Journal Of Materials Science Research Articles

Bio, modeling and chemical routes to materials in the Journal of Materials Science

Bio, modeling and chemical routes to materials in the Journal of Materials Science

Exploration and practice of building a youth editorial board for scientific and technological journals: A case study in Journal of Materials Science & Technology

To meet the demand for the high-quality development of English scientific journals, Journal of Materials Science & Technology (JMST) established the youth editorial board which has greatly improved the efficiency of the journal’s work, optimized the quality of manuscripts, and enhanced the international influence of the journal. This study introduces the specific methods adopted by JMST in forming and assessing its youth editorial board. Through a literature review, qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis, the role of the youth editorial board in journal development is examined. The results show that the construction of a youth editorial board, gradual improvement of its management mechanisms, and maximization of the role of youth editorial board members can promote the synergistic development of scientific journals and young editorial teams. This helps enhance the international influence of the journal, accelerate the process of internationalization, and facilitate high-quality development. Finally, the future development directions of the youth editorial board are discussed.

Partial Replacement of Manganese in Sodium Manganese Hexacyanoferrate for Long-Life Sodium-Ion Cathode Materials

Among the various cathode active materials for Na-ion batteries Prussian Blue Analogs (PBA) are a promising candidate. From a cost and sustainability perspective, Na2Mn[Fe(CN)]6 (NaMnHCF) is of particular interest due to its high potential and superior electrochemical performance.[1] However, it suffers from poor cycling stability which is believed to be partly due to structural distortions caused by the Jahn-Teller effect of oxidized Mn3+ and dissolution of Mn in the electrolyte.[1,2] An alternative PBA like Na2Fe[Fe(CN)]6 (NaFeHCF) does not have these issues, but operates at a lower average potential of about 3.15 V versus Na+/Na during discharge (versus 3.45 V for NaMnHCF).[3] Therefore, in this study, the systematic replacement of Mn is investigated to find an optimum of high potential and good cycling stability.[4] As an example, Figure 1 shows the voltage curves for the first C/20 cycle in sodium half cells with Na2Mn[Fe(CN)]6 (green) or Na2Mn0.8Fe0.2[Fe(CN)]6 (blue). The material with the higher Fe content clearly shows a second, lower plateau and an overall lower potential.The materials were compared in terms of their electrochemical properties and characterized by SEM, XRD, ICP-OES and TGA. References Song, J., Wang, L., Lu, Y., Liu, J., Guo, B., Xiao, P., ... & Goodenough, J. B. (2015). Journal of the American Chemical Society, 137(7), 2658-2664.Xu, C., Ma, Y., Zhao, J., Zhang, P., Chen, Z., Yang, C., ... & Hu, Y. S. (2023). Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 62(13), e202217761.Wang, L., Song, J., Qiao, R., Wray, L. A., Hossain, M. A., Chuang, Y. D., ... & Goodenough, J. B. (2015). Journal of the American Chemical Society, 137(7), 2548-2554.Chen, X., Xia, Y., Fang, X., Zhang, K., Xiong, Y., & Jian, Z. (2022). Journal of Materials Science, 57(29), 14015-14025. Figure 1

Catalytic Activity of Au-Cu Alloy on TiO2 Nanotubes for Alcohol Oxidation

First fuel cell was discovered 180 years ago and still the ideal, namely cheap and effective catalytic materials are highly required. Such device allows to convert chemical energy into electrical one without pollutant gasses emission. In the case of alcohol fuel cells, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol and glycerine are considered as a power source. Platinum is commonly used for alcohol electrocatalyst, because of its high activity and stability. However, due to the high cost and limited supply platinum should be replaced by material that small amount is enough to reach satisfactory catalytic effect. In our work, we present the activity of gold-copper modified titania nanotubes toward electrocatalytic alcohol oxidation [1].The material is fabricated using three steps such as: 1) anodization of Ti plate, 2) thin 10 nm AuCu alloy layer magnetron sputtering, and 3) rapid thermal annealing in an argon atmosphere [2]. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the presence of well-ordered TiO2 nanotubes (TiNT) with diameter of 101 ± 13 nm and length of 709± 53 nm. After AuCu alloy magnetron sputtering and thermal treatment spherical nanoparticles were formed on NT surface. Based on top view SEM images the diameter of gold copper nanoparticles is equal to 38 ± 5 nm. However, the TEM images showed that diameter of nanoparticles changes from 5 nm to 60 nm (Figure 1a-d) where the bigger particles are on the top of the nanotubes. Applied fabrication procedure allowed us to obtain electrode material that can be used in methanol, ethylene glycol or glycerine oxidation. The highest catalytic activity of AuCu alloy was obtained for glycerine oxidation. Prepared material exhibited 90 times higher current density after glycerine addition to the alkaline solution than pure TiNT (Figure 1e). Furthermore, higher current density towards alcohol oxidation was registered for thermally annealed sample (an-AuCu/TiNT) than for non-annealed one (n-AuCu/TiNT).Cyclic voltammetry measurements for the an-AuCu/TiNT in glycerine solution at different scan rates confirmed diffusion controlled process. The oxidation peak current density located at +0.3 V and +1 V grows up to 120 mV/s with slope of 51 and 81 µA/cm2 respectively, which confirmed more privilege process at +1 V vs. Ag/AgCl/0.1M KCl. We believe that the information reported in our work provide wider knowledge about new and more efficient electrodes for alcohol oxidation.Research is financed by National Science Centre (Poland): Grant No. 2019/35/N/ST5/02604[1] W. Lipińska et al. Journal of Materials Science, 57 (2022) 13345, DOI:10.1007/s10853-022-07471-7[2] W. Lipińska et al. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 13 (2021) 52967, DOI:10.1021/acsami.1c16271 Figure 1

Probing the Dynamic Na Metal/Nasicon Interface in Sodium-Ion Batteries

Interest in solid-state sodium-ion batteries (SSIBs) have resurged remarkably as a means of diversification in energy storage devices to address climate issues and further propelled by the movement of ‘Beyond-Li’. State of the art SSIBs not only offer energy security and sustainability but also comparable power and energy densities to their counter-parts. Yet to fully capitalise on the technology, the fundamental processes taking place between the anode and interface or ‘point of contact’ needs to be understood. Previous iterations of SSIBs have employed various solid-electrolyte candidates – most notable being beta-alumina – however with the recent advancements in synthesis and dopants more prominent solid-electrolytes have become interesting, one in particular being NaSICON (Sodium Super Ionic Conductor). NaSICON has several advantages, one of which is the reduction in operating temperatures of SSIBs due to its inherent fast sodium-ion transport1. This would broaden the potential applications of SSIBs, making the technology more accessible to a wider range of markets.Current perspectives on NaSICON solid-electrolytes have focused on optimising conductivity through means of additive dopants2 and synthesis procedures3. Yet at present, the understanding of the fundamentals of interfacial inhomogeneities that affect the performance of these materials in SSIBs is limited. With consideration of the direct implications on performance that surface chemistry has, understanding of this is paramount.Evaluation of the chemical evolution of the Na metal/NaSICON interface has been achieved through assessing the changes of the chemical landscape that take place at the surface and near-surface, through surface characterisation techniques that probe the area of interest at varying depths – X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). This has been conducted on samples that have been electrochemically cycled and comparison made to samples in pristine condition. The compositions used to conduct this investigation are Na3Zr2Si2PO12 and Na3.4Zr2Si2.4P0.6O12 – the latter of which has been shown to have one of the highest room temperature sodium-ion conductivity4. Through this, the electronic structure, and hence chemical state, can be deduced alongside a 3D chemical map that will correlate surface chemical changes with electrochemical performance. Thus, a preliminary means of understanding the fundamentals of chemical evolution can be established. References Lu, G. Xia, J. P. Lemmon, Z. Yang, ‘Advanced materials for sodium-beta alumina batteries: Status, challenges and perspectives’, Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 195, p. 2431-2442, 2010. Samiee, B. Radhakrishnan, Z. Rice, Z. Deng, Y. Meng, S. Ong, J. Luo, ‘Divalent-doped Na3Zr2Si2PO12 natrium superionic conductor: Improving the ionic conductivity via simultaneously optimizing the phase and chemistry of the primary and secondary phases’, Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 347, p. 229-237, 2017. Jalalian-Khakshour, C. Phillips, L. Jackson, T. Dunlop, S. Margadonna, D. Deganello, ‘Solid-state synthesis of NASICON (Na3Zr2Si2PO12) using nanoparticle precursors for optimisation of ionic conductivity’, Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 55, 2020. Ma, C-L. Tsai, X-K. Wei, M. Heggen, F. Tietz, J. T. S. Irvine, ‘Room temperature demonstration of a sodium superionic conductor with grain conductivity in excess of 0.01 S cm−1 and its primary applications in symmetric battery cells’ J. Mater. Chem. A, Vol. 7, p. 7766-7776, 2019.

Comments on recently published papers reporting on “new” amino acid-based crystals in the Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics

Comments on recently published papers reporting on “new” amino acid-based crystals in the Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics

Corrigendum to “Examining the effect of the aging state on strength and plasticity of wrought aluminum alloys” [Journal of Materials Science & Technology 122 (2022) 54–67

Corrigendum to “Examining the effect of the aging state on strength and plasticity of wrought aluminum alloys” [Journal of Materials Science & Technology 122 (2022) 54–67

Corrigendum to “CuInS2/TiO2 heterojunction with elevated photo-electrochemical performance for cathodic protection”, [Journal of Materials Science & Technology 122 (2022) 211–218

Corrigendum to “CuInS2/TiO2 heterojunction with elevated photo-electrochemical performance for cathodic protection”, [Journal of Materials Science & Technology 122 (2022) 211–218

Comment on "Synthesis of ZnS thin films using the spray pyrolysis technique, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 33, 15086–15097 (2022)"

Comment on "Synthesis of ZnS thin films using the spray pyrolysis technique, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 33, 15086–15097 (2022)"

Corrigendum to “Stress-controlled fatigue of HfNbTaTiZr high-entropy alloy and associated deformation and fracture mechanisms” [Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 114 (2022) 191–205

Corrigendum to “Stress-controlled fatigue of HfNbTaTiZr high-entropy alloy and associated deformation and fracture mechanisms” [Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 114 (2022) 191–205

Preliminary Study of Photoelectrochemical Properties of Electrosyntetized Cerium Dioxide (CeO2) to Pollutant Treatment

1. IntroductionIn this work a systematic procedure to synthetize of cerium dioxide and evaluation and its photoelectrochemical properties for dye degradation in aqueous media is shown. First, electrochemical synthesis of CeO2 methodology is presented as function of annealing temeprature and concentration of Ce3+ precursors in the plating. Next, Raman spectra and FTIR analysis were presented to evaluate structural properties of films. Lineal sweep voltammetry (LSV) and chronoamperometry (CA) results are shown to evaluate the photocurrent and its stability of CeO2 and finally all the results were analyzed in function of excitons production, charge separation and recombination phenomena.2. Methodology 2.1. Electrochemical synthesis of CeO2 First, cerium hydroxide (Ce(OH)3) was obtained from a CeCl3.7H2O solution (5 and 25 mM) with 0,05 M of NaNO3 as support electrolyte by applying of a constant potential of -1,2 V vs AgCl during 300 s to an FTO electrode (1,3 x 0,6 cm). A reference electrode (Ag/AgCl 3,0 M and a Pt wire as a counter electrode were used in the electrochemical cell connected to a potenciostat-galvanostat AUTOLAB N65 Series. After deposition of cerium hydroxide form, the FTO substrates were alienated at different temperatures (200 – 700 oC) for 1 hour to obtain the oxide cerium form. Finally, FTO photoelectrodes were dried with air and stored at room temperature. 2.2. Photoelectrochemical characterization of CeO2 films LSV and CA were used to evaluate the photo-response and stability of produced photocurrent of CeO2 photoanodes. In the LSV experiment, a range of potential from +0,5 V to 1,2 V was used with a sweep of 10 mV/s. Meanwhile, a bias potential of +1,2 V during 300 s with light-dark cycles of 30 s was used in CA experiments. A system of three electrode (FTO-CeO2 as a working electrode, Ag/AgCl 3,0 M and a Pt wire) were used in an electrochemical with a quartz window. The cell was irradiated with a light source of 100 mW/cm2. The solution of the electrochemical cell was Na2SO4 0,1 M.3. ResultsElectrochemical measurements show that there is a great influence in the temperature treatment to obtain high photocurrent using CeO2 photoanodes. Besides, CeO2 increase its photoelectroactivity when small concentration of Ce3+ precursor is used in the electrochemical formation of hydroxide. This could be attributed to a decrease of size particle and therefore a favorable change of band gap of CeO2. Stability of photocurrent of CeO2 photoelectrode changes slowly across the time this process could be product of electronic saturation in the process of charge separation or structural changes during the photoelectrocatalytic process due to applying of potential bias.4. REFERENCES(1) Ma, R.; Zhang, S.; Wen, T.; Gu, P.; Li, L.; Zhao, G.; Niu, F.; Huang, Q.; Tang, Z.; Wang, X. A Critical Review on Visible-Light-Response CeO2-Based Photocatalysts with Enhanced Photooxidation of Organic Pollutants. Catalysis Today 2019, 335, 20–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2018.11.016.(2) Liu, Z.; Guo, S.; Hong, C.; Xia, Z. Synthesis and Photocatalytic Properties of CeO2 Nanocubes. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics 2016, 27 (2), 2146–2150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-4004-1.(3) Muñoz-Batista, M. J.; Gómez-Cerezo, M. N.; Kubacka, A.; Tudela, D.; Fernández-García, M. Role of Interface Contact in CeO2-TiO2 Photocatalytic Composite Materials. ACS Catalysis 2014, 4 (1), 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1021/cs400878b.

Utility of Biogenic Iron and Its Bimetallic Nanocomposites for Biomedical Applications: A Review

Nanotechnology mainly deals with the production and application of compounds with dimensions in nanoscale. Given their dimensions, these materials have considerable surface/volume ratios, and hence, specific characteristics. Nowadays, environmentally friendly procedures are being proposed for fabrication of Fe nanoparticles because a large amount of poisonous chemicals and unfavorable conditions are needed to prepare them. This work includes an inclusive overview on the economical and green procedures for the preparation of such nanoparticles (flower, fruits, tea, carbohydrates, and leaves). Pure and bimetallic iron nanoparticles, for instance, offer a high bandwidth and excitation binding energy and are applicable in different areas ranging from antibacterial, anticancer, and bioimaging agents to drug delivery systems. Preparation of nano-sized particles, such as those of Fe, requires the application of high quantities of toxic materials and harsh conditions, and naturally, there is a tendency to develop more facile and even green pathways (Sultana, Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 2013, 29, 795–800; Bushra et al., Journal of hazardous materials, 2014, 264, 481–489; Khan et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2015, 54, 76–82). This article tends to provide an overview on the reports describing green and biological methods for the synthesis of Fe nanoparticles. The present review mainly highlights selenium nanoparticles in the biomedical domain. Specifically, this review will present detailed information on drug delivery, bioimaging, antibacterial, and anticancer activity. It will also focus on procedures for their green synthesis methods and properties that make them potential candidates for various biomedical applications. Finally, we provide a detailed future outlook.

Erratum to “3D culturing of human adipose-derived stem cells enhances their pluripotency and differentiation abilities” [Journal of Materials Science & Technology 63 (2021) 9–17

Erratum to “3D culturing of human adipose-derived stem cells enhances their pluripotency and differentiation abilities” [Journal of Materials Science & Technology 63 (2021) 9–17

An overview of the effect of stirrer design on the mechanical properties of Aluminium Alloy Matrix Composites fabricated by stir casting

An overview of the effect of stirrer design on the mechanical properties of Aluminium Alloy Matrix Composites fabricated by stir casting

Comment on the relationship between electrical and optical conductivity used in several recent papers published in the journal of materials science: materials in electronics

Comment on the relationship between electrical and optical conductivity used in several recent papers published in the journal of materials science: materials in electronics

High-Performance LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 Cathodes By Atomic-Layer-Deposited Sulfide Coatings

Due to its higher capacity compared to the commercialized LiNixMnyCo1-x-yO2 (NMCs, 0< x, y <1) with lower Ni content (x≤0.6), LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) is now considered as the next promising cathode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, it still suffers from more serious performance degradation and safety hazard than the commercial ones. These existing issues are reflected as cation mixing, oxygen evolution, irreversible phase-transition, transition metal ion dissolution, and microcracking. Aimed at addressing these problems, surface coating has proven to be an important and effective approach. In recent years, atomic layer deposition (ALD) has emerged as an accurate tool to apply uniform and conformal coatings over NMCs at the atomic level, which have shown remarkable effects on the improved performance of batteries.1-4 Herein, for the first time we deposited ultrathin ALD Li2S coatings5 conformally over NMC811 composite electrodes. It was found that the ALD Li2S coatings enable to enhance performance of NMC811 cathodes with much better cyclability and rate capability. To clarify the effects of the ALD Li2S coatings, we utilized a suite of characterization tools including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and transmission X-ray microscopy. The results revealed that the ALD Li2S coatings can perfectly maintain the NMC structure during cycling, thus significantly suppress the crack formation. Furthermore, the Li2S layer can react with and eliminate H2O in electrolyte and O2 released from the NMC structure. In addition, the measurements of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were applied, which confirms that the Li2S coatings serve as physical protection layers to prevent the interfacial reactions between the NMC cathode and liquid electrolyte. It can be foreseen that sulfides would be a new class of coating materials for addressing issues of NMC cathodes.1. Meng, X.; Yang, X. Q.; Sun, X. L., Advanced Materials 2012, 24 (27), 3589-3615.2. Liu, Y.; Wang, X.; Cai, J.; Han, X.; Geng, D.; Li, J.; Meng, X., Journal of Materials Science & Technology 2020, 54, 77-86.3. Wang, X.; Cai, J.; Liu, Y.; Han, X.; Ren, Y.; Li, J.; Liu, Y.; Meng, X., Nanotechnology 2020, 32 (11), 115401.4. Gao, H.; Cai, J.; Xu, G.-L.; Li, L.; Ren, Y.; Meng, X.; Amine, K.; Chen, Z., Chem. Mater. 2019, 31 (8), 2723-2730.5. Meng, X.; Comstock, D. J.; Fister, T. T.; Elam, J. W., ACS Nano 2014, 8 (10), 10963-10972.

Polyacrylonitrile‐Derived Co or Fe Containing Nanofibre Catalysts Prepared Via Electrispinning for Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell Cathode

An increasing worldwide energy demand drives the need for the development of more efficient and greener energy production and storage technologies (1). In recent years, carbon nanofibres (CNFs) have drawn a lot of attention and been widely studied to address these topical problems. For example, the CNF-based materials can be employed as an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst at the fuel cell cathode. The CNFs are appealing because of their attractive properties e.g. high specific surface area, high length/diameter ratio, specific porosities and multiple functionalities. For the preparation of CNFs, a simple and versatile technique called electrospinning can be applied (2).In our previous papers regarding CNFs, we have investigated the pyrolyzed electrospun composite materials without added transition metals as ORR catalysts in 0.1 M KOH (3, 4). For further optimization of the catalyst material ORR activity, we have now included the Co or Fe precursors to the electrospinning solution. For the first time, the Fe- or Co-containing polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based CNFs were studied as a cathode catalyst in the anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) (5).The composite catalyst materials were prepared via electrospinning of Iron(II) acetate or Cobalt(II) acetate containing PAN solution with and without ionic liquid (IL). The electrospun nanofibres were pyrolysed at different temperatures and acid treated. The materials consisted of CNFs with diameter from ca. 200 to 700 nm. The composition of the catalysts included C, O, N and corresponding transition metal (Fe or Co). In 0.1 M KOH solution, the best performing ORR catalyst material was Fe‐containing CNF without IL prepared at 800 °C (Fe‐PAN‐A800). The best AEMFC performance was observed for Fe‐containing CNF with IL prepared at 1000 °C. The maximum power density value of this catalyst (Fe/IL‐PAN‐A1000) was 289 mW cm−2, which was 82 % of the value obtained with the commercial Pt/C cathode catalyst (Figure 1). The reasons behind the good performance at the AEMFC cathode were considered to be high specific surface area, mesoporous CNF cross‐linked structure and the presence of ORR‐active N species and Me−Nx sites (5).References A. Sarapuu, E. Kibena-Põldsepp, M. Borghei and K. Tammeveski, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6, 776 (2018). A. Barhoum, K. Pal, H. Rahier, H. Uludag, I. S. Kim and M. Bechelany, Applied Materials Today, 17, 1 (2019). M. Mooste, E. Kibena-Põldsepp, L. Matisen, M. Merisalu, M. Kook, V. Kisand, V. Vassiljeva, A. Krumme, V. Sammelselg and K. Tammeveski, Catalysis Letters, 148, 1815 (2018). M. Mooste, E. Kibena-Põldsepp, V. Vassiljeva, M. Merisalu, M. Kook, A. Treshchalov, V. Kisand, M. Uibu, A. Krumme, V. Sammelselg and K. Tammeveski, Journal of Materials Science, 54, 11618 (2019). M. Mooste, E. Kibena-Põldsepp, V. Vassiljeva, A. Kikas, M. Käärik, J. Kozlova, V. Kisand, M. Külaviir, S. Cavaliere, J. Leis, A. Krumme, V. Sammelselg, S. Holdcroft and K. Tammeveski, ChemCatChem, 12, 4568 (2020). Figure 1

Corrosion and Electrochemical Properties of EVA+Zn Electrodes from a Percolation Theory Perspective

Composite materials and their physical properties have been widely studied because of their industrial applications. Among the composite materials, those consisting of an isolator phase filled with a conductive powder are of special interest in electrochemistry. Those materials combine the isolator and mechanical properties of the polymer phase with the conductive behaviour of the filler. With a large range of applications: corrosion prevention, shielding and electromagnetic interferences absorption, electrostatic unload, heat conduction, mechanical to electrical signal conversion or rechargeable batteries. The properties of this kind of materials are described by the Percolation Theory. When the filler content is increasing, the particles are forming individual clusters that are growing in the polymeric phase. At some characteristic value of the filler volume fraction, an infinite cluster is formed that crosses the whole of the material from one side to the other. This is the first percolation threshold (vc ) and will determinate important properties of the material, e.g. mechanical or electrichemical behaviour. The percolation threshold, also called critical volume fraction, varies from one material to another as a function of components densities and packing system and also of filler size and shape as well as on the procedure used for preparing the samples. Zinc powder is a typical filler of composite materials, with important technological applications on preventing corrosion systems and batteries [1,2]. EVA is an elastic polymeric material with a low melting point, used intensively in the industries of toys and footwear, because of the combination of their mechanical properties and easy processing. The EVA copolymer (ethylene-vinyl acetate) was filled with increasing amounts of powder zinc, from 10 to 75 %wt. Then, the electrical, thermal, mechanical and electrochemical properties of the mixtures of both materials or “product properties” are of promising usefulness. The aim of this work is to correlate the physical properties of the composite made with a different ratio of powder zinc dispersed within the polymeric matrix, with the objective of to characterize the electrochemic al and corrosion behaviour of these composite.1) J.R. Subiela; J. López; R. Balart; J.J. García-Jareño; F. Vicente. Electrical properties of EVA filled by zinc powder. Journal of Materials Science. 41 (2006) 6396 - 64022) J. Agrisuelas; J. García-Jareño; M. Piedras; C. Sanz; F.Vicente. Characterization of a New Polypropylene+Graphite+Zinc Ternary Composite. ECS Transactions 50 (2013). 71 - 80.

Toughness improvement of LLDPE/PP blend by GTR incorporation

Introduction: Approximately 80 % of waste rubber comes from end of life tires. Land filling causes serious environmental troubles due to the impermeability and hollowed shape of tires. The global concern about the continue accumulation of discarded tires and the developing ecological awareness demand new ways and regulations to solve this problem, encouraging the scientific community to explore alternative solutions to reuse this waste material. However, the reuse or recycling of tires is not a simple task. Besides the several materials that tires are constructed from, rubbers used in tires are vulcanizated, having a cross-linked structure that makes them elastic, insoluble and infusible thermoset materials that cannot be reprocessed, as is the case of thermoplastic materials. It is therefore of critical importance to find technologically feasible and cost-effective methods for tires recycling. A possible industrial recycling method of tires is their downsizing to obtain a powder called ground tyre rubber (GTR). On the other side, a commonly used practice in industry to improve mechanical behavior and toughness of a polymer is to incorporate rubber particles into it (1). Then, adding GTR to a polymeric material, so high-quality products can be shaped at an acceptable cost, seems to be an attractive option. Compound of waste tire rubber with polymers allows to lower the cost of the final products while contributing to the world’s 3R (reduce, reuse, and recycle) notion: reducing the amount of virgin polymer used, reusing the tire rubber, and recycling the waste tires (2). In this work, we report results of adding GTR to a LLDPE/PP blend (the most abundant thermoplastics in municipal waste), with the aim of obtaining a completely recycled composite with improved toughness. Methods: GTR particles in different size ranges – lower than 300 µm, 300-500 µm and 500-800 µm – and in various percentages – 5, 10 and 15% – were incorporated to a 75% LLDPE / 25% PP blend in a twin screw extruder, and plaques obtained by injection molding. Materials were characterized by several techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), conventional uniaxial tensile testing, and fracture tests. Results & Discussions: We found that GTR particles did not affect the microstructure of the thermoplastic matrix. The tensile behavior of the ternary materials was slightly affected by the composition of the mixture: the mechanical behavior became less rigid and more ductile; this being directly related to the elastic nature of the rubber particles. However, large differences were found in the fracture performance of the ternary blends, when compared with the matrix blend. In addition, different mechanical behaviors were observed that varied according to the relative percentage of the particles and their size. GTR greatly influenced both energies involved in crack initiation and in crack propagation, as well as mechanisms developed during deformation and crack evolution. Conclusions: Fracture tests seem to be a sensitive and adequate tool to estimate the influence of particles in polymer blends, much more than simple tensile tests. The fracture behavior of LLDPE/PP blends can be modified by the sole incorporation of GTR particles, leading to a toughness increase in the ternary blends, because of the diversification of deformation mechanisms. Keywords: Fracture toughness, fracture mechanisms, recycled tires, thermoplastic blend References Karger-Kocsis, J., L. Meszaros, and T. Barany. Ground Tyre Rubber (GTR) in Thermoplastics, Thermosets, and Rubbers. Journal of Materials Science. 2013; 48(1): 1-38. Ramarad, S., M. Khalid, C. T. Ratnam, A. Luqman Chuah, and W. Rashmi. Waste Tire Rubber in Polymer Blends: A Review on the Evolution, Properties and Future. 2015. Progress in Materials Science 72:100–140.

Three-Dimensional Resistivity Quantification and Visualization of Silicon-Based Composite Anode Nanostructure Via Scanning Probe Microscopy

Nanocomposite Si-graphite electrodes are a viable option for increasing the energy density and life of lithium-ion battery anodes. In comparison to model systems (e.g., Si wafer and Si thin film), Si nanoparticles, ranging in diameter from tens to hundreds of nanometers, have higher rate capacity and improved fracture toughness.1, 2 However, characterization efforts to better understand localized degradation mechanisms and heterogeneous aging behaviors of distinct components—Si, graphite, binder, and conductive carbon—in Si-based nanocomposite anodes through cycling are hindered by the limited information that can be achieved at the nanoscale using traditional microscopy techniques.To date, high resolution, three-dimensional structural visualization of the Si-based composite electrode has relied upon techniques like X-ray nano-computed tomography3, 4, that provide morphological information but not electronic or chemical information. In this work, we report a novel lab-scale scanning probe microscopy-based approach to map the 3-D nanostructure of composite anodes via contrast in their components’ intrinsic electronic properties. By incorporating experimental nanoscale electronic resistivity data through interpolation, volumes can be extracted to represent distinct constituent phases of the composite electrode. This approach presents an opportunity for relatively high throughput, nanoscale characterization of composite anodes and cathodes to investigate phenomena such as particle dispersion in electrode preparation and electrode evolution through cycling. Ultimately, this technique shows future utility for the multiscale understanding of structural evolution and degradation processes within lithium-ion batteries.Figure 1: Interpolated resistivity layers captured within a Si-Carbon(C) composite electrode, processed to extract C-rich and Si-rich volumes. R. C. de Guzman, J. Yang, M. M.-C. Cheng, S. O. Salley, and K. Y. Simon Ng, Journal of Materials Science, 48 (14), 4823-4833 (2013).S.-L. Chou, J.-Z. Wang, M. Choucair, H.-K. Liu, J. A. Stride, and S.-X. Dou, Electrochemistry Communications, 12 (2), 303-306 (2010).O. O. Taiwo, M. Loveridge, S. D. Beattie, D. P. Finegan, R. Bhagat, D. J. L. Brett, and P. R. Shearing, Electrochimica Acta, 253 85-92 (2017).J. Wu, F. Ma, X. Liu, X. Fan, L. Shen, Z. Wu, X. Ding, X. Han, Y. Deng, W. Hu, and C. Zhong, Small Methods, 3 (10), (2019). Figure 1