Most cathode materials for Li-ion batteries exhibit a low electronic conductivity. Therefore, considerable amount of conductive additives is added during electrode production. A mixed phase carbon and binder provides 3D network electron transport at the same time improves mechanical stability electrodes. However, this so-called domain (CBD) hinders lithium ions through electrolyte reduces speci...

This study involves the preparation, microstructural, physical, mechanical and biological characterization of novel gelatine and gelatine/elastin gels for their use in the tissue engineering of vascular grafts. Gelatine and gelatin/elastin nanocomposite gels were prepared via a sol-gel process, using soluble gelatine. Gelatine was subsequently crosslinked by leaving the gels in 1% glutaraldehyd...

The prediction of the service life of concrete materials is difficult, mainly because of their complex heterogeneous microstructure and their random nature. Studying the presence of cracks in concrete and their effect on chloride transport and binding properties is of great interest in civil engineering. Cracks with different widths and depths will reduce the effective cover thickness and accel...

Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) is a powerful technique that captures electron diffraction patterns from crystals, constituents of material. Captured patterns can then be used to determine grain morphology, crystallographic orientation and chemistry of present phases, which provide complete characterization of microstructure and strong correlation to both properties and performance of ...

We report the synthesis and characterization of mesostructured thin silica films derived from methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and/or tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) silica precursors and polystyreneblock-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock copolymers via the solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) process. It is found that the mesoand microstructure of the calcined films consists of c...

Current ASTM standards can be used to provide a degree of characterization of geopolymeric materials, yet the researcher must be aware of differences between hydraulic and geopolymer cementitious materials. The current study assessed the applicability of available ASTM standards that analyze the insoluble content and oxide content of cementitious materials (ASTM C114 and C311), compressive stre...

The preparation and characterization of metakaolin-based geopolymer mortars containing an organic epoxy resin are presented here for the first time. The specimens have been prepared by means of an innovative in situ co-reticulation process, in mild conditions, of commercial epoxy based organic resins and geopolymeric slurry. In this way, geopolymer based hybrid mortars characterized by a differ...

We present an in situ approach for the characterization of lithium intercalation/deintercalation in thinfilm Li-ion battery electrodes. The method allows simultaneous measurement of microstructural changes during lithiation using micro-Raman (mRaman) spectroscopy in parallel with stress changes via optical interferometry. We observe evolution in the microstructure and stress in the various crys...