• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.53-69
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• 2024

Advancements in the technology of building materials has led to diverse applications of nanomaterials with the aim to monitor concrete structures. While there are myriad instances of the use of nanoparticles in building materials, the production of smart nano cement-composites is often expensive. Thereupon, this research aims to discover a sustainable nanomaterial from tyre waste using the pyrolysis process as part of the green manufacturing circle. Here, Nano Structure Tyre-Char (NSTC) is introduced as a zero-dimension carbon-based nanoparticle. The NSTC particles were characterized using various standard characterization techniques. Several salient results for the NSTC particles were obtained using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The size of the particles as well as that of the agglomerates were reduced significantly using the milling process and the results were validated through a scanning electron microscope. The crystallite size and crystallinity were found to be ~35nm and 10.42%, respectively. The direct bandgap value of 5.93eV and good optical conductivity at 786 nm were obtained from the ultra violet visible spectroscopy measurements. The thermal analysis reveals the presence of a substantial amount of carbon, the rate of maximum weight loss, and the two stages of phase transformation. The FT-Raman confirms the presence of carboxyl groups and a ID/IG ratio of 0.83. Water contact angle around 140° on the surface implies the highly hydrophobic nature of the material and its low surface energy. This characteristic process assists to obtain a sustainable nanomaterial from waste tyres, contributing to the development of a smart building material.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.247-252
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• 2014

This paper presents a novel impact sensor which can be fabricated with smart paint made of grapheme. This smart nano paint can be easily installed on structures using a spray-on technique and that can make the sensor low cost and practical. The graphene effectively improves the piezoresistivity of the smart paint and that is available to achieve sensitive impact sensor with high gauge factor. The nano smart-paint can detect sufficient impact to cover the damaged energy range of the composite around 1~3J. The voltage outputs from the sprayed paints show fairly linear responses after signal processing. The impact makes deformation of the structure and it brings change of piezoresistivity of the paint and those converts into voltage output consequently by means of a simple signal processing system. The nano smart paint is lightweight and easily applied to the structural surface, and there is no stress concentration. The nano smart paint is expected to be a cost effective and sensitive multi-functional sensor for composites and other damage monitoring applications in the field of structural health monitoring.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.388-388
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• 2011

Graphene, with its unique physical and structural properties, has recently become a proving ground for various physical phenomena, and is a promising candidate for a variety of electronic device and flexible display applications. The physical properties of graphene depend directly on the thickness. These properties lead to the possibility of its application in high-performance transparent conducting films (TCFs). Compared to indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes, which have a typical sheet resistance of ~60 ${\Omega}/sq$ and ~85% transmittance in the visible range, the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesized graphene electrodes have a higher transmittance in the visible to IR region and are more robust under bending. Nevertheless, the lowest sheet resistance of the currently available CVD graphene electrodes is higher than that of ITO. Here, we report an ingenious strategy, irradiation of MeV electron beam (e-beam) at room temperature under ambient condition,for obtaining size-homogeneous gold nanoparticle decorated on graphene. The nano-particlization promoted by MeV e-beam irradiation was investigated by transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy elemental mapping, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. These results clearly revealed that gold nanoparticle with 10~15 nm in mean size were decorated along the surface of the graphene after 1.0 MeV-e-beam irradiation. The fabrication high-performance TCF with optimized doping condition showed a sheet resistance of ~150 ${\Omega}/sq$ at 94% transmittance. A chemical transformation and charge transfer for the metal gold nanoparticle were systematically explored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. This approach advances the numerous applications of graphene films as transparent conducting electrodes.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.76-84
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• 2013

The term 'Piezoresistive effect' describes a change in the electrical resistance of the material from deformed to its original shape by the external pressure, e.g., elongation, compression, etc. This phenomenon has various applications of sensors for monitoring pressure, vibration, and acceleration. Although there are many materials which have the piezoresistive effect, rubber (nano)composites with conductive fillers have attracted a great deal of attention because the piezoresistive effect appears at the various range of pressure by controlling the type of filler, particle size, particle shape, aspect ratio of particles, and filler content. Especially one can obtain the composites with elasticity and flexibility by using the rubber as a matrix. This paper aims to review the piezoresistive effect itself, their basic principles, and the various conductive rubber-composites with piezoresistive effect.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.131-135
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• 2011

In this study, we fabricated the HDPE and ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ composites with PE-g-MA as a function of the ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ nanopowder weight ratios. The electron beam irradiations on HDPE/${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ composites were carried out over a range of absorbed doses from 20 to 200 kGy to make three-dimensional network structures. The mechanical properties were characterized using UTM for confirming the changes of the flexural strength and tensile strength. It was observed that the mechanical properties of HDPE were enhanced by the addition of ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$. However, the strength of the 5 wt% ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ added composites decreased due to the nano-powder aggregation. The mechanical properties of composites were increased as increasing the electron beam irradiation up to 150 kGy. We believed that the electron beam irradiated HDPE/${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ composites can be a good candidate for a variety of industrial applications.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.3-8
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• 2008

Self-sensing was evaluated for carbon nanofiber (CNF)/epoxy composites with two different aspect ratios via electro-micromechanical technique and wettability test. Volumetric electrical resistance was measured to evaluate the comparative dispersion degree indirectly and it decreased due to the increase of electric contacts with increasing CNF concentration. The dispersion degree was evaluated indirectly by calculating coefficient of variation (COV) of volumetric electrical resistance. The CNF type A with a high aspect ratio showed better self-sensing than the case of CNF type B with a short aspect ratio. The CNF type B/epoxy composite showed little self-sensing at a concentration higher than 2 vol% probably due to poor dispersion. The apparent modulus of CNF type B was higher than that of CNF type A due to the orientation effect and the high surface area. The thermodynamic work of adhesion was consistent with the result of apparent modulus.

• Composites Research
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1-6
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• 2010

The electrical conductivity of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP's) has been improved by indium-tin oxide (ITO) nano-particle coating on carbon fibers for the purpose of lightning strike protection of composite fuselage skins. ITO nano-particles were coated on the surface of carbon fibers by spraying the colloidal suspension with 10~40% ITO content. The electrical conductivity of the CFRP has been increased more than three times after ITO coating, comparable to or higher than that of B-787 composite fuselage skins with metal wire-meshes on the outer surface, without sacrificing the tensile property due to the existence of nano-particles at fiber-matrix interface. The damage area by the simulated lightning strike was also verified for different materials and conditions by using ultrasonic C-scan image. As the electrical conductivity of 40% nano-ITO coated sample surpass that of the B-787 sample, the damage area by lightning strike also appeared comparable to that of the materials currently employed for composite fuselage construction.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 1999

This paper describes how the gold particles self assemble on the specific phase on the microphase separated block copolymer thin film and form a well ordered patterns. For this study, polystyrene-polybutadiene-polystyrene (PS-PB-PS) triblock copolymer (30wt % PS) thin films (${\sim}100nm$) having a cylindrical morphology were cast from 0.1wt% toluene solution to be used as polymer thin film templates. The films having either vertical PS cylinders or in-plane PS cylinders in PB matrix from each different solvent evaporation condition were obtained. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy(TEM) was used to study the surface and bulk morphologies of block copolymer thin films. Small amount of gold particles was evaporated on a block copolymer thin film template to obtain a nano-scale pattern. When an as-cast thin film template was used, gold particles preferentially self assemble on the low surface tension PB phase and a relatively well ordered pattern in nano-scale was produced. However, after the formation of a low surface energy PB rich layer upon annealing, a gold self-assembled pattern was not observed.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.13.1-13.10
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• 2020

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different modeling agents on the surface microhardness (Vickers hardness number; VHN), roughness (Ra), and color change (ΔE) of a nano-hybrid composite with or without exposure to discoloration by coffee. Materials and Methods: Sixty-four cylinder-shaped nano-hybrid composite specimens were prepared using a Teflon mold. The specimens' surfaces were prepared according to the following groups: group 1, no modeling agent; group 2, Modeling Liquid; group 3, a universal adhesive (G-Premio Bond); and group 4, the first step of a 2-step self-adhesive system (OptiBond XTR). Specimens were randomly allocated into 2 groups (n = 8) according to the storage medium (distilled water or coffee). VHN, Ra, and ΔE were measured at 24 hours, 1 week, and 6 weeks. The Kruskal-Wallis test followed by the Bonferroni correction for pairwise comparisons was used for statistical analysis (α = 0.05). Results: Storage time did not influence the VHN of the nano-hybrid composite in any group (p > 0.05). OptiBond XTR Primer application affected the VHN negatively in all investigated storage medium and time conditions (p < 0.05). Modeling Liquid application yielded improved Ra values for the specimens stored in coffee at each time point (p < 0.05). Modeling Liquid application was associated with the lowest ΔE values in all investigated storage medium and time conditions (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Different types of modeling agents could affect the surface properties and discoloration of nano-hybrid composites.

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