Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T17:19:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Parte 1.pdf: 442291 bytes, checksum: f948228d7caa220f7398d3b07a84b8cc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Graphite is the cheapest and the most abundant source to obtain graphene. For a large scale production of graphene and its application in nanocomposites, reduction of graphite oxide (GO) method has been currently used. The graphite oxidation causes an introduction of functional groups which leads to an increase in graphite interlayer distance, producing GO. The GO can be reduced either by chemical or thermal methods. Several polymer matrices have been utilized to produce graphene nanocomposites, one of them is the epoxy resin. One of the challenges to produce polymer nanocomposites is the total dispersion of the nanofillers into the matrix and a strong matrix/nanofillers interfacial adhesion to obtain enhanced final properties. The aim of this work was the production of reinforcements for application in epoxy matrix nanocomposites. From natural graphite, some reinforcements were produced, such as sonicated graphite (SG), exfoliated graphite by supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide (GE-scCO2), GO, expanded GO (EGO) and chemical reduced GO (RGO). Among these, only the SG, GO and EGO were utilized in nanocomposites production at concentrations of 0.025, 0.05, 0.075 e 0.1 wt% in epoxy resin based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGBEA). The results showed the graphite oxidation method was efficient to produce GO and both, chemical and thermal reduction methods, increases the thermal stability of the material, indicating high reduction level which was also verified by X-ray diffraction. The graphite exfoliation by scCO2 demonstrated to be a promising method for graphene production, although it had a low production rate. The results did not show significant changes in thermal stability and electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites, indicating an absence of a threshold percolation with the amounts of reinforcements studied. The most promising system to enhance mechanical properties of epoxy resin nanocomposites is that one with EGO, since it showed a tenacity increase and an improvement of ~70% in tensile strength, although the Young s modulus decreased. The results showed the reinforcements produced from the natural graphite have a great potential to be applied in structural nanocomposites, however to get more significant results on the properties evaluated, higher amounts of reinforcements and different dispersion methods should be studied further. / O grafite é a fonte mais abundante e de baixo custo para obtenção de grafeno. Para uma produção em larga escala de grafeno e sua aplicação em nanocompósitos, o método de redução do óxido de grafite (OG) tem sido o mais utilizado. Com a oxidação do grafite, grupos funcionais, são introduzidos na sua estrutura e causam o afastamento dos planos cristalinos do grafite, produzindo o OG. Sua redução pode ser realizada tanto por métodos químicos quanto térmicos. Várias matrizes poliméricas estão sendo utilizadas na produção de nanocompósitos com grafeno, dentre elas a resina epoxídica. Um dos desafios é proporcionar a dispersão total do nanoreforço na matriz e promover uma forte adesão interfacial matriz/nanoreforço para se obter melhores propriedades finais. Sendo assim, o objetivo desse trabalho foi produzir reforços a partir do grafite natural para aplicação em nanocompósitos poliméricos de matriz epoxídica. A partir do grafite natural, foram produzidos alguns reforços, como o grafite sonificado (GS), grafite esfoliado por fluido supercrítico de CO2 (GE-scCO2), OG, OG expandido (OGE) e OG reduzido quimicamente (OGR). Dentre estes, apenas o GS, OG e OGE foram utilizados na produção dos nanocompósitos, utilizando as concentrações de 0,025, 0,05, 0,075 e 0,1% m/m do reforço em matriz de resina epoxídica à base de éter diglicidílico do bisfenol A (DGEBA). Os resultados indicaram que o método de oxidação do grafite foi eficaz na produção de OG e que tanto a redução química quanto a térmica aumentou a estabilidade térmica do material, evidenciando alto grau de redução, comprovado também por difratografia de raios-X. A esfoliação do grafite por scCO2 se mostrou um método promissor na obtenção de grafeno, embora os resultados obtidos indicaram baixo rendimento de produção. Não foram observadas alterações significativas na estabilidade térmica e na condutividade térmica dos nanocompósitos, indicando que não se formaram redes de percolação nas concentrações estudadas. Os sistemas contendo OGE mostraram ser os mais promissores na melhoria das propriedades mecânicas, pois apresentou maior tenacidade e um incremento de até ~70% na resistência à tração, embora o módulo de Young tenha sido reduzido. Com base nestes dados, pode-se dizer que os reforços produzidos a partir do grafite natural possuem grande potencial para aplicação em nanocompósitos estruturais, porém para se obter resultados mais significativos a respeito das propriedades avaliadas, maiores concentrações de reforço e diferentes técnicas de dispersão devem ser estudadas.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T17:19:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sara F Da Costa.pdf: 4048373 bytes, checksum: 81bb7b57c2e425cdcfcc5039f74fae1f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The change of mechanical properties of epoxy resins after the addition of nanoparticles (f. ex. graphite oxide) depends on its concentration, state of dispersion and interaction with the polymer matrix. To improve dispersion and avoid agglomeration of the GO nanoplatelets, due to van der Waals interactions, these nanoparticles can be functionalized using organosilanes as coupling agents. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of functionalization of graphite oxide by 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane in the final properties of nanocomposites of epoxy matrix DGEBA with OG and OGS. The functionalized nanoparticles and nanoparticles without functionalization were characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, CHN elemental analysis and X-ray diffraction. The presence of silicon on the surface of OG was confirmed by analysis of energy dispersive spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy along with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the functionalization GO with GLYMO by rise of new bands assigned to the Si-O-C bond. Images from scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that nanoplatelets OG were clustered and after functionalization with silane the nanoplateletes were exfoliated, indicating larger interaction with the epoxy matrix. The dispersion of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix was also studied by microscopy and spectroscopy techniques where noted that the functionalized nanoparticles were well dispersed. To evaluate the effect of the nanoparticles in the mechanical properties, nanocomposites containing 0.1 ,0.25, 0.5 e 1.0 wt% were prepared by in situ polymerization techniques, with the use of a solvent for better dispersion. It was observed that the addition of GO nanoparticles decrease the modulus of elasticity relative to the epoxy resin, and nanocomposites containing 0.25% and 1.0 wt% presented the highest stress decreases. For nanocomposites with GO nanoparticles silanized (GOS) a linear increase of the modulus of elasticity with the mass fraction and maximum stress higher than the epoxy resin and GO nanocomposites was observed, except OGS 1.0wt%, where the maximum stress is lower than of the epoxy resin, which is explained by the existence of larger agglomerates. Thus, the silanized GO provided a more homogeneous dispersion and larger interaction with the epoxy matrix when compared to the GO. / A alteração das propriedades mecânicas da resina epoxídica após a adição de nanopartículas de óxido de grafite (OG) depende da concentração, de seu estado de dispersão e da interação com a matriz polimérica. O OG pode formar aglomerados na matriz polimérica devido às interações de van der Waals e, para melhorar a dispersão e distribuição do mesmo na matriz polimérica pode ser feita a funcionalização utilizando agentes de acoplamento, como os organosilanos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da funcionalização via silanização do óxido de grafite pelo organosilano 3-glicidoxipropiltrimetoxisilano nas propriedades finais de nanocompósitos de matriz epoxídica DGEBA com OG e OGS. As nanopartículas com e sem funcionalização foram caracterizadas por técnicas de espectroscopia e microscopia, análise elementar CHN e difração de raios-X. A presença de silício na superfície do OG foi confirmada pela análise de espectroscopia de energia dispersiva e a análise de espectroscopia de infravermelho por transformada de Fourier juntamente com a análise de espectroscopia de fotoelétrons por raios-X confirmou a funcionalização do OG com o GLYMO através do surgimento de novas bandas atribuídas à ligação Si-O-C. As imagens de microscopia eletrônica de varredura de efeito de campo e microscopia eletrônica de transmissão mostraram que nanoplateletes de OG se apresentavam mais empacotados e após a funcionalização com o silano os nanoplateletes estavam esfoliados, indicando maior interação com a matriz epoxídica. A dispersão das nanopartículas na matriz polimérica foi também estudada por técnicas de microscopia e espectroscopia onde se observou que as nanopartículas funcionalizadas estavam mais bem dispersas. Para avaliar o efeito das nanopartículas com e sem funcionalização nas propriedades mecânicas, nanocompósitos contendo 0,1; 0,25; 0,5 e 1,0% (m/m) de nanopartículas foram preparados pelas técnicas de polimerização in situ , com a utilização de solvente para melhorar a dispersão. Foi observado que a adição das nanopartículas de OG diminuiu o módulo de elasticidade e a tensão máxima à tração em relação à resina epoxídica, e que nanocompósitos contendo 0,25% e 1,0% apresentaram as maiores diminuições de tensão. Para os nanocompósitos com as nanopartículas de óxido de grafite silanizado foi observado um aumento linear no módulo de elasticidade com o aumento da porcentagem mássica e apresentaram tensão máxima maior que da resina e dos nanocompósitos com OG, com exceção da porcentagem mássica de OGS 1,0%, onde a tensão máxima foi menor do que a tensão da resina epóxi, o que é explicado pela existência de aglomerados maiores. Assim, o OG silanizado proporcionou uma dispersão mais homogênea e assim, maior interação com a matriz epoxídica quando comparado ao OG.

L'objectif de la thèse a été d'explorer différentes voies de dispersion de charges graphitiques dans des élastomères de type polyisoprène dans le but d'améliorer les propriétés mécaniques et barrière. Pour augmenter les interactions entre le graphite et l'élastomère et donc diminuer les interactions entre charges, les charges graphitiques ont été modifiées chimiquement. Le graphite a été préalablement oxydé pour obtenir du graphite oxydé (GO) contenant des groupements époxyde, hydroxyle et acide carboxylique, susceptibles de servir comme sites d'ancrage de molécules et de chaînes polymères. Afin d'améliorer la compatibilité du GO avec la matrice polyisoprène, des amines et des alkoxysilanes ainsi que des chaînes polyisoprène ont été greffées sur le GO. Des taux de greffage variant de 4 à 50 % en poids ont été obtenus selon la technique de fonctionnalisation utilisée. Une expansion thermique du GO a aussi été étudiée et a conduit à la formation d'une structure graphitique poreuse. Des composites polyisoprène contenant 15 pce de ces charges graphitiques modifiées ont ensuite été préparés et ont montré une diminution de la perméabilité à l'air (-70 % pour les composites graphite traité thermiquement, par rapport à ceux chargés uniquement en noir de carbone) ainsi qu'une amélioration des propriétés mécaniques. Enfin, l'utilisation de liquides ioniques comme agents dispersants a été étudiée. Des composites caoutchouc-graphite avec 1 % en poids de liquides ioniques ont montré un renforcement plus élevé (+ 25 % pour la contrainte à 300 % d'élongation) tout en conservant un allongement à la rupture similaire par rapport à des composites contenant uniquement du noir de carbone / The aim of this study was the investigation of various dispersion methods for graphite-based fillers in elastomers such as polyisoprene, to enhance mechanical and barrier properties. To increase graphite-rubber interactions and so decrease filler-filler aggregation, graphite-based fillers have been chemically modified. Graphite was previously oxidized into graphite oxide (GO), bearing epoxide, hydroxyl and carboxylic acid groups, which could further act as anchor sites for molecules and polymer chains. To increase the compatibility between GO and the polymeric matrix, amines and alkoxysilanes, as well as polymer chains, were grafted on GO. Grafting contents between 4-50 wt% were obtained, depending on the functionalization technique which was used. A thermal modification path of GO was also investigated and led to the formation of porous graphite structure. Polyisoprene composites containing 15 phr of these graphite-based fillers were prepared and showed decreased air permeability (-70 % for composites containing thermally-treated graphite filler, as compared to those containing carbon black only) as well as enhanced tensile properties. Finally, the use of ionic liquids as dispersing agents was investigated. Natural rubber – graphite composites with 1 wt% of ionic liquid displayed enhanced reinforcement (+ 25 % for the stress at 300 % strain) while maintaining similar strain at break to composites containing carbon black only

Lithium-ion battery is attractive for various applications because of its high energy density. The performance of Li-ion battery is influenced by several properties of the electrode materials such as particle size, surface area, ionic and electronic conductivity, etc. Porosity is another important property of the electrode material, which influences the performance. Pores can allow the electrolyte to creep inside the particles and also facilitate volume expansion/contraction arising from intercalation/deintercalation of Li+ ions. Additionally, the rate capability and cycle-life can be enhanced. The following porous electrode materials are investigated. Poorly crystalline porous -MnO2 is synthesized by hydrothermal route from a neutral aqueous solution of KMnO4 at 180 oC and the reaction time of 24 h. On heating, there is a decrease in BET surface area and also a change in morphology from nanopetals to clusters of nanorods. As prepared MnO2 delivers a high discharge specific capacity of 275 mAh g-1 at a specific current of 40 mA g-1 (C/5 rate). Lithium rich manganese oxide (Li2MnO3) is prepared by reverse microemulsion method employing Pluronic acid (P123) as a soft template. It has a well crystalline structure with a broadly distributed mesoporosity but low surface area. However, the sample gains surface area with narrowly distributed mesoporosity and also electrochemical activity after treating in 4 M H2SO4. A discharge capacity of about 160 mAh g-1 is obtained at a discharge current of 30 mA g-1. When the acid-treated sample is heated at 300 °C, the resulting porous sample with a large surface area and dual porosity provides a discharge capacity of 240 mAh g-1 at a discharge current density of 30 mA g-1. Solid solutions of Li2MnO3 and LiMO2 (M=Mn, Ni, Co, Fe and their composites) are more attractive positive electrode materials because of its high capacity >200 mAh g-1.The solid solutions are prepared by microemulsion and polymer template route, which results in porous products. All the solid solution samples exhibit high discharge capacities with high rate capability. Porous flower-like α-Fe2O3 nanostructures is synthesized by ethylene glycol mediated iron alkoxide as an intermediate and heated at different temperatures from 300 to 700 oC. The α-Fe2O3 samples possess porosity with high surface area and deliver discharge capacity values of 1063, 1168, 1183, 1152 and 968 mAh g-1 at a specific current of 50 mA g-1 when prepared at 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 oC, respectively. Partially exfoliated and reduced graphene oxide (PE-RGO) is prepared by thermal exfoliation of graphite oxide (GO) under normal air atmosphere at 200-500 oC. Discharge capacity values of 771, 832, 1074 and 823 mAh g -1 are obtained with current density of 30 mA g-1 at 1st cycle for PE-RGO samples prepared at 200, 300, 400 and 500 oC, respectively. The electrochemical performance improves on increasing of exfoliation temperature, which is attributed to an increase in surface area. The high rate capability is attributed to porous nature of the material. Results of these studies are presented and discussed in the thesis.

Metal Oxide (MO)semiconductors are one of the most widely used materials in commercial gas sensor devices. The basic principle of chemoresistive gas sensor operation stems on the high sensitivity of electrical resistance to ambient gaseous conditions. Depending on whether the oxide is "p type" or "n type", the resistance increases (or decrease), when placed in atmosphere containing reducing (or oxidizing) gases. The study of conductometric metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors has dual importance in view of their technological device applications and understanding fundamental MO-gas interactions. Metal oxides based sensors offer high thermal, mechanical and chemical stability. A large number of MOs show good sensitivities to various gases like CO, NOX, SOX, NH3, alcohols and other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). VOCs are very common hazardous pollutants in the environment. Gas sensors are in great demand for their various applications such as food quality control, fermentation industries, road safety, defence, environmental monitoring and other chemical industries. The aim of the study is to explore the possibility of advancements in semiconducting MO based gas sensor devices through tuning microstructural parameters along with chemical dopants or additives. And further to investigate the underlying mechanism of conductometric MO gas sensors. The novel synthesis method employed is based on the solution combustion method coupled with ultrasonically nebulized spray pyrolysis technique. The well studied SnO2 and relatively unexplored Cr2O3 oxide systems are selected for the study. The non-equilibrium processing conditions result in unique microstructure and defect chemistry. In addition, using this technique MO - Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) nanocomposite films has also been fabricated and its application to room temperature gas sensor devices is demonstrated. The thesis comprises of seven chapters. the following section describe the summery of individual chapters. The Chapter 1 describes the introduction and background literature of this technology. A brief review of developments in gas sensor technology so far has been enlisted. This chapter also gives a glimpse of applications of MO semiconductors based sensors. The underlying mechanism involved in the sensing reaction and the primary factors influencing the response of a gas sensor device are enlisted. Further in the later part of the chapter focused the material selection criteria, effect of additives/dopants and future prospects of the technology. The end of this chapter highlights the objective and scope of the work in this dissertation. In the Chapter 2 the the materials selection, characterization techniques and particularly the experimental setups used are elaborated. This includes the deposition method used, which is developed in our group and the the in house built gas sensing system including its working principles and various issues have been addressed. The Ultrasonic Nebulized Spray Pyrolysis of Aqueous Combustion Mixture (UNSPACM) is a novel deposition method devised, which is a combination of conventional spray pyrolysis and solution combustion technique. Spray pyrolysis is versatile, economic and simple technique, which can be used for large area deposition of porous films. The intention is to exploit the exothermicity of combustion reaction in order to have high crystallinity, smaller crystallite size with high surface area, which are extremely important in gas sensor design and its efficiency. Further the gas sensing system and its operation are discussed in detail including the advantages of vertical sensing chamber geometry, wider analyte concentration range (ppm to percentage) obtained through vapor pressure data and simultaneous multi sensor characterization allowing better comparison. Here in this work, Chromium oxide (Cr2O3) and Tin oxide (SnO2) are selected as gas sensing materials for this work as a p-type and n-type metal oxide semiconductors respectively. Nevertheless Cr2O3 is a less explored gas sensing material as compared to SnO2, which is also being used in many commercially available gas sensor devices. Thus, studying and comparing gas sensing properties of a relatively novel and a well established material would justify the potential of the novel deposition technique developed. In Chapter 3, the effect of exothermic reaction between oxidizer and fuel, on the morphology, surface stoichiometry and observed gas sensing properties of Cr2O3 thin films deposited by UNSPACM, is studied. An elaborative study on the structural, morphological and surface stoichiometry of chromium oxide films is undertaken. Various deposition parameters have been optimized. An extensive and systematic gas sensing study is carried out on Cr2O3 films deposited, to achieve unique microstructure. The crystallinity and microstructure are investigated by varying the deposition conditions. Further, the effect of annealing in oxygen gas atmospheres on the films was also investigated. The gas sensing properties are studied for various VOCs, in temperature range 200 - 375 oC. The possible sensing mechanism and surface chemical processes involved in ethanol sensing, based on empirical results, are discussed. In chapter 4, the effect of 1% Pt doping on gas sensing properties of Cr2O3 thin films prepared by UNSPACM, is investigated. The chemical analysis is done using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to find the chemical state of Pt and quantification is done. The gas sensing is done towards gases like NO2, Methane and Ethanol. The enhancement in sensitivity and remarkable reduction in response as well as recovery times have been modeled with kinetic response analysis to study the variation with temperature as well as concentration. Further the analysis of observations and model fittings is discussed. The Chapter 5 deals with the defects induced ferromagnetism and gas sensing studies SnO2 nanoparticles prepared by solution combustion method. The structural, chemical analysis of as-synthesized and annealed SnO2 nanoparticles reveal gradual reduction in defect concentration of as-prepared SnO2. The findings of various characterization techniques along with optical absorption and magnetic studies to investigate the defect structure of the material are presented. As defects play crucial role in gas sensing properties of the metal oxide material, the defect induced room temperature ferromagnetism in undoped SnO2 has been used as a potential tool to probe the evidence of the defects. Finally a correlation is established between observed room temperature ferromagnetism and gas sensing studies and primary role of defects in gas sensing mechanism over microstructure is realized . The Chapter 6 presents the deposition of SnO2 thin films by UNSPACM method on glass substrates for gas sensing application. The readiness of UNSPACM in making sensor materials with unform dopant distribution is demonstrated in order to improve the sensor performance in terms of response and selectivity. The chemical composition, film morphology and gas sensing studies are reported. The SnO2 is doped with Cr and Pt to enhance the sensing properties of the material. The doped Oxide films are found to show enhancement in sensitivity and improve the selectivity of the films towards specific gases like NO2 and CO. Further in Chapter 7 an effort has been made to overcome the problem of high operating temperature of metal oxide gas sensors through use of Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) and metal oxide nanocomposite films. Although RGO shows room temperature response towards many toxic and hazardous gases but it exhibits poor sensor signal recovery. This has been successfully solved by making nanohybrids of RGO and SnO2. It not only improves the sensor signal kinetics but it enhances the sensitivity also. Thus this chapter endeavors towards low power consumption gas sensing devices. The key findings and future aspects are summarized in the Chapter 8.