larger than 200 nm in size exhibited higher performance as LIB anodes such as capacity and coulombic efficiency than silicon particles less than 100 nm, which were about 1500 mAh/g at 100 cycles in capacity and 99% in coulombic efficiency, respectively.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.175-180
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• 2018

Solution-styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) composites were manufactured using four kinds of fillers: silica-silane coated carbon black (SC-CB) hybrid, starch-SC-CB hybrid, pure silica, and pure starch. The influence of filler type on the mechanical properties of the rubber matrix was studied in this work. SC-CB was prepared by silane-graft-coating using vinyl triethoxy silane and carbon black, which enhanced the dispersion effect between the rubber matrix and the filler, and improved the mechanical properties of the compounds. The morphology of the composites was observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The thermal decomposition behavior of the composites was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the crosslinking behavior of the composites was tested using a rubber process analyzer (RPA). The hardness, tensile strength, swelling ratio, and gas transmittance rate of the composites were evaluated according to ASTM. The test results revealed that with the addition of SC-CB, the hybrid fillers, especially those blended with silica, showed a better reinforcement effect, the highest hardness and tensile strength, and stable thermal decomposition behavior. This implies that the silica-SC-CB hybrid filler has a notable mechanical reinforcement effect on the SSBR matrix. Because of self-crosslinking during its synthesis, the starch-SC-CB hybrid filler produced the most dense matrix, which improved the anti-gas transmittance property. The composites with the hybrid fillers had better anti-swelling properties as compared to the neat SSBR composite, which was due to the hydrophilicity of silica and starch.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.614-618
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• 2011

Nanopowders of MgO, $Al_2O_3$ and $SiO_2$ were made by high energy ball milling. The rapid sintering of nanostructured $MgAl_2O_4-Mg_2SiO_4$ composites was investigated by a high-frequency induction heating sintering process. The advantage of this process is that it allows very quick densification to near theoretical density and inhibition of grain growth. Nanocrystalline materials have received much attention as advanced engineering materials with improved physical and mechanical properties. As nanomaterials possess high strength, high hardness, excellent ductility and toughness, undoubtedly, more attention has been paid for the application of nanomaterials. Highly dense nanostructured $MgAl_2O_4-Mg_2SiO_4$ composites were produced with simultaneous application of 80MPa pressure and induced output current of total power capacity (15 kW) within 2min. The sintering behavior, gain size and mechanical properties of $MgAl_2O_4-Mg_2SiO_4$ composites were investigated.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2020

Recently, the amount of heat generated in devices has been increasing due to the miniaturization and high performance of electronic devices. Cu-graphite composites are emerging as a heat sink material, but its capability is limited due to the weak interface bonding between the two materials. To overcome these problems, Cu nanoparticles were deposited on a graphite flake surface by electroless plating to increase the interfacial bonds between Cu and graphite, and then composite materials were consolidated by spark plasma sintering. The Cu content was varied from 20 wt.% to 60 wt.% to investigate the effect of the graphite fraction and microstructure on thermal conductivity of the Cu-graphite composites. The highest thermal conductivity of 692 W m^-1K^-1 was achieved for the composite with 40 wt.% Cu. The measured coefficients of thermal expansion of the composites ranged from 5.36 × 10^-6 to 3.06 × 10^-6K^-1. We anticipate that the Cu-graphite composites have remarkable potential for heat dissipation applications in energy storage and electronics owing to their high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion coefficient.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.177-182
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• 2005

Large amounts of the waste SiC sludge containing small amounts of Si and organic lubricant were produced during the wire cutting process of the single silicon crystal ingots. The waste SiC sludge was purified by the washing process and the purified SiC powders were used to fabricate continuously porous $SiC-Si_3N_4$ composites using a fibrous monolithic process, in which carbon, $6wt\%\;Y_2O_3-2\;wt\%\;A1_2O_3$ and ethylene vinyl acetate were added as a pore-forming agent, sintering additives, and binder, respectively. In the burning-out process, carbon was fully removed and continuously porous $SiC-Si_3N_4$ composites were successfully fabricated. The green bodies containing SiC, Si particles and sintering additives were nitrided at $1410^{\circ}C$ in a flowing $N_2+10\%\;H_2$ gas mixture. Continuously porous composites were combined with SiC, ${\alpha}Si_3N_4,\;\beta-Si_3N_4$ and a few $\%$ of Fe phases. The pore size of the 2nd and the 3rd passed $SiC-Si_3N_4$ composites was $260\;{\mu}m$ and $35\;{\mu}m$ in diameter, respectively.

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2020

Over the past decade, liquid crystalline epoxy (LCER) has attracted much attention as a promising matrix for the development of efficient heat dissipation materials. This study presents a comprehensive study including synthesis, preparation and chacterization of polymer/inorganic composites using typical 4,4-diglycidyloxybiphenyl (DP) epoxy among LECR. To confirm the thermal conductivity of composite materials, we have prepared composite samples composed of epoxy resin and single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) as a filler. In particular, DP composites exhibit higher thermal conductivity than commercial epoxy composites that use the same type of filler due to the highly ordered microstructure of the LCER. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the DP composite can be controlled by controlling the amount of filler. In particular, the DP composite containing a SWCNT content of 50 wt% has the highest thermal conductivity of 2.008 W/mK.