Semi-conducting microspheres formed from glucose for semi-active electric field-responsive electrorheological systems.

In this study glucose particles were successfully transformed to conducting carbonaceous microspheres through sequential hydrothermal and thermal carbonization. The prepared carbonaceous particles were thereafter used as a dispersed phase in a novel electrorheological fluid. Due to significant enhancements of the conductivity and dielectric properties when compared with the glucose precursor, the prepared electrorheological fluid based on carbonaceous microspheres exhibited a yield stress of over 200 Pa at a particle concentration of 5 wt% at an electric field intensity of 3 kV mm, and overcomes recently published novel electrorheological fluids and others based on carbonized particles.

Transformation of Cellulose via Two-Step Carbonization to Conducting Carbonaceous Particles and Their Outstanding Electrorheological Performance.

In this study, cellulose was carbonized in two-steps using hydrothermal and thermal carbonization in sequence, leading to a novel carbonaceous material prepared from a renewable source using a sustainable method without any chemicals and, moreover, giving high yields after a treatment at 600 °C in an inert atmosphere. During this treatment, cellulose was transformed to uniform microspheres with increased specific surface area and, more importantly, conductivity increased by about 7 orders of magnitude. The successful transition of cellulose to conducting carbonaceous microspheres was confirmed through SEM, FTIR, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.

Gelatine-Coated Carbonyl Iron Particles and Their Utilization in Magnetorheological Suspensions.

This study demonstrates the formation of biocompatible magnetic particles into organized structures upon the application of an external magnetic field. The capability to create the structures was examined in silicone-oil suspensions and in a gelatine solution, which is commonly used as a blood plasma expander. Firstly, the carbonyl iron particles were successfully coated with gelatine, mixed with a liquid medium in order to form a magnetorheological suspension, and subsequently the possibility of controlling their rheological parameters via a magnetic field was observed using a rotational rheometer with an external magnetic cell.

3D Porous TiC MXene/NiCo-MOF Composites for Enhanced Lithium Storage.

To improve Li storage capacity and the structural stability of TiC MXene-based electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), a facile strategy is developed to construct three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous TiC/bimetal-organic framework (NiCo-MOF) nanoarchitectures as anodes for high-performance LIBs. 2D TiC nanosheets are coupled with NiCo-MOF nanoflakes induced by hydrogen bonds to form 3D TiC/NiCo-MOF composite films through vacuum-assisted filtration technology. The morphology and electrochemical properties of TiC/NiCo-MOF are influenced by the mass ratio of MOF to TiC.

Hierarchical PANI/NiCo-LDH Core-Shell Composite Networks on Carbon Cloth for High Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitor.

In this work, a facile two-step strategy is adopted to construct hierarchical polyaniline/NiCo-layered double hydroxide (PANI/NiCo-LDH) core-shell composite nanofiber networks on carbon cloth (CC). Three-dimensional (3D) porous PANI nanofiber networks are firstly uniformly anchored on CC by in-situ oxidative polymerization, followed by growth of NiCo-LDH nanoflakes on the crosslinked PANI framework via electrochemical deposition. The morphology and electrochemical properties of PANI/NiCo-LDH composites are controlled by the deposition time of LDH.