Materials Science & Engineering
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Item Cellulose Nanocomposites of Cellulose Nanofibers and Molecular Coils(MDPI, 2021-07-30) Henderson, Doug; Zhang, Xin; Mao, Yimin; Hu, Liangbing; Briber, Robert M.; Wang, HowardAll-cellulose nanocomposites have been produced from cellulose nanofiber (CNF) suspensions and molecular coil solutions. Morphology and small-angle neutron scattering studies show the exfoliation and dispersion of CNFs in aqueous suspensions. Cellulose solutions in mixtures of ionic liquid and organic solvents were homogeneously mixed with CNF suspensions and subsequently dried to yield cellulose composites comprising CNF and amorphous cellulose over the entire composition range. Tensile tests show that stiffness and strength quantities of cellulose nanocomposites are the highest value at ca. 20% amorphous cellulose, while their fracture strain and toughness are the lowest. The inclusion of amorphous cellulose in cellulose nanocomposites alters their water uptake capacity, as measured in the ratio of the absorbed water to the cellulose mass, reducing from 37 for the neat CNF to less than 1 for a composite containing 35% or more amorphous cellulose. This study offers new insights into the design and production of all-cellulose nanocomposites.Item Direct and Rapid High-Temperature Upcycling of Degraded Graphite(Wiley, 2023-06-27) Li, Tangyuan; Tao, Lei; Xu, Lin; Meng, Taotao; Clifford, Bryson Callie; Li, Shuke; Zhao, Xinpeng; Rao, Jiancun; Lin, Feng; Hu, LiangbingRecycling the degraded graphite is becoming increasingly important, which can helped conserve natural resources, reduce waste, and provide economic and environmental benefits. However, current regeneration methods usually suffer from the use of harmful chemicals, high energy and time consumption, and poor scalability. Herein, we report a continuously high-temperature heating (≈2000 K) process to directly and rapidly upcycle degraded graphite containing impurities. A sloped carbon heater is designed to provide the continuous heating source, which enables robust control over the temperature profile, eliminating thermal barrier for heat transfer compared to conventional furnace heating. The upcycling process can be completed within 0.1 s when the degraded graphite rolls down the sloped heater, allowing us to produce the upcycled graphite on a large scale. High-temperature heating removes impurities and enhances the graphitization degree and (002) interlayer spacing, making the upcycled graphite more suitable for lithium intercalation and deintercalation. The assembled upcycled graphite||Li cell displays a high reversible capacity of ≈320 mAh g−1 at 1 C with a capacity retention of 96% after 500 cycles, comparable to current state-of-the-art recycled graphite. The method is a chemical-free, rapid, and scalable way to upcycle degraded graphite, and is adaptable to recycle other electrode materials.Item Nanocellulose-Carboxymethylcellulose Electrolyte for Stable, High-Rate Zinc-Ion Batteries(Wiley, 2023-04-02) Xu, Lin; Meng, Taotao; Zheng, Xueying; Li, Tangyuan; Brozena, Alexandra H.; Mao, Yimin; Zhang, Qian; Clifford, Bryson Callie; Rao, Jiancun; Hu, LiangbingAqueous Zn ion batteries (ZIBs) are one of the most promising battery chemistries for grid-scale renewable energy storage. However, their application is limited by issues such as Zn dendrite formation and undesirable side reactions that can occur in the presence of excess free water molecules and ions. In this study, a nanocellulose-carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) hydrogel electrolyte is demonstrated that features stable cycling performance and high Zn2+ conductivity (26 mS cm−1), which is attributed to the material's strong mechanical strength (≈70 MPa) and water-bonding ability. With this electrolyte, the Zn-metal anode shows exceptional cycling stability at an ultra-high rate, with the ability to sustain a current density as high as 80 mA cm−2 for more than 3500 cycles and a cumulative capacity of 17.6 Ah cm−2 (40 mA cm−2). Additionally, side reactions, such as hydrogen evolution and surface passivation, are substantially reduced due to the strong water-bonding capacity of the CMC. Full Zn||MnO2 batteries fabricated with this electrolyte demonstrate excellent high-rate performance and long-term cycling stability (>500 cycles at 8C). These results suggest the cellulose-CMC electrolyte as a promising low-cost, easy-to-fabricate, and sustainable aqueous-based electrolyte for ZIBs with excellent electrochemical performance that can help pave the way toward grid-scale energy storage for renewable energy sources.Item Ultrahigh-Temperature Melt Printing of Multi-Principal Element Alloys(Nature Portfolio, 2022-11-07) Wang, Xizheng; Zhao, Yunhao; Chen, Gang; Zhao, Xinpeng; Liu, Chuan; Sridar, Soumya; Pizano, Luis Fernando Ladinos; Li, Shuke; Brozena, Alexandra H.; Guo, Miao; Zhang, Hanlei; Wang, Yuankang; Xiong, Wei; Hu, LiangbingMulti-principal element alloys (MPEA) demonstrate superior synergetic properties compared to single-element predominated traditional alloys. However, the rapid melting and uniform mixing of multi-elements for the fabrication of MPEA structural materials by metallic 3D printing is challenging as it is difficult to achieve both a high temperature and uniform temperature distribution in a sufficient heating source simultaneously. Herein, we report an ultrahigh-temperature melt printing method that can achieve rapid multielemental melting and uniform mixing for MPEA fabrication. In a typical fabrication process, multi-elemental metal powders are loaded into a hightemperature column zone that can be heated up to 3000 K via Joule heating, followed by melting on the order of milliseconds and mixing into homogenous alloys, which we attribute to the sufficiently uniform high-temperature heating zone. As proof-of-concept, we successfully fabricated single-phase bulk NiFeCrCo MPEA with uniform grain size. This ultrahigh-temperature rapid melt printing process provides excellent potential toward MPEA 3D printingItem Printable, high-performance solid-state electrolyte films(AAAS, 2020-11-18) Ping, Weiwei; Wang, Chengwei; Wang, Ruiliu; Dong, Qi; Lin, Zhiwei; Brozena, Alexandra H.; Dai, Jiaqi; Luo, Jian; Hu, LiangbingCurrent ceramic solid-state electrolyte (SSE) films have low ionic conductivities (10−8 to 10−5 S/cm ), attributed to the amorphous structure or volatile Li loss. Herein, we report a solution-based printing process followed by rapid (~3 s) high-temperature (~1500°C) reactive sintering for the fabrication of high-performance ceramic SSE films. The SSEs exhibit a dense, uniform structure and a superior ionic conductivity of up to 1 mS/cm. Furthermore, the fabrication time from precursor to final product is typically ~5 min, 10 to 100 times faster than conventional SSE syntheses. This printing and rapid sintering process also allows the layer-by-layer fabrication of multilayer structures without cross-contamination. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate a printed solid-state battery with conformal interfaces and excellent cycling stability. Our technique can be readily extended to other thin-film SSEs, which open previously unexplores opportunities in developing safe, high-performance solid-state batteries and other thin-film devices.Item Single-digit-micrometer thickness wood speaker(Springer Nature, 2019-11-08) Gan, Wentao; Chen, Chaoji; Kim, Hyun-Tae; Lin, Zhiwei; Dai, Jiaqi; Dong, Zhihua; Zhou, Zhan; Ping, Weiwei; He, Shuaiming; Xiao, Shaoliang; Yu, Miao; Hu, LiangbingThin films of several microns in thickness are ubiquitously used in packaging, electronics, and acoustic sensors. Here we demonstrate that natural wood can be directly converted into an ultrathin film with a record-small thickness of less than 10 μm through partial delignification followed by densification. Benefiting from this aligned and laminated structure, the ultrathin wood film exhibits excellent mechanical properties with a high tensile strength of 342 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 43.6 GPa, respectively. The material’s ultrathin thickness and exceptional mechanical strength enable excellent acoustic properties with a 1.83-times higher resonance frequency and a 1.25-times greater displacement amplitude than a commercial polypropylene diaphragm found in an audio speaker. As a proof-of-concept, we directly use the ultrathin wood film as a diaphragm in a real speaker that can output music. The ultrathin wood film with excellent mechanical property and acoustic performance is a promising candidate for next-generation acoustic speakers.