Mati Arulepp

Carbon nanostructures produced by chlorinating aluminium carbide

A number of carbon samples with different nanostructures such as: amorphous, nanoparticles and turbostratic, were synthesised through the reaction between aluminium carbide and gaseous chlorine at fixed temperatures between 300 and 900°C. The synthesised carbon samples were characterised using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction techniques, as well as low temperature nitrogen sorption measurements. The carbon produced at T=300°C was amorphous with a surface area of ∼1400 m2 g−1. At 700°C, a large amount of carbon nanoparticles and with a lower surface area ∼710 m2 g−1 was obtained. At 900°C, mainly a turbostratic carbon with a surface area of ∼680 m2 g−1 was produced.

Catalytic effects of metals of the iron subgroup on the chlorination of titanium carbide to form nanostructural carbon

Abstract The effect of the reaction temperature and the metals of an iron subgroup on the thermo–chemical treatment of titanium carbide with a chlorine gas and their influence on the carbon structure obtained thereby was studied. Different analytical methods such as porosity measurements, X-ray diffraction spectrometry and a high-resolution electron microscopy revealed the catalytic behaviour of the above-mentioned metals, which appeared to support the formation of graphitised carbon at much lower temperatures compared to those needed for the ordinary thermo–chemical chlorination of titanium carbide.

Barrel-like carbon nanoparticles from carbide by catalyst assisted chlorination

Abstract The nanostructure of carbon materials synthesised via chlorination of various metal and metalloid carbides and their mixtures has been investigated by low-temperature nitrogen sorption, X-ray powder diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy techniques. The carbon nanostructure and its crystallinity are strongly affected by transition metal catalysts and synthesis temperature. A clear relationship between carbon nanostructure formation and catalysts concentration revealed that only very low concentration (approximately 1 mg per gram of carbide) of Cobalt (Ni, Fe) in reaction medium supports the conversation of Al4C3 to nanobarrel-like carbon nanoparticles.

Nanoporous Carbide-Derived Carbon Material-Based Linear Actuators

Devices using electroactive polymer-supported carbon material can be exploited as alternatives to conventional electromechanical actuators in applications where electromechanical actuators have some serious deficiencies. One of the numerous examples is precise microactuators. In this paper, we show for first time the dilatometric effect in nanocomposite material actuators containing carbide-derived carbon (CDC) and polytetrafluoroetylene polymer (PTFE). Transducers based on high surface area carbide-derived carbon electrode materials are suitable for short range displacement applications, because of the proportional actuation response to the charge inserted, and high Coulombic efficiency due to the EDL capacitance. The material is capable of developing stresses in the range of tens of N cm-2. The area of an actuator can be dozens of cm2, which means that forces above 100 N are achievable. The actuation mechanism is based on the interactions between the high-surface carbon and the ions of the electrolyte. Electrochemical evaluations of the four different actuators with linear (longitudinal) action response are described. The actuator electrodes were made from two types of nanoporous TiC-derived carbons with surface area (SA) of 1150 m2 g-1 and 1470 m2 g-1, respectively. Two kinds of electrolytes were used in actuators: 1.0 M tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEABF4) solution in propylene carbonate and pure ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate (EMITf). It was found that CDC based actuators exhibit a linear movement of about 1% in the voltage range of 0.8 V to 3.0 V at DC. The actuators with EMITf electrolyte had about 70% larger movement compared to the specimen with TEABF4 electrolyte.

Microporous and mesoporous carbide-derived carbons for strain modification of electromechanical actuators.

Low-voltage stimuli-responsive actuators based on carbide-derived carbon (CDC) porous structures were demonstrated. Bending actuators showed a differential electromechanical response defined by the porosity of the CDC used in the electrode layer. Highly porous CDCs prepared from TiC (mainly microporous), B4C (micromesoporous), and Mo2C (mainly mesoporous) precursors were selected to demonstrate the influence of porosity parameters on the electromechanical performance of actuators. CDC-based bending-type actuators showed a porosity-driven displacement response over a frequency range of 200 to 0.005 Hz at an applied excitation voltage of ±2 V. The displacement response of the CDC actuators increased with an increasing number of mesopores in the electrode layer, and the generated strain of the bending actuators was proportional to the total porosity (micropores and mesopores) of the CDC. The modifiable electromechanical response that arises from the precise porosity control attained through tailoring the CDC architecture demonstrates that these actuators hold great promise for smart, low-voltage-driven actuation devices.

Low voltage linear actuators based on carbide-derived carbon powder

Novel linear electromechanical actuators based on nanoporous TiC-derived carbons were prepared and studied. Traditionally, thin membranes containing mobile ions are used for bending actuators. We describe a linear actuator which consists of carbon material thin film and an ionic liquid. The thin film is made from nanoporous TiC-derived carbon powder and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as a binder agent. The working mechanism of the actuators is based on the interactions between the high-surface-area carbide-derived carbon (CDC) and the ions of the electrolyte. These actuators are able to generate linear actuation of about 1% from their thickness under voltages less than 3 V. The motion starts already at 0.8V and the magnitude of actuation depends on the electrical charge stored by the device. Two different types of electrolyte were used: 1) Ionic liquid (EMITf) and 2) Tetra-alcyl-ammonium salt in propylene carbonate (PC) solution. The actuators with ionic liquid have 60% higher movement. The electromechanical parameters of the actuators were studied by using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods.

Low-voltage bending actuators from carbide-derived carbon improved with gold foil

We report carbide-derived carbon (CDC) based polymeric actuators for the low-voltage applications. The CDC-based actuators have been designed and fabricated in combination with gold foil. The gold-foil-modified actuators exhibited high frequency response and required remarkably low operating voltage (as low as ±0.25 V). Hot-pressed additional gold layer (thickness 100 nm) ensures better conductivity of polymer supported CDC electrodes, while maintaining the elasticity of actuator. Energy consumption of gold-foil-modified (CDC/gold) actuators increased only at higher frequency values (f > 1 Hz), which is in good correlation with enhanced conductivity and improved charge delivery capabilities. Electrochemical measurements of both actuators performed at small operating frequency values (f < 0.01 Hz) confirmed that there was no difference in consumed charge between conventional CDC and CDC/gold actuators. Due to enhanced conductivity of CDC/gold actuators the accumulated charge increased at higher operating frequency values, while initiating larger dimensional changes. For that reason, the CDC/gold actuators exhibited same deflection rate at much lower potential applied. Electrochemical impedance measurements confirmed that relaxation time constant of gold-foil-modified actuator decreased more than one order of magnitude, thus allowing faster charge/discharge cycles. Gold-foil-modified actuators obtained the strain level of 2.2 % when rectangular voltage ±2 V was applied with frequency 0.5 Hz. The compact design and similar working principle of multi-layered actuator also provides opportunity to use actuator concurrently as energy storage device. From practical standpoint, this device concept can be easily extended to actuator-capacitor hybrid designs for generation of energy efficient actuation.