Amutha Chinnappan

Carbon nanotube hybrid nanostructures: future generation conducting materials

The present electronic age has seen rapid advancements in the performance and versatility of electronic devices along with a simultaneous decrease in their dimensions. Miniaturising electronic devices increases their portability and ease of handling, making them ubiquitous in the modern world. Likely developments awaiting the science and technology of next-generation conducting materials are based on CNT hybrid nanomaterials. In recent times, carbon nanotubes based hybrid nanomaterials have attracted significant attention due to their unique electronic, optical, thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties. CNT powders are incorporated in diverse commercial products ranging from rechargeable batteries, automotive parts, and sporting goods to boat hulls and many more. In this review we focus on CNT based nanocomposite materials and their applications.

An overview of electrospun nanofibers and their application in energy storage, sensors and wearable/flexible electronics

Wearable and flexible electronics are currently a highly demanded and passionate topic of research owing to their excellent combination of related base functions with stretchability and foldability. Textiles are a universal interface and ideal substrate for the integration of nanomaterials, electronics, and optical devices. Smart/e-textiles are fabrics that have been designed and developed with new technologies that provide benefits to the wearer with increased functionality. The rapid development of technology in smart clothing has opened new innovations and is leading to promising applications, such as the ability to communicate with other devices, conduct energy, self-powered sensing, and safeguarding the user from environmental hazards. This review article focuses on the recent developments in the field of smart/e-textiles and mainly gives attention to electrospun nanofiber-based materials and methods used in wearable/flexible electronics, sensors and energy storage.

A facile method to effectively combine plasmon enhanced fluorescence (PEF) and fluoride-Lewis acid based reactions to detect low concentrations of fluoride in solution

Correction for ‘A facile method to effectively combine plasmon enhanced fluorescence (PEF) and fluoride-Lewis acid based reactions to detect low concentrations of fluoride in solution’ by Richard Appiah-Ntiamoah et al., RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 78918–78929.

A review of properties influencing the conductivity of CNT/Cu composites and their applications in wearable/flexible electronics

During the past few decades, CNT/Cu based composite materials have fascinated the worldwide research community with their phenomenal mechanical and thermal properties. In addition, CNT/Cu composites have shown remarkable electrical properties and have become a booming candidate in the present electrical, semiconductor and packaging industries. Though several research groups have developed CNT/Cu composites with high conductive properties, very few could even come closer to the benchmark conductivity of pure Cu conductors. The conductivity of the composite has shown dependency on several key factors, including CNT alignment, CNT dispersion and material interface, which can be shaped during its fabrication procedures. Each of these factors has shown a significant interdependency and effective tailoring of those factors can result in better composites with enhanced electrical properties while retaining its mechanical robustness. High flexibility and the improved fatigue life have opened the pathways for CNT/Cu composites into flexible/wearable electronics where CNT/Cu has been introduced into energy storage, energy conversion and sensing systems. In this review article, different approaches on achieving enhanced conductive properties will be presented based on the respective factors they have dealt with. On top of the main discussion on composite electrical conductivity, an overview on CNT/Cu composite applications in flexible/wearable electronics will be presented. The discussion on wearable/flexible electronics will be based on their materials, methods and principal functionalities.

New functionalizaed graphene oxide based on a cobalt complex for black electrophoretic ink applications

Graphene functionalized with a cobalt complex containing 2-methyl-imidazole (GO-2-me-imi-Co) was synthesized for the first time. The morphology and structure of the synthesized pigment for application as a black electronic ink were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance. In this study, the presence of Co3+ and Co1+, especially Co3+, along with the positive charge of imidazole groups in the structure, resulted in a positive surface charge and led to a 3D structure. The results obtained from the ζ-potential test revealed a 67% improvement for GO-2-me-imi-Co pigments in comparison with graphene oxide. In addition, the increase in mobility for GO-2-me-imi-Co pigments in tetrachloroethylene as a solvent was reported to be 0.1 μm cm V−1 s−1.