Sam S. Yoon

Self-junctioned copper nanofiber transparent flexible conducting film via electrospinning and electroplating

Self-junctioned copper nanofiber transparent flexible films are produced using electrospinning and electroplating processes that provide high performances of T = 97% and Rs = 0.42 Ω sq(-1) by eliminating junction resistance at wire intersections. The film remains conductive after being stretched by up to 770% (films with T = 76%) and after 1000 cycles of bending to a 5 mm radius.

A highly transparent self-cleaning superhydrophobic surface by organosilane-coated alumina particles deposited via electrospraying

A highly transparent self-cleaning superhydrophobic surface was prepared by electrospraying an organosilane-coated alumina precursor. By simply controlling the spraying time, a coating with excellent superhydrophobicity as well as transparency in the visible range was achieved. Increased spraying time increased the water contact-angle, while reducing the transparency of the coatings. Organosilane-coated alumina particles prepared with a spraying time of 300 s showed ∼90% transmittance at a wavelength of 550 nm. A water drop acquired a perfect spherical shape with a contact angle of 162° and eventually rolled off a coated surface at an extremely low sliding angle <3°. This robust superhydrophobicity retained its intrinsic wettability even after 30 min of continuous water jet impact. Dust particles accumulated on the coating surface were washed off completely by rolling a few water drops, leaving behind a perfectly clean surface. Such self-cleaning and transparent superhydrophobic coatings have potential applications in the optical industry.

Gravity-driven hybrid membrane for oleophobic-superhydrophilic oil-water separation and water purification by graphene.

We prepared a simple, low-cost membrane suitable for gravity-driven oil-water separation and water purification. Composite membranes with selective wettability were fabricated from a mixture of aqueous poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) solution, sodium perfluorooctanoate, and silica nanoparticles. Simply dip-coating a stainless steel mesh using this mixture produced the oil-water separator. The contact angles (CAs) of hexadecane and water on the prepared composite membranes were 95 ± 2° and 0°, respectively, showing the oleophobicity and superhydrophilicity of the membrane. In addition, a graphene plug was stacked below the membrane to remove water-soluble organics by adsorption. As a result, this multifunctional device not only separates hexadecane from water, but also purifies water by the permeation of the separated water through the graphene plug. Here, methylene blue (MB) was removed as a demonstration. Membranes were characterized by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to elucidate the origin of their selective wettability.

Flexible, Freestanding, and Binder-free SnOx–ZnO/Carbon Nanofiber Composites for Lithium Ion Battery Anodes

Here, we demonstrate the production of electrospun SnO(x)-ZnO polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers (NFs) that are flexible, freestanding, and binder-free. This NF fabric is flexible and thus can be readily tailored into a coin for further cell fabrication. These properties allow volume expansion of the oxide materials and provide shortened diffusion pathways for Li ions than those achieved using the nanoparticle approach. Amorphous SnO(x)-ZnO particles were uniformly dispersed in the carbon NF (CNF). The SnO(x)-ZnO CNFs with a Sn:Zn ratio of 3:1 exhibited a superior reversible capacity of 963 mA·h·g(-1) after 55 cycles at a current density of 100 mA·g(-1), which is three times higher than the capacity of graphite-based anodes. The amorphous NFs facilitated Li2O decomposition, thereby enhancing the reversible capacity. ZnO prevented the aggregation of Sn, which, in turn, conferred stable and high discharge capacity to the cell. Overall, the SnO(x)-ZnO CNFs were shown to exhibit remarkably high capacity retention and high reversible and rate capacities as Li ion battery anodes.

Self-Healing Nanofiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites. 1. Tensile Testing and Recovery of Mechanical Properties

The present work aims at development of self-healing materials capable of partially restoring their mechanical properties under the conditions of prolonged periodic loading and unloading, which is characteristic, for example, of aerospace applications. Composite materials used in these and many other applications frequently reveal multiple defects stemming from their original inhomogeneity, which facilitates microcracking and delamination at ply interfaces. Self-healing nanofiber mats may effectively prevent such damage without compromising material integrity. Two types of core-shell nanofibers were simultaneously electrospun onto the same substrate in order to form a mutually entangled mat. The first type of core-shell fibers consisted of resin monomer (dimethylsiloxane) within the core and polyacrylonitrile within the shell. The second type of core-shell nanofibers consisted of cure (dimethyl-methyl hydrogen-siloxane) within the core and polyacrylonitrile within the shell. These mutually entangled nanofiber mats were used for tensile testing, and they were also encased in polydimethylsiloxane to form composites that were also subsequently subjected to tensile testing. During tensile tests, the nanofibers can be damaged in stretching up to the plastic regime of deformation. Then, the resin monomer and cure was released from the cores and the polydimethylsiloxane resin was polymerized, which might be expected to result in the self-healing properties of these materials. To reveal and evaluate the self-healing properties of the polyacrylonitrile-resin-cure nanofiber mats and their composites, the results were compared to the tensile test results of the monolithic polyacrylonitrile nanofiber mats or composites formed by encasing polyacrylonitrile nanofibers in a polydimethylsiloxane matrix. The latter do not possess self-healing properties, and indeed, do not recover their mechanical characteristics, in contrast to the polyacrylonitrile-resin-cure nanofiber mats and the composites reinforced by such mats. This is the first work, to the best of our knowledge, where self-healing nanofibers and composites based on them were developed, tested, and revealed restoration of mechanical properties (stiffness) in a 24 h rest period at room temperature.

Hybrid self-healing matrix using core-shell nanofibers and capsuleless microdroplets.

In this work, we developed novel self-healing anticorrosive hierarchical coatings that consist of several components. Namely, as a skeleton we prepared a core-shell nanofiber mat electrospun from emulsions of cure material (dimethyl methylhydrogen siloxane) in a poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) solution in dimethylformamide. In these nanofibers, cure is in the core, while PAN is in the shell. The skeleton deposited on a protected surface is encased in an epoxy-based matrix, which contains emulsified liquid droplets of dimethylvinyl-terminated dimethylsiloxane resin monomer. When such hierarchical coatings are damaged, cure is released from the nanofiber cores and the resin monomer, released from the damaged matrix, is polymerized in the presence of cure. This polymerization and solidification process takes about 1-2 days and eventually heals the damaged material when solid poly(dimethylsiloxane) resin is formed. The self-healing effect was demonstrated using an electrochemical analogue of the scanning vibrating electrode technique. Damaged samples were left for 2 days. After that, the electric current through a damaged coating was found to be negligibly small for the samples with self-healing properties. On the other hand, for the samples without self-healing properties, the electric current was significant.

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Solar Water Splitting Using a Platinum-Decorated CIGS/CdS/ZnO Photocathode.

A Cu(InGa)Se2 film was modified with CdS/ZnO for application to solar water splitting. Platinum was electrodeposited on the ZnO layer as a hydrogen evolution catalyst. The effects of the electroplating time and acidity level of the electrolyte on the photocurrent density were studied. The highest photocurrent density of -32.5 mA/cm(2) under 1.5 AM illumination was achieved with an electroplating time of 30 min at a pH of 9. This photocurrent density is higher than those reported in previous studies. The markedly high performance of the CIGS/CdS/ZnO photocathode was rationalized in terms of its type II cascade structure that facilitated efficient charge separation at the interface junction.

Solution-Blown Core–Shell Self-Healing Nano- and Microfibers

Self-healing microfibers with core-shell geometry were studied. A commercial binary epoxy was encased in solution-blown polymer nano-/microfibers in the 0.2-2.6 μm diameter range. The core-shell microfibers were formed by coaxial nozzles, which encapsulated the epoxy resin and its hardener in separate cores. Solution blowing, the fiber-forming process used in this work, was at least 30 times faster than the electrospinning method used previously and has already been scaled up to the industrial level. These core-shell microfibers show self-healing capability, in which epoxy and hardener are released from the cores of damaged fibers, resulting in polymerization. The epoxy used had a higher strength and shorter solidification time than poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) used previously. Also, the larger fiber diameters in the present study facilitated faster release of the epoxy resin and its hardener from the fiber cores, shortening the solidification time in comparison to the previous studies. Blister tests were conducted, which measured the adhesion energy of microfiber mats to substrates and the cohesion energy between layers of microfiber mats before and after fatigue damage followed by self-healing.

Nanotextured pillars of electrosprayed bismuth vanadate for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

We demonstrate, for the first time, electrostatically sprayed bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) thin films for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Characterization of these films by X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy analyses revealed the formation of nanotextured pillar-like structures of highly photoactive monoclinic scheelite BiVO4. Electrosprayed BiVO4 nanostructured films yielded a photocurrent density of 1.30 and 1.95 mA/cm(2) for water and sulfite oxidation, respectively, under 100 mW/cm(2) illumination. The optimal film thickness was 3 μm, with an optimal postannealing temperature of 550 °C. The enhanced photocurrent is facilitated by formation of pillar-like structures in the deposit. We show through modeling that these structures result from the electrically-driven motion of submicron particles in the direction parallel to the substrate, as they approach the substrate, along with Brownian diffusion. At the same time, opposing thermophoretic forces slow their approach to the surface. The model of these processes proposed here is in good agreement with the experimental observations.

Electrosprayed heterojunction WO3/BiVO4 films with nanotextured pillar structure for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting

We demonstrate that the addition of a tungsten oxide (WO3) layer beneath a bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photocatalyst layer with a nanotextured pillar morphology significantly increases the photocurrent density in photoelectrochemical water splitting. The WO3-BiVO4 bilayer films produced a photocurrent of up to 3.3 mA/cm2 under illumination at 100 mW/cm2 (AM1.5 spectrum). The bilayer film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoelectrochemical methods, which confirmed the superiority of the bilayer film in terms of its morphology and charge separation and transport ability. Both WO3 and BiVO4 were deposited by electrostatic spraying under open-air conditions, which resulted in nanotextured pillars of BiVO4 atop a smooth WO3 film. The optimal coating conditions are also reported.