Anisotropic Conductivity Research Articles

Anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of as-compacted, bare and vegetated soils

Soils are generally considered anisotropic with respect to hydraulic conductivity, while the evolution of the anisotropy condition is unknown for bare and vegetated soils. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to compare the anisotropic hydraulic conductivity of as-compacted, bare and vegetated specimens. Accordingly, a series of 54 hydraulic conductivity tests was conducted in a custom-made cube triaxial permeameter. The as-compacted specimens were revealed as isotropic because the loosely packed preparation procedure resulted in a dominant flocculent structure. However, a five-fold increase in the anisotropy ratio of bare specimens was measured along the isotropic loading path because of the induced surficial degradation zone formed by irrigation and desiccation processes, as evident in preliminary observations and crack network analysis. The variations in anisotropy ratio compared against void ratio function of vegetated soil generally fall below the corresponding function of the bare soil. The function was revealed to have a crossed nature, varying from sub-isotropic to super-isotropic states, corresponding to the lower and upper bounds of 0·3 and 3, respectively. It was postulated that vegetation impacts the flow differently by reducing the potential of desiccation cracks, creating preferential flow through the propagation of primary roots and clogging flow channels by secondary roots.

Effect of climate warming on subsurface temperature in basins with topography-driven groundwater flow

Climate warming has caused increased air temperature as well as increased subsurface temperature. Many previous studies on subsurface warming simplified heat advection by neglecting the horizontal component of regional groundwater flow or even neglected heat advection accompanying groundwater flow. In this study, the simultaneous control of heat advection and conduction on subsurface warming is numerically investigated in a 2D hypothetical basin cross section. By calculating the increment of subsurface temperature, we find that heat advection could accelerate subsurface warming. In a given basin, subsurface warming in the recharge area with downward groundwater flow is more significant than that in the discharge area with upward groundwater flow. By using a 1D model with vertical groundwater flow only for comparison, we find that in any part of a basin, even if the horizontal flux is very small compared with the vertical flux, neglecting the horizontal flux would underestimate the propagation depth of climate warming. This implies that when the propagation depth of climate warming is a priori known variable, existing 1D models would overestimate downward groundwater flux or underestimate upward groundwater flux. Moreover, we find pumping would cause deeper propagation depths of climate warming by accelerating groundwater circulation, whereas basin-scale heterogeneity and anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity would cause shallower propagation depths of climate warming because of the relative dominance of horizontal flow. By demonstrating the importance of 2D groundwater flow on subsurface warming, the results provide new insight into understanding the regulation of temperature among the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere.

Influence of Sodium Ions and Carbon Black on the Formation and Structural Color of Photonic Balls by Silica Particles.

In this study, photonic balls─spherical aggregates of submicrometer-sized silica particles with uniform particle size─were investigated as structural colored materials. The structural color of these photonic balls is influenced by the ordered arrangement of the silica particles. The research focused on how the addition of electrolytes, specifically NaCl, affects the formation of photonic balls to achieve the desired structural color. Without NaCl, the photonic balls formed onion-shaped colloidal crystals. At NaCl concentrations above 0.006 mol/L, the particles aggregated into short-range ordered structures. When the concentration exceeded 0.05 mol/L, the aggregates lost their spherical shape. The study also explored the addition of carbon black (CB), a water-dispersible material due to its surface charge. The findings revealed that NaCl induced the phase separation between the charged silica particles and CB, resulting in Janus-shaped photonic balls─one side exhibiting structural color and the other side appearing black due to the presence of CB. Changing the silica particle size altered the hues of these Janus-shaped photonic balls, though they appeared uniformly colored to the naked eye. While this study did not specifically examine the applications of Janus-shaped photonic balls composed of silica particles and CB, CB is known for its ability to absorb near-infrared radiation and convert it into heat as well as its conductive properties. Silica, on the other hand, has a low thermal conductivity and acts as an electrical insulator. The structurally colored Janus-shaped photonic balls created in this study may serve as pigments in applications requiring anisotropic heat generation and electrical conduction. Additionally, the study's findings suggest the potential for creating various types of Janus-shaped photonic balls from materials with differing densities.

Heat transfer mechanism and thermal conductivity prediction in short carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites

Carbon fiber is commonly used as a heat dissipation filler for composite materials in aerospace and electrical systems. Based on representative volume element (RVE) finite element simulation and mathematical analysis, the anisotropic thermal conductivity of short carbon fiber/polymer (SCF/polymer) composites under non-uniform factors was predicted and analyzed. A joint analysis method was proposed for uniform unit cell (UUC) model considering uniform factors and correction unit cell (CUC) model considering non-uniform factors. This article establishes a UUC model for SCF/polymer composites and investigates the effects of factors such as the thermal conductivity of the polymer matrix, the anisotropic thermal conductivity, aspect ratio, and deflection angle of SCF, and interfacial thermal resistance on the anisotropic thermal conductivity of the composite material. In order to study the influence of non-uniform factors, a CUC model of SCF/polymer composite materials was established, and the effects of position offset, angle deviation, and distribution ratio of SCF in different directions on the anisotropic thermal conductivity of composite materials were discussed. The results of the above non-uniform factors were analyzed, and the range of correction factors for three non-uniform factors was obtained. The accuracy of the joint analysis method of UUC and CUC in predicting the anisotropic thermal conductivity of SCF/polymer composites was verified by comparing experimental results.

Orientation Control of Perfluorosulfonic Acid Films via Addition of 1,2,4-Triazole during Casting.

Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymers are used as electrolyte membranes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. To investigate the effect on proton conductivity through structural orientation control, we added 1,2,4-triazole to PFSA films during casting to impart anisotropy to the ion-cluster structure of the films. The proton conductivities of the films were found to be high in the film-surface direction and low in the film-thickness direction. Structural analysis using small-angle X-ray scattering suggested that the anisotropy in proton conductivity was due to anisotropy in the ion-cluster structure, which in turn was attributed to the formation of a phase-separated structure via strong bonding between sulfonic acid groups and 1,2,4-triazole during cast film formation and the surface segregation of fluorine. We expect the findings of this study to aid in the fabrication of PFSA films with controlled ion clusters.

3-D parallel anisotropic inversion of controlled-source electromagnetic data using nested tetrahedral grids

SUMMARY Geophysicists today face the challenge of quickly and reliably interpreting extensive controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) data sets to map subsurface conductivity structures within realistic geological environments. An ideal 3-D CSEM inversion algorithm using tetrahedral grids should be capable of distinguishing different resolution requirements between forward modelling and inversion grids, have an optimal parallel strategy that fully exploits the inherent independence of CSEM data sets while also possessing the capability to handle large-scale geo-electrical models, and incorporate conductivity anisotropy which should be a common characteristic in realistic subsurface environments. However, existing tools in the geo-electromagnetic community often fall short of these three demands. Addressing this gap, our study introduces a scalable and parallel anisotropic inversion technique for CSEM data, capitalizing on the potential of unstructured tetrahedral grids. We first apply the tetrahedral longest-edge bisection method to create a refined dense, heterogeneous forward modelling grid from a coarse inversion grid. This refinement, focused on areas around transmitters and receivers, is seamlessly integrated within the coarser inversion grid’s topology, enabling precise conductivity mapping and preserving electromagnetic response accuracy during model updates. We further innovate with a source-mesh double-level parallel strategy, utilizing the message passing interface technique for parallel handling of independent CSEM data sets and large-scale geo-electrical models. Externally, we dedicate a processor for inversion model updates employing the Limited-memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno optimization algorithm and divide other processors into groups, each associated with specific transmitting sources and frequencies. Internally, in each group, we employ a domain-decomposition-based scalable and robust iterative solvers using the Auxiliary-Space Maxwell pre-conditioner to parallel quickly calculate the electromagnetic responses from its assigned source-frequency set. Additionally, recognizing the potential for electrical conductivity anisotropy in field data, we incorporate the case of vertical transverse isotropy. We validate the effectiveness of our method through examples, including an isotropic land model with undulating topography, an anisotropic marine model and a real-field data case. Results from both synthetic and field data inversions underscore our method’s significant advancements in efficiency and practicality, particularly in addressing large-scale 3-D CSEM data sets inversion challenges in realistic geological environments.

Shaping Thermal Transport and Temperature Distribution via Anisotropic Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites.

With the ongoing electrification of vehicles, thermal management is on everyone's lips. To prevent overheating in electronic systems, new design strategies for thermal dissipation are needed. Thermally anisotropic materials enable targeted directional heat transport due to their anisotropic thermal conduction. Laminates made of unidirectionally aligned carbon fibers in a polymer matrix can be tailored regarding their in-plane anisotropy. Exposing the laminates to a temperature gradient reveals that the thermal transport is determined by their anisotropic properties. The corresponding heat flow can be visualized by IR thermography. The combination of anisotropic laminate discs into composite materials, similar to building with toy bricks, enables precise control of heat transport in the macroscopic composite materials. Thus, we achieve control of heat flow at the level of the individual components. In addition, we show that the orientation of anisotropy relative to the temperature gradient is crucial to guide the heat flow selectively. We found that the ratio of thermal anisotropy, the amount and arrangement of anisotropic components, and their positioning in the composite strongly influence heat transport. By combining all these factors, we are able to locally control the heat flow in composites by creating materials to either dissipate heat or block heat transport. The proposed concept can be extended to different shapes of building blocks in two or three dimensions.

Flexible and high-strength MXene/polyimide nanofiber aerogel membranes achieving infrared stealth through combined thermal control and low emissivity

The development of high-performance infrared stealth materials has been a long-standing goal for scientists. Despite their excellent performance, these materials are challenging to fabricate. In this work, a simple water immerse-stacking assembly process is employed to transform two-dimensional nanofiber membranes into three-dimensional aerogel membranes. Directional freezing from different directions induced varied orientations in the polyimide nanofibers (PINF), leading not only to unique anisotropic microstructures and thermal conductivities but also to synergistic enhancements in thermal insulation and mechanical properties. By vacuum-assisted filtration, MXene is embedded into the PINF membrane, resulting in a low emissivity of 0.283 and strong interlayer bonding of the MXene/PINF aerogel membrane without affecting the high and low-temperature resistance, the tensile strength, and the flexibility. Inspired by the art of origami, two types of MXene/PINF aerogel membrane bags are developed. When using one of the bags to cover an object at 130.2 °C, the thermal radiation temperature decreases to 28.9 °C. This study provides a promising approach for designing flexible, high-strength, and efficient infrared stealth composite materials, paving the way for further research and applications.

Origins of Giant Anisotropic Phonon Heat Transfer in True‐1D van der Waals Material

AbstractThermal rectification devices, which facilitate preferential heat flow in a singular direction, stands as pivotal tools in the realization of solid‐state thermal circuits. 1D atomic chains, exhibit heightened thermal rectification efficiency owing to their exceptional directional heat conduction properties. These will find widespread utility in many applications, encompassing areas such as cooling, energy harvesting, and thermal isolation systems. However, unlike quasi‐1D materials, the intrinsic anisotropic heat transport in true‐1D atomic chains is yet to be systematically studied. Herein, the origins of the anisotropic heat transfer in three representative 1D structures (TaSe3 and BaTiS3 marked as quasi‐1D, MoI3 labeled as true‐1D) is first investigated by integrating a first‐principles density functional theory‐based framework of two‐channel heat conduction model. In contrast to quasi‐1D, MoI3 exhibits a giant anisotropy of lattice thermal conductivity (κL) in chain‐ and cross chain‐directions with a high ratio up to ≈20, which far exceeds the previous report for HfTe5 and ZrTe5. Such unique heat transfer reveals comprehensively by charge‐sharing and transferred charges, p‐‐d orbital hybridization and Young's modulus changes, induces an exceptionally large anisotropy. This study presents a high‐performance implementation of thermal rectification designed to regulate directional heat current, demonstrating its potential applicability in solid‐state thermal circuits.

Layer-by-layer assembled aramid nanofiber/MXene aerogel: Exceptional resistance to extreme temperatures and robust anisotropy for advanced applications

Aerogels are characterized with unique morphology and physical properties, thus are serving as essential elements in advanced applications. Nowadays, the delicate intelligent devices are frequently exposed in harsh environments, leading to multiple issues during application of functional aerogels including the limited resistance to extreme temperatures, requiring encapsulation prior to usage, and accumulation of Joule heat. In this study, we fabricated a multilayered aramid nanofiber (ANF)/MXene aerogel with the layer-by-layer stacking ANF and ANF/MXene layers. Attributing to the multilayered and porous structure, the aerogel displayed proper EMI shielding performance which maintained stable in harsh environments of excessive high temperature (200 °C) and low temperature (−196 °C). More importantly, obvious anisotropy in electrical conductivity (∼8 orders of magnitude) and thermal insulation (ΔT = 32 °C) was obtained along the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. As two demonstrations of potential applications, the sensing performance and thermal insulating property of the ANF/MXene aerogel was displayed. Inspiringly, the aerogel sensor exhibited significant durability and notable sensitivity to different deformations. Also, the aerogel displayed rapid heat dissipation along the in-plane direction while efficient thermal insulation along the out-of-plane direction, thus, can be applied in thermal management to protect the electronic devices. Therefore, the as-prepared ANF/MXene aerogel can serve as EMI shielding parts, encapsulation-free flexible electronics as compression sensor and anisotropic thermal insulator, which has great potential in the application of intelligent devices.

Comprehensive measurement of three-dimensional thermal conductivity tensor using a beam-offset square-pulsed source (BO-SPS) approach

Accurately measuring the three-dimensional thermal conductivity tensor is essential for understanding and engineering the thermal behavior of anisotropic materials. Existing methods often struggle to isolate individual tensor elements, leading to large measurement uncertainties and time-consuming iterative fitting procedures. In this study, we introduce the Beam-Offset Square-Pulsed Source (BO-SPS) method for comprehensive measurements of three-dimensional anisotropic thermal conductivity tensors. This method uses square-pulsed heating and precise temperature rise measurements to achieve high signal-to-noise ratios, even with large beam offsets and low modulation frequencies, enabling the isolation of thermal conductivity tensor elements. We demonstrate and validate the BO-SPS method by measuring X-cut and AT-cut quartz samples. For X-cut quartz, with a known relationship between in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities, we can determine the full thermal conductivity tensor and heat capacity simultaneously. For AT-cut quartz, assuming a known heat capacity, we can determine the entire anisotropic thermal conductivity tensor, even with finite off-diagonal elements. Our results yield consistent principal thermal conductivity values for both quartz types, demonstrating the method's reliability and accuracy. This research highlights the BO-SPS method's potential to advance the understanding of thermal behavior in complex materials.

Anisotropic and shape-stable sugarcane-based phase change composites in the application of solar thermal energy storage

The study of anisotropically thermal conductive phase change composites (PCCs) with shape-stability is of great importance to improve the intermittent issues in solar thermal utilization, while some drawbacks like the high cost, low thermal conductivity, and poor durability of current PCCs restrains their practical applications. Herein, a cheap and scalable biomass-based PCC containing carbonized sugarcane (CSC), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and graphene (GF) is proposed. The abundant vessels inside CSC result in a high PEG loading rate of 82.48 %. The naturally occurring anisotropic structure inside CSC can drive GF to be oriented along the lengthwise direction, which gives PCC a high thermal conductivity anisotropy degree of 1.45. The prominent anisotropy improves the lengthwise thermal diffusion and restrains the transverse heat leakage to the environment. Besides, the loaded GF can further enhance the light absorption of PCC to 98 %. As a result, the prepared PCC can achieve high solar-thermal energy storage efficiencies of 79.3–91.7 % with variable solar intensity from 1 to 2 suns. Meanwhile, good anti-leakage and durability performances promote the practical utilization of PCCs. The present work paves a promising road for manufacturing biomass-based anisotropic PCCs in efficient solar thermal energy storage.

Polarization-Independent Perfect Absorption in Monolayer Black Phosphorus Metasurfaces at Terahertz Frequencies via Critical Coupling.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, which possess rich underlying physical properties that can provide the potential for designing more efficient and compact optoelectronic devices, have attracted great interest among scientists. Due to the atomic-scale thickness and the anisotropy of in-plane conductivity, 2D black phosphorus (BP) exhibits a polarization-dependent absorption spectrum with low absorption, which limits its further development in polarization-independent applications such as light absorbers and sensors. In this paper, a polarization-independent perfect absorber in the terahertz band is proposed, which is composed of a patterned BP monolayer deposited on a lossless photonic crystal (PC) slab with a back reflection mirror. The absorption of the patterned BP monolayer can reach 100% at resonant frequencies through the critical coupling mechanism of guided resonance. Moreover, the absorber exhibits polarization-independent absorption characteristics for vertically incident light, which are attributed to the 4-fold rotational symmetry of the PC substrate and the patterned BP monolayer deposited on it. This work opens up the possibility of fabricating optically polarization-independent devices based on single-layer 2D anisotropic materials.

Hierarchical Incorporation of Reduced Graphene Oxide into Anisotropic Cellulose Nanofiber Foams Improves Their Thermal Insulation.

Anisotropic cellulose nanofiber (CNF) foams represent the state-of-the-art in renewable insulation. These foams consist of large (diameter >10 μm) uniaxially aligned macropores with mesoporous pore-walls and aligned CNF. The foams show anisotropic thermal conduction, where heat transports more efficiently in the axial direction (along the aligned CNF and macropores) than in the radial direction (perpendicular to the aligned CNF and macropores). Here we explore the impact on axial and radial thermal conductivity upon depositing a thin film of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the macropore walls in anisotropic CNF foams. To obtain rGO films on the foam walls we developed liquid-phase self-assembly to deposit rGO in a layer-by-layer fashion. Using electron and ion microscopy, we thoroughly characterized the resulting rGO-CNF foams and confirmed the successful deposition of rGO. These hierarchical rGO-CNF foams show lower radial thermal conductivity (λr) across a wide range of relative humidity compared to CNF control foams. Our work therefore demonstrates a potential method for improved thermal insulation in anisotropic CNF foams and introduces versatile self-assembly for postmodification of such foams.

Electrospun Janus film: Innovative design of “macro + micro” to achieve thermochromic-anisotropic conductive-fluorescent tri-functionality

Multi-functionalized thermochromic materials will greatly expand their application scopes. In this work, two functions of electrical conductivity and fluorescence are innovatively integrated into a thermochromic material by designing specific “macro + micro” Janus structures. Tri-functional thermochromic-anisotropic conductive-fluorescent thermochromic microcapsules-45 °C (TCM-45)/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microfibers non-array&{[polypyrrole (PPy)/PMMA]//[Coumarin/PMMA] Janus microfibers array} up-down Janus film (named as TCFJAJF) is constructed by two-step electrospinning techniques of “single axis + parallel axis”. The up layer of TCFJAJF is TCM-45/PMMA microfibers non-array film (defined as U-TCFJAJF, viz. thermochromic layer) and the down layer of TCFJAJF is [PPy/PMMA]//[Coumarin/PMMA] Janus microfibers array film (denoted as D-TCFJAJF, viz. anisotropic conductive-fluorescent layer). The macroscopic up-down Janus structure eliminates the mutual influences between D-TCFJAJF and U-TCFJAJF. U-TCFJAJF has excellent color conversion and fading/coloring performances, achieving a reversible and multiple colors conversion from blue to white upon heating from 25 to 45 °C. A new concept of “transient thermal printing” is proposed based on fast thermal coloring/fading conversion of thermally printed patterns on film. Meanwhile, the microscopic Janus microfiber structure of D-TCFJAJF largely alleviates absorption to the excitation light and emission light of Coumarin by PPy and influence of Coumarin on conduction of PPy, ensuring the intense fluorescence and high conductivity. Due to the ordered arrangement of Janus microfibers, D-TCFJAJF has excellent anisotropic conductivity. As a demo application, TCFJAJF as a conductor can light up LED bulbs in a microcircuit and emit bright blue fluorescence under UV light excitation, achieving the working state visualization of the conductive microcircuit in dark surroundings. The multi-functionalized thermochromic film will have huge application prospects in fields of temperature monitoring, transient information reading and displaying, flexible electronics, fluorescent labeling and thermal-fluorescent dual encryption anti-counterfeiting, etc.

Effect of Coriolis force on electrical conductivity tensor for the rotating hadron resonance gas

We have investigated the influence of the Coriolis force on the electrical conductivity of hadronic matter formed in relativistic nuclear collisions, employing the hadron resonance gas model. A rotating matter in the peripheral heavy-ion collisions can be expected from the initial stage of quark matter to late-stage hadronic matter. Present work is focused on rotating hadronic matter, whose medium constituents—hadron resonances—can face a nonzero Coriolis force, which can influence the hadronic flow or conductivity. We estimate this conductivity tensor by using the relativistic Boltzmann transport equation. In the absence of Coriolis force, an isotropic conductivity tensor for hadronic matter is expected. However, our study finds that the presence of Coriolis force can generate an anisotropic conductivity tensor with three main conductivity components—parallel, perpendicular, and Hall—similarly to the effect of Lorentz force at a finite magnetic field. Our study has indicated that a noticeable anisotropy of conductivity tensor can be found within the phenomenological range of angular velocity Ω=0.001–0.02 GeV and hadronic scattering radius a=0.2–2 fm. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Numerical Study of Liquid Water Formation and Transport in Porous Media

Fundamental understanding of liquid water formation and transport in fuel cells is of great importance for achieving high durability, reliability, and maximizing cell performance. For low temperature fuel cells, water may exist as vapor or liquid phase and is involved in various electrochemical reactions and transport mechanisms. The condensation process occurs when local water vapor pressure exceeds the saturation pressure. In this work, we first investigate the permeation of liquid water in the gas diffusion layer (GDL). To this aim, a two-dimensional isothermal model considering reconstructed GDL microstructure in conjunction with VOF model is implemented. The effects of mixed wettability of materials, operating temperature, and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) loadings on liquid water transport in the porous media are investigated numerically. The liquid water breakthrough and the capillary fingering regime are captured and compared. The results show that liquid water saturation in the GDL increases with decreasing PTFE loadings. Moreover, the results demonstrated that the local microstructure in the GDL has a strong effect and can dominate the overall water distribution. To further study water condensation, the isothermal model is expanded to non-isothermal for including physics of phase change heat transfer and species transport. In addition, anisotropic thermal conductivity is incorporated to study its effect on temperature distribution and liquid water distribution. The results show that initially the liquid water is formed as micro droplets and then these micro droplets are combined to form large droplets. Moreover, the impacts of water generation rate, temperature gradient, operating pressure, and contact angle on condensation have been investigated. The findings of this work are expected to provide insights into designing more reliable GDL in fuel cells. Figure 1

Highly Anisotropic Thermally Conductive Dielectric Polymer/Boron Nitride Nanotube Composites for Directional Heat Dissipation.

An ideal dielectric material for microelectronic devices requires a combination of high anisotropic thermal conductivity and low dielectric constant (ɛ') and loss (tan δ). Polymer composites of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs), which offer excellent thermal and dielectric properties, show promise for developing these dielectric polymer composites. Herein, a simple method for fabricating polymer/BNNT composites with high directional thermal conductivity and excellent dielectric properties is presented. The nanocomposites with directionally aligned BNNTs are fabricated through melt-compounding and in situ fibrillation, followed by sintering the fibrous nanocomposites. The fabricated nanocomposites show a significant enhancement in thermal properties, with an in-plane thermal conductivity (K‖) of 1.8 Wm-1K-1-a 450% increase-yielding a high anisotropy ratio (K‖/K⊥) of 36, a 1700% improvement over isotropic samples containing only 7.2 vol% BNNT. These samples exhibit a 120% faster in-plane heat dissipation compared to the through-plane within 2 s. Additionally, they display low ɛ'of ≈3.2 and extremely low tan δ of ≈0.014 at 1kHz. These results indicate that this method provides a new avenue for designing and creating polymer composites with enhanced directional heat dissipation properties along with high K‖, suitable for thermal management applications in electronic packaging, thermal interface materials, and passive cooling systems.

Validation of conductivity tensor imaging against diffusion tensor magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography

Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (DT-MREIT) and electrodeless conductivity tensor imaging (CTI) are two emerging modalities that can quantify low-frequency tissue anisotropic conductivity properties by assuming similar properties underlie ionic mobility and water diffusion. While both methods have potential applications to estimating neuro-modulation fields or formulating forward models used for electrical source imaging, a direct comparison of the two modalities has not yet been performed in-vitro or in-vivo. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the equivalence of these two modalities. We scanned a tissue phantom and the head of human subject using DT-MREIT and CTI protocols and reconstructed conductivity tensor and effective low frequency conductivities. We found both gray and white matter conductivities recovered by each technique were equivalent within 0.05 S/m. Both DT-MREIT and CTI require multiple processing steps, and we further assess the effects of each factor on reconstructions and evaluate the extent to which different measurement mechanisms potentially cause discrepancies between the two methods. Finally, we discuss the implications for spectral models of measuring conductivity using these techniques. The study further establishes the credibility of CTI as an electrodeless non-invasive method of measuring low frequency conductivity properties.

Dielectric and thermal conductive properties of differently structured Ti3C2Tx MXene-integrated nanofibrillated cellulose films

The fabrication of nanocellulose-based substrates with high dielectric permittivity and anisotropic thermal conductivity to replace synthetic thermoplastics in flexible organic electronics remains a big challenge. Herein, films were prepared from native (CNF) and carboxylated (TCNF) cellulose nanofibrils, with and without the addition of thermally conductive multi-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene, to examine the impact of polar (− OH, − COOH) surface groups on the film morphological, moisturizing, dielectric, and thermal dissipation properties. The electrostatic repulsion and hydrogen bonding interaction between the hydrophilic surface/terminal groups on CNF/TCNF and MXene was shown to render their self-assembly distribution and organization into morphologically differently structured films, and, consequently, different properties. The pristine CNF film achieved high intrinsic dielectric permittivity (ε' ~ 9), which was further increased to almost ε' ~ 14 by increasing (50 wt%) the MXene content. The well-packed and aligned structure of thinner TCNF films enables the tuning of both the composite’s dielectric permittivity (ε' ~ 6) and through-plane thermal conductivity (K ~ 2.9 W/mK), which increased strongly (ε' ~ 17) at higher MXene loading giving in-plane thermal conductivity of ~ 6.3 W/mK. The air-absorbed moisture ability of the films contributes to heat dissipation by releasing it. The dielectric losses remained below 0.1 in all the composite films, showing their potential for application in electronics.Graphic abstract