Advanced Hybrid Materials Research Articles

Mini-Review on Conducting Polymer–MoS2–Carbon Ternary Composite as a Hybrid Electrode Material for Supercapacitor Applications: Progress and Perspectives

Supercapacitors have drawn a lot of interest as a result of recent significant improvements in electronic devices to address the growing energy dilemma. In stoichiometric combinations of materials, the hybrid strategy of mixing an EDLC with a pseudocapacitive material can produce noticeable specific capacitance, energy, and power density with strong cycle stability. Research into developing more advanced hybrid materials finds a bright future based on the broad variety of applications in numerous power-related technologies. This brief overview summarizes recent advancements in research and technology pertaining to conducting polymer–MoS2–carbon ternary hybrid composite supercapacitors, their architectural design, and their performances.

Multi-color UCNPs/CsPb(Br1-xIx)3 for upconversion luminescence and dual-modal anticounterfeiting.

Advanced hybrid materials have attracted extensive attention in optoelectronics and photonics application due to their unique and excellent properties. Here, the multicolor upconversion luminescence properties of the hybrid materials composed of CsPbX3(X = Br/I) perovskite quantum dots and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs, core-shell NaYF4:25%Yb3+,0.5%Tm3+@NaYF4) is reported, achieving the upconversion luminescence with stable and bright of CsPbX3 perovskite quantum dots under 980 nm excitation. Compared with the nonlinear upconversion of multi-photon absorption in perovskite, UCNPs/CsPbX3 achieves lower power density excitationby using theUCNPs as the physical energy transfer level, meeting the demand for multi-color upconversion luminescence in optical applications. Also, the UCNPs/CsPbX3 combined with ultraviolet curable resin (UVCR) shows excellent water and air stability, which can be employed as multicolor fluorescent ink for screen printing security labels. Through the conversion strategy, the message of the security labels can be encrypted and decrypted by using UV light and a 980 nm continuous wave excitation laser as a switch, which greatly improves the difficulty of forgery. These findings provide a general method to stimulate photon upconversion and improve the stability of perovskite nanocrystals, which will be better applied in the field of anti-counterfeiting.

Multi-response optimization of process and reinforcement parameters of hybrid reinforced Al matrix composites using Taguchi- Grey relational analysis

Hybrid aluminum matrix composites (HAMCs) are a new class of advanced composite and hybrid materials that can be customized and engineered to achieve specific properties for specific applications in specific environments. HAMCs are popular in the transportation industry due to their reduced cost and fuel consumption as compared to conventional materials. This research article has mainly focused on multi-response optimization through an L16 orthogonal array experimental design employing Taguchi-based Grey Relational Analysis. It was intended to explore the influence of tetra hybrid reinforced HAMCs synthesized using pure Al matrix with fixed wt% of primary reinforcements (5 wt% SiC and 5 wt% Al2O3) and varying wt% of secondary reinforcements such as (0.5, 2.5, 4.5, and 6.5) wt% of Gr and (0.5, 2.5, 4.5, and 6.5) wt% of SCBA on physicomechanical properties of HAMCs when milling time, compaction pressure, and sintering temperature were varied. The Taguchi-Grey’s relational analysis gave the optimal combination of the process and reinforcement parameters for both the physical and the mechanical properties such as milling time (5 h.), compaction pressure (55 MPa), sintering temperature (450 °C), Gr content (0.5 wt%), and SCBA content (4.5 wt%). At the optimum parameter settings, the average density, porosity, hardness, compressive strength, and ultimate tensile strength were 2.5118 gm cm−3, 0.8653%, 4228.45 MPa, 343.33 MPa, and 1516.41 MPa, respectively. The utilization of Taguchi and GRA methods have significantly confirmed that the influence of compaction pressure was highest among the all the other four parameters. The newly synthesized tetra hybrid reinforced HAMCs have shown superior physicomechanical properties compared to pure Al, and single as well as double reinforced HAMCs. Therefore, it is anticipated that the newly developed tetra hybrid reinforced AMC material will be utilized in heavy-duty, aerospace, medical, automotive, marine, and other applications.

Preparation of GO-based Cr-Zn bimetallic layered porous sulfide by ZIF template method for high performance supercapacitors

In this work, rGO/Cr2ZnS4 composites was composited with reduced GO using ZIF-8 as the template. Firstly, GO/ZIF-8 was obtained by in-situ synthesis strategy, and then ZIF-8 was etched by chromium nitrate to obtain CrZn-LDH. Finally, rGO/Cr2ZnS4 was successfully synthesized after calcination and sulfuration. Due to the synergistic effect between Cr2ZnS4 and rGO, the hybrid electrode has significantly improved energy storage capacity in terms of the high specific capacitance of 958.6 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and good cycling stability after 10,000 cycles (63.1 % of the initial value under 10 A g−1) in a three-electrode system. Meanwhile, the asymmetric supercapacitor was prepared using rGO/Cr2ZnS4 composite as the positive electrode and AC (active carbon) as the negative electrode. The fabricated asymmetric supercapacitor has high energy density of 47.7 Wh kg−1 at power density of 749.54 W kg−1 and capacity retention of 50 % after 5000 cycles. This work offers a promising approach for designing advanced hybrid materials of transition metal sulfides for high energy density supercapacitors.

Engineering of Defect-Rich Cu2WS4 Nano-homojunctions Anchored on Covalent Organic Frameworks for Enhanced Gaseous Elemental Mercury Removal.

Fabricating two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD)-based unique composites is an effective way to boost the overall physical and chemical properties, which will be helpful for the efficient and fast capture of elemental mercury (Hg0) over a wide temperature range. Herein, we constructed a defect-rich Cu2WS4 nano-homojunction decorated on covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with abundant S vacancies. Highly well-dispersed and uniform Cu2WS4 nanoparticles were immobilized on COFs strongly via an ion pre-anchored strategy, consequently exhibiting enhanced Hg0 removal performance. The saturation adsorption capacity of Cu2WS4@COF composites (21.60 mg·g-1) was 9 times larger than that of Cu2WS4 crystals, which may be ascribed to more active S sites exposed in hybrid interfaces formed in the Cu2WS4 nano-homojunction and between Cu2WS4 nanoparticles and COFs. More importantly, such hybrid materials reduced adsorption deactivation at high temperatures, having a wide operating temperature range (from 40 to 200 °C) owing to the thermostability of active S species immobilized by both physical confined and chemical interactions in COFs. Accordingly, this work not only provides an effective method to construct uniform TMD-based sorbents for mercury capture but also opens a new realm of advanced COF hybrid materials with designed functionalities.

Room and High Temperature Tensile Responses of Tib2-Graphene Al 7075 Hybrid Composite Processed through Squeeze Casting.

The development of aluminium composite with the inclusion of advanced materials is a continuous research process due to the increasing industrial demand for advanced hybrid materials. To cater for this need, this research work focuses on the development of Al 7075 alloy reinforced with TiB2 and graphene and on the evaluation of its strengthening mechanism. Two different modes of improving the strength of the hybrid composite have been followed; one is by the inclusion of graphene at three levels of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%, and another by the processing route, squeeze casting technique by compression of the molten hybrid composite slurry before casting. The microstructure and characterisation of the composite material are examined and analysed with the help of XRD, SEM, EDAX and chemical spectroscopy. A microstructure evaluation is employed to justify the homogenous dispersal and the existence of reinforced particles. A tensile test is conducted at room temperature and high temperature environments to assess the tensile strength. The research outcome affirms that a significant improvement in tensile and hardness has been noted in comparison with base alloy. The fracture-morphology results affirm the change in fracture mode from brittle to ductile when the tensile testing environment changes from room temperature to high temperature. Finally, the dispersion strengthening mechanism is validated with an empirical approach.

Ligand as Buffer for Improving Chemical Stability of Coordination Polymers.

Chemical stability is one of the key concerns in coordination polymers (CPs). However, technologies to protect CPs against acidic or alkaline aqueous environments have yet to be implemented. Herein we demonstrate an approach for improving the pH stability by utilizing the ligand salt as buffering site to modify the unsaturated coordination sites of CPs. For the selective one-dimensional CP Eu-d-DBTA (d-H2DBTA = d-O,O'-dibenzoyltartaric acid) with a pH stability range of 6-8, the introduction of the ligand salt Na-d-DBTA extends the pH stability interval from 3 to 11. Crystallographic structure data reveal the formation of a Eu/Na-d-DBTA dynamic structure with Na-d-DBTA buffer sites on the Eu-O cluster of the Eu-d-DBTA skeleton. Benefiting from the dynamic single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation, the buffer sites protect the skeleton from the impact of the acidic or alkaline aqueous environment. In addition, Eu/Na-d-DBTA produces stable photoluminescence properties and selective responses toward l-tryptophan (l-Trp) and further toward l-lysine (l-Lys) over the whole buffer capacity range of 3-11. Noticeably, other Ln/Na-d-DBTA CPs and star metal-organic frameworks also exhibit pH stability improvement when the ligand-as-buffer technology is used, which is significant for developing advanced inorganic-organic hybrid materials with superior functionality.

Pillar[n]arene-Mimicking/Assisted/Participated Carbon Nanotube Materials.

The recent progress in pillar[n]arene-assisted/participated carbon nanotube hybrid materials were initially summarized and discussed. The molecular structure of pillar[n]arene could serve different roles in the fabrication of attractive carbon nanotube-based materials. Firstly, pillar[n]arene has the ability to provide the structural basis for enlarging the cylindrical pillar-like architecture by forming one-dimensional, rigid, tubular, oligomeric/polymeric structures with aromatic moieties as the linker, or forming spatially “closed”, channel-like, flexible structures by perfunctionalizing with peptides and with intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Interestingly, such pillar[n]arene-based carbon nanotube-resembling structures were used as porous materials for the adsorption and separation of gas and toxic pollutants, as well as for artificial water channels and membranes. In addition to the art of organic synthesis, self-assembly based on pillar[n]arene, such as self-assembled amphiphilic molecules, is also used to promote and control the dispersion behavior of carbon nanotubes in solution. Furthermore, functionalized pillar[n]arene derivatives integrated carbon nanotubes to prepare advanced hybrid materials through supramolecular interactions, which could also incorporate various compositions such as Ag and Au nanoparticles for catalysis and sensing.

Application of probabilistic methods to turbine engine disk life prediction and risk assessment

Turbine engine disk life prediction and understanding the associated risk remains a significant challenge for today’s designer. Despite advances made in materials testing and characterization, as well as, the application of damage tolerance and linear elastic fracture mechanics modeling, there remains a void in properly assessing loading, geometry, and material design property variability. Add to this the application of advanced hybrid and composite material systems and the need to accurately deal with material variability is even greater. There still remain incidents of failure of critical components which were not properly accounted for by the existing analytical methods, testing, and inspections employed today. Application of probabilistic methods offers an effective and useful approach to modeling this variability while also providing a means by which to assess random variable sensitivity and risk assessment. Current research, as well as, applicable industry and government regulatory guidelines and publications were examined and will be presented. An assessment of the most effective tools, modeling methods, and predictive risk of failure assessments together with recommendations for future work will be discussed. The potential for probabilistic methods to provide a cost-effective way to manage fleet engine and component usage is presented, as well as, its ability to enhance the safe implementation of Retirement for Cause concepts to fleet management.

Rapidly Prepared Nanocellulose Hybrids as Gas Barrier, Flame Retardant, and Energy Storage Materials

Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) hybrid materials show great promise as sustainable alternatives to oil-based plastics owing to their abundance and renewability. Nonetheless, despite the enormous success achieved in preparing CNF hybrids at the laboratory scale, feasible implementation of these materials remains a major challenge due to the time-consuming and energy-intensive extraction and processing of CNFs. Here, we describe a scalable materials processing platform for rapid preparation (<10 min) of homogeneously distributed functional CNF–gibbsite and CNF–graphite hybrids through a pH-responsive self-assembly mechanism, followed by their application in gas barrier, flame retardancy, and energy storage materials. Incorporation of 5 wt % gibbsite results in strong, transparent, and oxygen barrier CNF–gibbsite hybrid films in 9 min. Increasing the gibbsite content to 20 wt % affords them self-extinguishing properties, while further lowering their dewatering time to 5 min. The strategy described herein also allows for the preparation of freestanding CNF–graphite hybrids (90 wt % graphite) that match the energy storage performance (330 mA h/g at low cycling rates) and processing speed (3 min dewatering) of commercial graphite anodes. Furthermore, these ecofriendly electrodes can be fully recycled, reformed, and reused while maintaining their initial performance. Overall, this versatile concept combines a green outlook with high processing speed and material performance, paving the way toward scalable processing of advanced ecofriendly hybrid materials.

Thiol-Lactam Initiated Radical Polymerization (TLIRP): Scope and Application for the Surface Functionalization of Nanoparticles

: Controlled polymerization techniques make the possible fabrication of polymers with desired molecular weights, narrow dispersity, and tailor-making of advanced hybrid materials. Thiol- Lactam Initiated Radical Polymerization (TLIRP) was introduced in 2002 and developed during the last two decades. The thiol/lactam combination enables one to generate radicals that can initiate the polymerization of vinyl-based monomers. The study of the mechanism and kinetics of TLIRP revealed the characteristics of living polymerization for TLIRP. Moreover, TLIRP has been used successfully for the synthesis of homopolymers, block copolymers, and statistical copolymers with polydispersity below 2.0. Especially, TLIRP provides a very straightforward method for grafting polymer brushes on the surface of nanoparticles. We review herein the systems developed for TLIRP and their applications for macromolecular engineering, emphasizing the surface functionalization of nanoparticles via the grafting-from approach.

ZnIn2S4 and ZnIn2S4 based advanced hybrid materials: Structure, morphology and applications in environment and energy

A schematic representation of the ZnIn2S4 nanocomposite with enhanced activity for energy and environmental applications. • ZIS-based photocatalysts are used for energy and environmental remediation. • ZIS can be utilized for development of ternary metal chalcogenides. • ZIS-based photocatalysts efficiency can be enhanced by various modifications. • This review highlights the recent progress of ZIS based photocatalyst. • Various environmental pollutants are removed using ZIS-based photocatalysts. In past years, solar energy is only the ideal source of energy. But due to the development of technology, the photocatalytic method is one of the clean methods used for environmental remediation and energy shortage problems. Semiconductor photocatalysts are used to overcome the problem of global energy scarcity. ZnIn 2 S 4 (Zinc Indium Sulfide) has recently gained wide attention due to its unique morphological properties such as low cost, chemical stability, and adjustable band gap. Various modifications like metal, non-metal doping, vacancy engineering, and other surface changes are used to enhance the capability of ZnIn 2 S 4 (ZIS). This review discusses the photocatalytic effect of ZIS and its various applications like removal of pollutants, reduction of carbon dioxide, H 2 production, nitrogen fixation, Li-ion batteries, and optoelectronics. In the end, a brief outlook has also provided for future directions and various challenges in ZIS-based materials.

New insights on MXene and its advanced hybrid materials for lithium-ion batteries

Electrode materials with exceptional cyclic stability and high-rate performance have been in extensive demand for the fast growth of energy storage applications.

Design, preparation and applications of gel nanocomposites from bile acids – A brief review

Synthesis of advanced hybrid materials formed by the unification of nanoparticles with gels is gaining importance due to their unusual properties coupled with the ease of fabrication. The gel medium provides a template for generating complex inorganic nanostructures with controlled size and desirable mechanical properties. In this paper, we review the synthesis of various inorganic nanoparticles in gel matrices formed by the self-assembly of bile acid-derived gelators and the role of the gel medium to improve the properties of the nanocomposites.

On the Role of Poly-Glutamic Acid in the Early Stages of Iron(III) (Oxy)(hydr)oxide Formation

Nucleation of minerals in the presence of additives is critical for achieving control over the formation of solids in biomineralization processes or during syntheses of advanced hybrid materials. Herein, we investigated the early stages of Fe(III) (oxy)(hydr)oxide formation with/without polyglutamic acid (pGlu) at low driving force for phase separation (pH 2.0 to 3.0). We employed an advanced pH-constant titration assay, X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis with mass spectrometry, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Three stages were observed: initial binding, stabilization of Fe(III) pre-nucleation clusters (PNCs), and phase separation, yielding Fe(III) (oxy)(hydr)oxide. The data suggest that organic–inorganic interactions occurred via binding of olation Fe(III) PNC species. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses revealed a plausible interaction motif and a conformational adaptation of the polypeptide. The stabilization of the aqueous Fe(III) system against nucleation by pGlu contrasts with the previously reported influence of poly-aspartic acid (pAsp). While this is difficult to explain based on classical nucleation theory, alternative notions such as the so-called PNC pathway provide a possible rationale. Developing a nucleation theory that successfully explains and predicts distinct influences for chemically similar additives like pAsp and pGlu is the Holy Grail toward advancing the knowledge of nucleation, early growth, and structure formation.

Luminescent hybrid biocomposite films derived from animal skin waste

The leather industry generates approximately ten million tons of solid bio-wastes that can be used to synthesize various multifunctional materials with exciting properties. One such approach involves developing advanced hybrid materials, which is considered one of the key areas but the underdeveloped materials science discipline. This work explored methods to use collagen derived from leather industry bio-wastes to form hybrid films via two different ways: to produce luminescent carbon dots (Cdots) and develop hybrid films. The polymeric collagen was mixed with Cdots and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to create flexible composite films that exhibit improved thermal, mechanical, electrical, and luminescent properties. The Cdot films displayed enhanced luminescence. The Kubelka-Munk transformation of the diffuse reflectance reveals a massive increase in absorbance in the visible light region with the addition of rGO. Besides, the developed films displayed electrical conductivity and weak ferromagnetic characteristics and showed enhanced biocompatibility. These findings highlight new avenues for converting industrial bio-wastes into useful multifunctional materials in scalable and inexpensive ways, thereby diminishing environmental pollution and enhancing environmental sustainability.

Silicone Polymers—Celebrating 80 Years of the Direct Process

Silicone Polymers—Celebrating 80 Years of the Direct Process

A facile strategy for the construction of TiO2/Ag nanohybrid-based polyethylene nanocomposite for antimicrobial applications

This work aims to explore the antibacterial activity of PE–TiO2/Ag nanocomposites. Rutil-TiO2/Ag hybrid nanoparticles (the content of 0.2–0.6 wt%) were introduced into the PE matrix under melt mixing process. The TEM images for the ultra-thin section (about 80 nm thick) of nanocomposite showed that TiO2/Ag hybrid nanoparticles were well dispersed into the PE matrix. Moreover, mechanical tests indicated that the tensile property of PE was slightly reduced in the presence of hybrid nanoparticles due to the low contents of nanofillers. Besides, the antibacterial tests revealed that the nanocomposites displayed a potent bactericidal efficiency against both E. coli and S. aureus bacteria (i.e. 1.83 log and 1.9 log after 24 h, respectively). The developed fabrication technique and delivered results of the TiO2/Ag nanohybrid-based PE nanocomposite enable a promising avenue to design and construct the advanced nanostructured hybrid materials for potential antimicrobial applications.

Direct molecular confinement in layered double hydroxides: from fundamental to advanced photo-luminescent hybrid materials

We report here new approaches for the direct intercalation of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) from carbonate-LDHs by using various organic acids as proton sources for de-carbonation.

MWCNT-mesoporous silica nanocomposites inserted in a polyhedral metal–organic framework as an advanced hybrid material for energy storage device

Hybridizing of trimetallic HKUST-1 with mesoporous SBA/CNT is highly desirable fot the improvement of energy and power densities in supercapacitors.