Abstract
This study investigates the mechanical and surface properties of spherical carbon particles. Sub-micrometer carbon spheres were previously used as oil additives to improve the tribological performance of oils, and as anode material to enhance the storage of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In the current work, internal structure and chemical analysis of these carbon sphere particles was conducted via focus ion beam scanning electron microscopy, and the results revealed that the carbon sphere particles are pure carbon particles with a solid internal structure. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nano-indenter were utilized to explore the mechanical properties (hardness and elastic modulus) of carbon sphere particles. The obtained results showed that the carbon spheres have an elastic modulus in the range of 10 to 42 GPa, while their hardness is in the range of 0.5 to 2.6 GPa. Besides, the AFM scans confirmed that the carbon particles are entirely separated and devoid of agglomeration. These results support the viable use of carbon sphere particles in various engineering applications.
Highlights
Carbon-based nanomaterials have been shown to have superior properties that promote their use in various applications such as biomedical engineering [1], tribology [2], and environmental systems [3].several research efforts have been devoted to investigating the nanomechanical properties of different carbon-based material
The focus ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) analyses demonstrated that the carbon particles have a smooth spherical particles
The FIB-SEM analyses demonstrated that the carbon particles have a smooth spherical surface and sub-micrometer size
Summary
Carbon-based nanomaterials have been shown to have superior properties that promote their use in various applications such as biomedical engineering [1], tribology [2], and environmental systems [3].several research efforts have been devoted to investigating the nanomechanical properties of different carbon-based material. With a diameter in the micro-scale, were found to have an elastic modulus in the range of 10 to 20 GPa [4]. Carbon nanotubes with a size less than 2 nm exhibited an elastic modulus of 9 to 57 GPa [5]. Micro-sized porous carbon spheres (400 to 600 μm) were shown to have an elastic modulus of about 0.5 GPa and Vickers hardness of 2.3 HV (23 MPa) [6]. A carbon film with one-micrometer thickness was observed to have an elastic modulus in the range of 15 to 35 GPa and a hardness of in the range of 1 to 3 GPa [7]. With a diameter between 2 to 10 μm, were reported to have an average tensile strength of 8.3 GPa [8]
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