Enhanced thermal stability of carbon nanotubes by plasma surface modification in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composites

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2985915· OSTI ID:21182675

Cho, Hoonsung; Yan, Guo ^[1]; Donglu, Shi ^[1]; Jie, Lian ^[2]; Zhifeng, Ren; Poudel, Bed ^[3]; Yi, Song; Abot, Jandro L ^[4]; Singh, Dileep ^[5]; Routbort, Jules ^[6]; Lumin, Wang; Ewing, Rodney C ^[7]

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1. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221 (United States)
2. Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 (United States)
3. Department of Physics, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467 (United States)
4. Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221 (United States)
5. Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)
6. Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)
7. Departments of Geological Sciences, Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States)

A plasma polymerization method was employed to deposit an ultrathin pyrrole film of 3 nm onto the surfaces of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles for developing high-strength nanocomposites. The surfaces of plasma coated SWCNTs and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles were studied by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy. After sintering the SWCNTs-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} composites at different temperatures (maximum of 1200 deg. C), the thermal stability of plasma-coated SWCNTs was significantly increased, compared to their uncoated counterparts. After hot-press sintering, the SWCNTs without plasma coating were essentially decomposed into amorphous clusters in the composites, leading to degraded mechanical properties. However, under the same sintering conditions, the plasma surface modified SWCNTs were well preserved and distributed in the composite matrices. The effects of plasma surface coating on the thermal stability of SWCNTs and mechanical behavior of the nanocomposites are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 21182675
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 104, Issue 7; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2985915; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
CARBON
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
ION MICROPROBE ANALYSIS
MASS SPECTRA
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NANOTUBES
PARTICLES
PLASMA
POLYMERIZATION
POLYMERS
PYRROLES
SINTERING
SURFACE COATING
SURFACE TREATMENTS
THIN FILMS
TIME-OF-FLIGHT METHOD
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY