• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.351-364
• /
• 2016

In recent decades, many researchers have tried to improve desalination performances of polyamide (PA) thin-film composite membranes (TFCs) by incorporating nanomaterials into a selective PA layer. This review focuses on PA-based nanocomposite membranes with high performances for energy-effective desalination in reverse osmosis. Carbon based nanomaterial (e.g., graphene oxide (GO), carbon nanotubes (CNT)) and/or other nanoparticles (e.g., zeolite, silica and etc.,) were applied to overcome the trade-off correlation between water permeability and salt rejection of current polymeric desalination membranes. Here, this brief review will discuss current studies of PA-based nanocomposite membranes with enhanced separation characteristics and provide the future research direction to achieve further improved desalination performances.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.727-740
• /
• 2017

The present paper studies the stability analysis of the continuously graded CNT-Reinforced Composite (CNTRC) panel stiffened by rings and stringers. The Stiffened Panel (SP) subjected to axial and lateral loads is reinforced by agglomerated CNTs smoothly graded through the thickness. A two-parameter Eshelby-Mori-Tanaka (EMT) model is adopted to derive the effective material moduli of the CNTRC. The stability equations of the CNRTC SP are obtained by means of the adjacent equilibrium criterion. Notwithstanding most available literature in which the stiffener effects were smeared out over the respective stiffener spacing, in the present work, the stiffeners are modeled as Euler-Bernoulli beams. The Generalized Differential Quadrature Method (GDQM) is employed to discretize the stability equations. A numerical study is performed to investigate the influences of different types of parameters involved on the critical buckling of the SP reinforced by agglomerated CNTs. The results achieved reveal that continuously distributing of CNTs adjacent to the inner and outer panel's surface results in improving the stiffness of the SP and, as a consequence, inclining the critical buckling load. Furthermore, it has been concluded that the decline rate of buckling load intensity factor owing to the increase of the panel angle is significantly more sensible for the smaller values of panel angle.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
• /
• v.68
• /
• pp.387-392
• /
• 2018

Various technical approaches and concepts have been proposed to develop conductive super-hydrophobic (SH) surfaces. However, most of these approaches are not usable in practical applications because of insufficient adhesion and cost issues. Additionally, durability and uniformity issues are still in need of improvement. The goal of this research is to produce a large-area conductive SH surface with improved adhesion performance and uniformity. To this end, carbon nanotubes (CNT) with a high aspect ratio and elastomeric polymer were utilized as a conductive filler and matrix, respectively, to form a coating layer. Additionally, nanoscale silica particles were utilized for stable implementation of the conductive SH surface. To improve the adhesion properties between the SH coating layer and substrate, pretreatment of the substrate was conducted by utilizing both wet and dry etching processes to create specific organic functional groups on the substrate. Following pretreatment of the surface, a zirco-aluminate coupling agent was utilized to enhance adhesion properties between the substrate and the SH coating layer. Raman spectroscopy revealed that adhesion was greatly improved by the formation of a chemical bond between the substrate and the SH coating layer at an optimal coupling agent concentration. The developed conductive SH coating attained a high electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness, which is advantageous in self-cleaning EMI shielding applications.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.365-373
• /
• 2008

We have succeeded in synthesizing vertically aligned thin multi-walled carbon nanotubes (VA thin-MWCNTs) by a catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) method onto Fe/Al thin film deposited on a Si wafers using an optimum amount of hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$) additive. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed that the as-synthesized CNT arrays were vertically well-oriented perpendicular to the substrate with relatively uniform length. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations indicated that the as-grown CNTs were nearly catalyst-free thin-MWCNTs with small outer diameters of less than 10nm. The average wall number is about 5. We suggested a possible growth mechanism of the VA thin-MWCNT arrays. The VA thin-MWCNTs showed a low turn-on electric field of about $1.1\;V/{\mu}m$ at a current density of $0.1\;{\mu}A/cm^2$ and a high emission current density about $2.5\;mA/cm^2$ at a bias field of $2.7\;V/{\mu}m$. Moreover, the VA thin-MWCNTs presented better field emission stability without degradation over 20 hours (h) at the emission current density of about $1\;mA/cm^2$.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.436-441
• /
• 2011

Metal coating with several nanometer thickness was applied on the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in order to improve electron emission characteristics and emission reliability for the potential applications in the area of various electron sources and displays. CNTs were grown on the 2-nm thick Invar (52% Fe, 42% Ni, 6% Co alloy)-catalized Si substrate by using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at $450^{\circ}C$. In order to reduce the spatial density of densely packed CNTs, as-grown CNTs were partly etched back by $N_2$ plasma and subsequently coated with 5~150 nm thick Ti by a sputtering method. 5 nm thick Ti-coated CNTs produced four times higher emission current density at the electric field of 6 V/${\mu}m$ and much lower emission current fluctuation, compared with the as-grown CNTs. These improved emission properties are mainly due to not only the work function of Ti (4.3 eV) lower than that of pristine CNTs (5 eV), but also lower contact resistance and better adhesion between CNT emitters and substrate accomplished by Ti coating.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.180-186
• /
• 2017

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to compare the surface resistance of cassettes according to the material, and to evaluate the wall deposition of carbon nanotubes(CNTs) by electrostatic loss in the inner wall of the cassette. Methods: Surface resistance was measured for three types of cassettes(25 mm polypropylene conductive cowl, 25 mm and 37 mm clear styrene cassettes) with a surface resistance meter. Also, electrostatic wall loss was measured at different weights of CNTs depending on the cassette. CNTs were laid on a weight dish with the cassette for five minutes to provide sufficient time to attach on the wall. Wipe sampling was performed to collect CNTs deposited on the wall and elemental carbon, known as a surrogate for CNTs, was analyzed. Results: The cassette with conductive materials(18% of black carbon) showed the lowest surface resistance($<1.21{\times}10^3{\Omega}$). Cassettes made from clear polystyrene showed the relatively highest surface resistance(25 mm: $10.02{\times}10^9{\Omega}$, 37 mm: $10.59{\times}10^9{\Omega}$). This means that particles are more likely to stick to the internal wall of styrene cassettes due to electrostatic electricity. This may lead to an underestimation of the airborne concentration of CNTs. The experiment showed that EC was not detected when using a 25 mm conductive cowl cassette, while EC was detected at the internal wall of 25 mm and 37 mm polystyrene cassettes. Conclusions: This study confirms that cassettes with a conductive cowl have low surface resistance and are more appropriate for CNT sampling. In addition, this finding could be applied for other types of particulate, especially regarding electrostatic charge and sampling.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.179-186
• /
• 2021

Carbon-based nanofillers, including nanodiamond (ND) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have been employed in epoxy matrixes for improving the toughness, using the tow prepreg method, of epoxy compounds for high pressure tanks. The reinforcing performance was compared with those of commercially available toughening fillers, including carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN) and block copolymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(butyl acrylate)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (BA-b-MMA). CTNB improved the mechanical performance at a relatively high filler loading of ~5 phr. Nanosized BA-b-MMA showed improved performance at a lower filler loading of ~2 phr. However, the mechanical properties deteriorated at a higher loading of ~5 phr because of the formation of larger aggregates. ND showed no significant improvement in mechanical properties because of aggregate formation. In contrast, surface-treated ND with epoxidized hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene considerably improved the mechanical properties, notably the impact strength, because of more uniform dispersion of particles in the epoxy matrix. CNTs noticeably improved the flexural strength and impact strength at a filler loading of 0.5 phr. However, the improvements were lost with further addition of fillers because of CNT aggregation.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.529-542
• /
• 2021

Shear connectors are required to build composite (concrete and steel) beams. They are placed at the interface of concrete and steel to transfer shear and normal forces between two structural components. Such composite beams are sensitive to provide structural integrity when exposed to fire as they loss strength, stiffness, and ductility at elevated temperature. The present study is designed to investigate the shear resistance and the failure modes of the headed stud shear connectors at fire exposure and post-fire exposure. The study includes ordinary concrete and concrete with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to build composite (concrete-steel) beams with structural steel. Experimental push tests were conducted on composite beams at ambient and elevated temperatures, such as 200, 400 & 600℃. Moreover, push tests were performed on the composite beams after being exposed to 200, 400 & 600℃. Push test results illustrated the reduction of ultimate shear capacity and stiffness of headed stud shear connectors as the temperature increased. Although similar values of ultimate shear were obtained for the headed stud connectors in both ordinary and CNT concrete, the CNT modified concrete reduced the concrete spalling and cracking compared to ordinary concrete and was observed to be effective at temperatures greater than 400℃. All specimens showed a lower shear resistance at fire exposures compared to the corresponding post-fire exposures. Moreover, numerical simulation by Finite Element (FE) analyses were carried out at ambient temperature and at fire conditions. The FE analysis results show a good agreement with the experimental results. In the experimental studies, failure of all specimens occurred due to shear failure of headed stud, which was later validated by FE analyses using ABAQUS.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.291-297
• /
• 2007

The field emission properties of CNT-emitters coated with Ag-Cu alloy have been investigated. The vertical aligned multi-walled CNTs were synthesized by dc-plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (dc-PECVD) and the Ag-Cu alloy was coated by using dc-magnetron sputter. The morphology of alloy-coated and un-coated CNT-emitters was observed by using SEM and their field emission properties were also measured. Annealing the AgCu-coated CNTs at temperature more than ${\sim}700^{\circ}C$, the Ag-Cu alloy was diffused to and aggregated on the top of the CNT as a Q-tip. A significant progress on the field emission was not observed with coating Ag-Cu alloy on the CNTs, but a certain improvement in a resistance against oxygen gas was made confirmation. It seems to be due to inertness of Ag-Cu alloy on the CNTs.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.130-135
• /
• 2012

We present a method of graphene synthesis with high thickness uniformity using the thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD) technique; we demonstrate its application to a grid supporting membrane using transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation, particularly for nanomaterials that have smaller dimensions than the pitch of commercial grid mesh. Graphene was synthesized on electron-beam-evaporated Ni catalytic thin films. Methane and hydrogen gases were used as carbon feedstock and dilution gas, respectively. The effects of synthesis temperature and flow rate of feedstock on graphene structures have been investigated. The most effective condition for large area growth synthesis and high thickness uniformity was found to be $1000^{\circ}C$ and 5 sccm of methane. Among the various applications of the synthesized graphenes, their use as a supporting membrane of a TEM grid has been demonstrated; such a grid is useful for high resolution TEM imaging of nanoscale materials because it preserves the same focal plane over the whole grid mesh. After the graphene synthesis, we were able successfully to transfer the graphenes from the Ni substrates to the TEM grid without a polymeric mediator, so that we were able to preserve the clean surface of the as-synthesized graphene. Then, a drop of carbon nanotube (CNT) suspension was deposited onto the graphene-covered TEM grid. Finally, we performed high resolution TEM observation and obtained clear image of the carbon nanotubes, which were deposited on the graphene supporting membrane.