Selenium-impregnated carbon composites were synthesized by infusing Se into mesoporous carbon at a temperature of 600 °C under vacuum. Ring-structured Se8 was produced and confined in the mesoporous carbon, which acts as an electronic conductive matrix. During the electrochemical process in low-cost LiPF6/EC/DEC electrolyte, low-order polyselenide intermediates formed and were stabilized by mes...

Carbon nanotubes are molecular-scale tubes of graphitic carbon with outstanding properties. They are among the stiffest and strongest fibres known, with Young’s moduli as high as 1 TPa and tensile strengths of up to 63 GPa. They also have remarkable electronic properties and can be metallic or semiconducting depending on their structure and diameter. There is currently great interest in exploit...

An effort is made to gain insight on the effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the impact response of carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRs) under low velocity impact. Certain amount of CNTs could lead improvements in mechanical properties of composites. In the present investigation, ABAQUS/Explicit finite element code (FEM) is employed to investigate various damages modes of nano composites ...

Mesostructured Co3O4/C composites of high surface area have been synthesized via a one-step replica route by co-nanocasting cobalt and carbon precursors into mesoporous silica, in which the Co3O4 nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed in the mesoporous structure of carbon substrates. The mesostructured composites showed relatively high catalytic activities for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)...

A multi-scale model has been developed for modeling thermal oxidation of ceramic matrix/carbon ber composites used in high temperature environments. The competition between transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the exposed carbon bers and the external environment is simulated using a mass conservation equation in the inert porous matrix. Oxidation at the scale of individual carbon bers...

Figure2 While there are limitless applications for these materials, we are interested in radiation shielding and radiation resistant materials for use in the space industry. Initially, we focused on optically transparent single wall nanotoube (SWNT) polymer composites (2-5). Three different in situ polymerization/sonication methods, heat, light and gamma radiation, were used to produce poly (me...

We have explored the photoelectrochemical behavior of carbon/titania composites, aiming at understanding the mechanisms of the photoinduced processes occurring in such hybrid photocatalysts that lead to enhanced photocatalytic efficiencies of the pristine semiconductor for the photodegradation of refractory pollutants in water. In a first step, spectrometric techniques have been applied to inve...

A facile and potentially scalable synthesis route to obtain SnO2-carbon composites was developed. SnO2 nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of two types of graphitic carbon: a) commercial porous graphite (HG) and b) graphitic carbon nanostructures (GCN). The synthesis procedure consists of two simple steps: i) room temperature formation/deposition of SnO2 nanocrystals and ii) thermal tre...

Polymers filled with conductive particles and fibers have been widely used in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, electrical static discharge (ESD), and other regions. In these combinations, the carbon fibers filled polymer composites are special interest due to their excellent mechanical properties and high conductivity as well as good durability to environmental conditions. However,...

The remarkable mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, such as high elastic modulus and tensile strength, make them the most ideal and promising reinforcements in substantially enhancing the mechanical properties of resulting polymer/carbon nanotube composites. It is acknowledged that the mechanical properties of the composites are significantly influenced by interfacial interactions between...