Orlando Rios

Synthesis and characterization of lignin-based carbon materials with tunable microstructure

Lignin-based carbons can be used as a low-cost alternative to graphite and petroleum-based carbons enabling the production of sustainable, functional carbon materials for various applications. The microstructure development of these carbons can be controlled through chemical modification of the lignin precursor and choice of carbonization parameters. In this work, microstructured carbon materials are synthesized from lignin using a combination of chemical modification and carbon fiber processing techniques. Lignin is modified by incorporating different ester groups which results in a precursor highly compatible with melt processing using the fiber extrusion technique and conversion into microstructured carbons by oxidative stabilization and subsequent carbonization. Furthermore, the impact of esterifications on precursor chemistry and carbonizations is investigated. A nuclear magnetic resonance study of modified lignins shows characteristic spectral changes as a result of esterifications. Ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry shows the modification process does not affect the polymeric character of the lignin backbone. Esterifications result in moderate shifts in O:C and H:C ratios. Thermogravimetric analysis of lignins reveals distinct differences in mass loss trends during oxidations and carbonizations.

Big Area Additive Manufacturing of High Performance Bonded NdFeB Magnets

Additive manufacturing allows for the production of complex parts with minimum material waste, offering an effective technique for fabricating permanent magnets which frequently involve critical rare earth elements. In this report, we demonstrate a novel method - Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) - to fabricate isotropic near-net-shape NdFeB bonded magnets with magnetic and mechanical properties comparable or better than those of traditional injection molded magnets. The starting polymer magnet composite pellets consist of 65 vol% isotropic NdFeB powder and 35 vol% polyamide (Nylon-12). The density of the final BAAM magnet product reached 4.8 g/cm3, and the room temperature magnetic properties are: intrinsic coercivity Hci = 688.4 kA/m, remanence Br = 0.51 T, and energy product (BH)max = 43.49 kJ/m3 (5.47 MGOe). In addition, tensile tests performed on four dog-bone shaped specimens yielded an average ultimate tensile strength of 6.60 MPa and an average failure strain of 4.18%. Scanning electron microscopy images of the fracture surfaces indicate that the failure is primarily related to the debonding of the magnetic particles from the polymer binder. The present method significantly simplifies manufacturing of near-net-shape bonded magnets, enables efficient use of rare earth elements thus contributing towards enriching the supply of critical materials.

Photoresponsive Liquid Crystalline Epoxy Networks with Shape Memory Behavior and Dynamic Ester Bonds.

Functional polymers are intelligent materials that can respond to a variety of external stimuli. However, these materials have not yet found widespread real world applications because of the difficulties in fabrication and the limited number of functional building blocks that can be incorporated into a material. Here, we demonstrate a simple route to incorporate three functional building blocks (azobenzene chromophores, liquid crystals, and dynamic covalent bonds) into an epoxy-based liquid crystalline network (LCN), in which an azobenzene-based epoxy monomer is polymerized with an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid to create exchangeable ester bonds that can be thermally activated. All three functional building blocks exhibited good compatibility, and the resulting materials exhibits various photomechanical, shape memory, and self-healing properties because of the azobenzene molecules, liquid crystals, and dynamic ester bonds, respectively.

Hard ferromagnetism in melt-spun Hf2Co11B alloys

Hard ferromagnetic behavior is reported for crystalline Hf2Co11B produced by melt-spinning. For the highest-performing material, remanent magnetization, intrinsic coercive field, and maximum energy product at room temperature are 6.2 kG, 4.5 kOe, and 6.7 MGOe, respectively. This is the highest reported energy product for this class of alloys, and is about half that of optimized Nd2Fe14B ribbons. The Curie temperature of both crystalline and amorphous Hf2Co11B is near 770 K. The results suggest further optimization of magnetic properties should be attainable, and indicate Hf2Co11B to be a promising material for rare-earth-free permanent magnets.

Thermodynamic re-assessment of the Ti–Al–Nb system

Abstract A CALPHAD based re-assessment of the thermodynamic description of the Ti – Al – Nb system was performed to take into account experimental evidence of the extension of the primary crystallization of the -phase to higher Al contents. The adjustable parameters of the analytic expressions of the Gibbs free energy for the Liquid, β-, β0-, δ-, σ-, γ-, α-, and 2-phases were re-optimized using available experimental data from a critical assessment of the literature. The calculated primary crystallization of -phase is in better agreement with experiment although the extension of the single phase -field to higher Al compositions could not be calculated. Calculated isothermal sections are in good agreement with experiment in the temperature range 1923 K to 1273 K.

Evolution of magnetic properties and microstructure of Hf2Co11B alloys

Amorphous Hf2Co11B alloys produced by melt-spinning have been crystallized by annealing at 500–800 °C, and the products have been investigated using magnetization measurements, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The results reveal the evolution of the phase fractions, microstructure, and magnetic properties with both annealing temperature and time. Crystallization of the phase denoted HfCo7, which is associated with the development of coercivity, occurs slowly at 500 °C. Annealing at intermediate temperatures produces mixed phase samples containing some of the HfCo7 phase with the highest values of remanent magnetization and coercivity. The equilibrium structure at 800 °C contains HfCo3B2, Hf6Co23, and Co, and displays soft ferromagnetism. Maximum values for the remanent magnetization, intrinsic coercivity, and magnetic energy product among the samples are approximately 5.2 kG, 2.0 kOe, and 3.1 MGOe, respectively, which indicates that the significantly higher values observed in crystalli...

9 T high magnetic field annealing effects on FeN bulk sample

α″-Fe16N2 has been suggested as a promising candidate for future rare-earth-free magnets. In this paper, we report to use high magnetic field (9 T) assisted post-annealing process to enhance the Fe16N2 phase formation in FeN bulk rod samples during the α′ → α″ phase transformation and thus improve its magnetic properties. It was found by X-ray Diffraction measurement that the volume ratio of Fe16N2 phase was increased up to 22%, which corresponds to an increase in the amount of transformation from α′ → α″ up to 78%. Also, the saturation magnetization (Ms) of the prepared FeN rod sample was increased to 227 emu/g with its coercivity up to 376 Oe at room temperature. A working mechanism for the high field assisted post-annealing process was presented.

Direct-write 3D printing of NdFeB bonded magnets

ABSTRACT We report a method to fabricate Nd–Fe–B (NdFeB) bonded magnets of complex shape via extrusion-based additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D-printing. We have successfully formulated a 3D-printable epoxy-based ink for direct-write AM with anisotropic MQA NdFeB magnet particles that can be deposited at room temperature. The new feedstocks contain up to 40 vol.% MQA anisotropic NdFeB magnet particles, and they are shown to remain uniformly dispersed in the thermoset matrix throughout the deposition process. Ring, bar, and horseshoe-type 3D magnet structures were printed and cured in air at 100°C without degrading the magnetic properties. This study provides a new pathway for fabricating NdFeB bonded magnets with complex geometry at low temperature, and presents new opportunities for fabricating multifunctional hybrid structures and devices.

Structural analysis of lignin‐derived carbon composite anodes

The development of novel lignin-based carbon composite anodes consisting of nanocrystalline and amorphous domains motivates the understanding of a relationship of the structural properties characterizing these materials, such as crystallite size, intracrystallite dspacing, crystalline volume fraction and composite density, with their pair distribution functions (PDF), obtained from both molecular dynamics simulation and neutron scattering. A model for these composite materials is developed as a function of experimentally measurable parameters and realized in fifteen composite systems, three of which directly match all parameters of their experimental counterparts. The accurate reproduction of the experimental PDFs using the model systems validates the model. The decomposition of the simulated PDFs provides an understanding of each feature in the PDF and allows for the development of a mapping between the defining characteristics of the PDF and the material properties of interest.

Thermomagnetic processing of liquid-crystalline epoxy resins and their mechanical characterization using nanoindentation.

A thermomagnetic processing method was used to produce a biphenyl-based liquid-crystalline epoxy resin (LCER) with oriented liquid-crystalline (LC) domains. The orientation of the LCER was confirmed and quantified using two-dimensional X-ray diffraction. The effect of molecular alignment on the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of the LCER was investigated using nanoindentation and thermomechanical analysis, respectively. The effect of the orientation on the fracture behavior was also examined. The results showed that macroscopic orientation of the LC domains was achieved, resulting in an epoxy network with an anisotropic modulus, hardness, creep behavior, and thermal expansion.