2013, Vol.14, No.4

Carbon Letters 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.35 KCI-WoS Impact Factor : 6.04

pISSN : 1976-4251 / eISSN : 2233-4998
https://journal.kci.go.kr/carbon

Five vapor-grown carbon nanofiber (VGCNF) reinforced vinyl ester (VE) nanocomposite configurations were fabricated, imaged, and mechanically tested in order to obtain information on the influence and the interactions of the role of the microstructure at lower length scales on the observed continuum level properties/response. Three independent variables (the nanofiber weight fraction and two types of nanofiber mixing techniques) were chosen to be varied from low, middle, and high values at equally spaced intervals. Multiple mixing techniques were studied to gain insight into the effect of mixing on the VGCNF dispersion within the VE matrix. The point count method was used for both lower length-scale imaging techniques to provide quantitative approximations of the magnitude and the distribution of such lower length-scale features. Finally, an inverse relationship was shown to exist between the stiffness and strength properties of the resulting nanocomposites under uniaxial quasistatic compression loading.

Nanocomposites comprised of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel process. The synthesized samples were studied by X-ray powder diffraction, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The results show that the MgO nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 70 nm, are decorated uniformly on the surface of the GOs. By controlling the concentration of the MgO precursors and reaction cycles, it was possible to control the loading density and the size of the resulting MgO particles. Because the MgO particles are robustly anchored on the GO structure, the MgO/GOs nanocomposites will have future applications in the fields of adsorption and chemical sensing.

The synthesis of carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) by a chemical vapor deposition method using three different plant oils as precursors is presented. Because there are four parameters involved in the synthesis of CNM (i.e., the precursor, reaction temperature of the furnace, catalysts, and the carrier gas), each having three variables, it was decided to use the Taguchi optimization method with the ‘the larger the better’ concept. The best parameter regarding the yield of carbon varied for each type of precursor oil. It was a temperature of 900°C + Ni as a catalyst for neem oil; 700°C + Co for karanja oil and 500°C + Zn as a catalyst for castor oil. The morphology of the nanocarbon produced was also impacted by different parameters. Neem oil and castor oil produced carbon nanotube (CNT) at 900°C; at lower temperatures, sphere-like structures developed. In contrast, karanja oil produced CNTs at all the assessed temperatures. X-ray diffraction and Raman diffraction analyses confirmed that the nanocarbon (both carbon nano beads and CNTs) produced were graphitic in nature.