Category

Renewable energy

(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialRenewable energySAXSTechniqueWAXS

Microwave-assisted Diels–Alder polycondensation of proton conducting poly(phenylene)s

Adamski, Michael; Skalski, Thomas J. G.; Xu, Shaoyi; Killer, Miho; Schibli, Eric M.; Frisken, Barbara J.; Holdcroft, Steven

An exploratory microwave-assisted synthesis of a promising proton-conducting, Diels–Alder poly(phenylene) is reported and comprehensively compared against a traditional, thermal polymerization approach. A 24-fold reduction in reaction time is achieved by microwave synthesis. Characterization of polymers prepared by microwave-assisted synthesis vs. the thermal approach reveals little difference in…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialRenewable energySAXSShapeSizeTechniqueWAXS

Poly(bis-arylimidazoliums) possessing high hydroxide ion exchange capacity and high alkaline stability

Fan, Jiantao; Willdorf-Cohen, Sapir; Schibli, Eric M.; Paula, Zoe; Li, Wei; Skalski, Thomas J. G.; Sergeenko, Ania Tersakian; Hohenadel, Amelia; Frisken, Barbara J.; Magliocca, Emanuele; Mustain, William E.; Diesendruck, Charles E.; Dekel, Dario R.; Holdcroft, Steven

The hydroxide anion exchange polymers are key materials of solid polymer electrolyte devices that operate under alkaline conditions. Here the authors show the rational design of such polymers that exhibit high ion exchange capacity and exceptional stability under highly caustic…
27 January 2020
ApplicationCharacterizationCompositesCustomer publicationsMaterialParticlesRenewable energySAXSSizeTechnique

Synergistic effects from super-small sized TiO2 and SiOx nanoparticles within TiO2/SiOx/carbon nanohybrid lithium-ion battery anode

Wang, Xiaoyan; Xia, Yonggao; Zuo, Xiuxia; Schaper, Simon J.; Yin, Shanshan; Ji, Qing; Liang, Suzhe; Yang, Zhaohui; Xia, Senlin; Xiao, Ying; Zhu, Jin; Müller-Buschbaum, Peter; Cheng, Ya-Jun

TiO2/SiOx/carbon nanohybrid consisting of super-small sized TiO2 and SiOx nanoparticles is in situ formed within the in situ formed carbon matrix using difunctional methacrylate monomers as solvent and carbon source. The relative composition of TiO2 and SiOx is systematically tuned by varying the feeding mass ratio of the precursors (TEOS/TTIP)…
27 January 2020
ApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialParticlesPhase analysisPorous materialRenewable energySAXSTechnique

CO2 capture using three-dimensionally ordered micromesoporous carbon

Vorokhta, Maryna; Morávková, Jaroslava; ?imná?ová, Daniela; Pila?, Radim; Zhigunov, Alexander; Švábová, Martina; Sazama, Petr

Adsorption of CO2 on three-dimensionally ordered micromesoporous carbon with a spherical pore structure has been studied using gravimetric and manometric analyses. Adsorptive properties were compared with activated carbon and nanostructured carbon materials such as carbon nanotubes, zeolitic-imidazolate framework-derived carbon, carbon nanohorns and ordered mesoporous carbon materials. The…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialRenewable energySAXSSpecific surfaceTechnique

Nafion/Protic Ionic Liquid Blends: Nanoscale Organization and Transport Properties

Danyliv, Olesia; Martinelli, Anna

In this work, the possibility of using the protic ionic liquids N-ethylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate, , and N-ethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, , as charge carriers in appropriately modified Nafion membranes has been investigated. The superior thermal stability of ionic liquids, as compared to that of water-based electrolytes, hypothetically offers a…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialPorous materialRenewable energySAXSSelf-assembled materialTechnique

Widely tunable persistent micelle templates via homopolymer swelling

Sarkar, Amrita; Thyagarajan, Akshay; Cole, August; Stefik, Morgan

The combination of precision control with wide tunability remains a challenge for the fabrication of porous nanomaterials suitable for studies of nanostructure–behavior relationships. Polymer micelle templates broadly enable porous materials, however micelle equilibration hampers independent pore and wall size control. Persistent micelle templates (PMT) have emerged as a kinetic controlled…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialRenewable energyTechniqueWAXS

Preparation of cellulose nanofibers from Miscanthus x. Giganteus by ammonium persulfate oxidation

Yang, Han; Zhang, Yefei; Kato, Ryo; Rowan, Stuart J.

Carboxylic acid functionalized cellulose nanofibers (MxG-CNFA-CO2H) were successfully isolated from a sustainable grass hybrid Miscanthus x. Giganteus by a new two-step chemical oxidation, that involves bleach treatment and ammonium persulfate oxidation, followed by ultrasonication. The resulting MxG-CNFA-CO2Hs have ca. 1200?mmol/kg carboxylic acid surface groups, an aspect ratio of 230 (height…
27 January 2020
ApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSInorganic materialMaterialRenewable energyTechniqueThin films

Controlling Processing, Morphology, and Mechanical Performance in Blends of Polylactide and Thermotropic Polyesters

de Kort, Gijs W.; Rastogi, Sanjay; Wilsens, Carolus H. R. M.

Thermoplastic composites based on thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) materials are interesting candidates for reinforced composite application due to their promising mechanical performance and potential for recyclability. In combination with a societal push toward the more sustainable use of materials, these properties warrant new interest in this class of composites.…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsFractal dimensionGISAXSGIWAXSMaterialOrientation analysisRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Charge carrier transport and nanomorphology control for efficient non-fullerene organic solar cells

Hu, Hanlin; Deng, Wanyuan; Qin, Minchao; Yin, Hang; Lau, Tsz-Ki; Fong, Patrick W. K.; Ren, Zhiwei; Liang, Qiong; Cui, Li; Wu, Hongbin; Lu, Xinhui; Zhang, Weimin; McCulloch, Iain; Li, Gang

Single junction organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) have exceeded 15% power conversion efficiency (PCE) with the help of fused ring based low-bandgap non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). As a major type of NFA, the indacenodithiophene derivative NFA (IDTBR) has been shown to have superior OPV stability with outstanding VOC, but the efficiency is…
25 November 2019
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSMaterialOrientation analysisRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Fused thienobenzene-thienothiophene electron acceptors for organic solar cells

Xu, Ye; Jiang, Haotian; Lau, Tsz-Ki; Zhu, Jingshuai; Wang, Jiayu; Lu, Xinhui; Zhan, Xiaowei; Lin, Yuze

Small molecule ladder-type heteroarenes IHBT-2F is designed and synthesized with strong electron-donating and molecular packing properties, where the central unit, fused thienobenzene-thienothiphene (IHBT), is attached with the strong electron-deficient 2-(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene)malononitrile (2FIC) as the end group. The counterpart IDBT-2F with…
25 November 2019