Solution-Blown Aligned Nanofiber Yarn and Its Application in Yarn-Shaped Supercapacitor

Yarn-shaped supercapacitors with great flexibility are highly anticipated for smart wearable devices. Herein, a device for continuously producing oriented nanofiber yarn based on solution blowing was invented, which was important for the nanofiber yarn electrode to realize mass production. Further, the yarn-shaped supercapacitor was assembled by the yarn electrode with the polypyrrole (PPy) grown on aligned carbon fiber bundles@Polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (CFs@PAN NFs). Electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of the yarn electrode can be improved by the carbon fiber bundles. The specific surface area of the yarn electrode can be enlarged by PPy. The yarn-shaped supercapacitors assembled by the PVA/LiCl/H3PO4 gel electrolyte showed high areal specific capacitance of 353 mF cm−2 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1, and the energy density was 48 μWh cm−2 when the power density was 247 μW cm−2. The supercapacitors also exhibited terrific cycle stability (82% after 20,000 cycles). We also proved that this yarn-shaped supercapacitor could easily power up the light emitting diode. This yarn-shaped supercapacitor was meaningful for the development of the smart wearable devices, especially when combined with clothing or fabrics.

A Study on Improving the Mechanical Performance of Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Cement

This study investigated several approaches for silane-removal from the surface of short carbon fiber bundles, and short carbon fibers uniformly dispersed in cement to produce a novel compound of carbon-fiber-reinforced cement. In order to facilitate the uniform distribution of short carbon fibers in the carbon-fiber-reinforced cement, it is necessary to remove the silane from the carbon fiber’s surface. Short carbon fiber bundles were submerged into a pure water, sodium hydroxide solution, and acetic acid solution, and placed in high-temperature furnace used to remove silane from the carbon fiber surface. The results were observed under a scanning electron microscope to determine the level of silane removal from the surface, and an effective method for removing the silane was developed from among the several approaches. This method employed a pneumatic dispersion device to disperse carbon fibers then mixed in a high-early-strength cement which led to an excellent compressive and impact-resistance performance of carbon-fiber-reinforced cement. Final testing showed that the compressive strength and impact energy increased by 14.1% and 145%, respectively.

Fracture toughness enhancement of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer composites utilizing additive manufacturing fabrication

The present work reports a novel approach to enhance the fracture resistance and notch sensitivity of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites utilizing additive manufacturing (3-D printing) fabrication. The 3-D printed composites utilize carbon fiber bundles to reinforce nylon/chopped fiber resin in a multilayered structure configuration. Single-edge (60°) notched samples were printed using Mark Two printer. Three reinforcement schemes were designed and used to manufacture the specimens. The focus was placed on selective reinforcement at the crack tip to arrest crack initiation. The mechanical properties, fracture toughness, and fracture behavior of the printed composites were evaluated. It was found that wrapping fiber around the notch effectively blunted the notch and redirected crack propagation away from the notch tip, thereby lengthening the crack path and leading to improved fracture resistance. It was also found that such improvement reaches a saturation level. Excessive notch reinforcement beyond optimal limit can reverse the gains in fracture resistance due to notch-targeted reinforcement. Examination of the fracture surface morphology of the printed composites reveals lack of fusion of the sizing of the individual continuous carbon fiber bundles and the lack of adhesion between the matrix layers (nylon/chopped fiber resin) and the adjacent carbon fiber bundle reinforcement. Damage to the fibers within the carbon bundle was also observed. Thus, a synergetic effect of the carbon fiber bundles reinforcement and the matrix requires more optimization to manufacture carbon-reinforced polymer composites using 3-D printing.