Soumya Vinod

Marine Corrosion Protective Coatings of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Thin Films on Stainless Steel

Recently, two-dimensional, layered materials such as graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have been identified as interesting materials for a range of applications. Here, we demonstrate the corrosion prevention applications of h-BN in marine coatings. The performance of h-BN/polymer hybrid coatings, applied on stainless steel, were evaluated using electrochemical techniques in simulated seawater media [marine media]. h-BN/polymer coating shows an efficient corrosion protection with a low corrosion current density of 5.14 × 10(-8) A/cm(2) and corrosion rate of 1.19 × 10(-3) mm/year and it is attributed to the hydrofobic, inert and dielectric nature of boron nitride. The results indicated that the stainless steel with coatings exhibited improved corrosion resistance. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic analysis were used to propose a mechanism for the increased corrosion resistance of h-BN coatings.

Low-density three-dimensional foam using self-reinforced hybrid two-dimensional atomic layers

Low-density nanostructured foams are often limited in applications due to their low mechanical and thermal stabilities. Here we report an approach of building the structural units of three-dimensional (3D) foams using hybrid two-dimensional (2D) atomic layers made of stacked graphene oxide layers reinforced with conformal hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) platelets. The ultra-low density (1/400 times density of graphite) 3D porous structures are scalably synthesized using solution processing method. A layered 3D foam structure forms due to presence of h-BN and significant improvements in the mechanical properties are observed for the hybrid foam structures, over a range of temperatures, compared with pristine graphene oxide or reduced graphene oxide foams. It is found that domains of h-BN layers on the graphene oxide framework help to reinforce the 2D structural units, providing the observed improvement in mechanical integrity of the 3D foam structure.

Field Emission with Ultralow Turn On Voltage from Metal Decorated Carbon Nanotubes

A simple and scalable method of decorating 3D-carbon nanotube (CNT) forest with metal particles has been developed. The results observed in aluminum (Al) decorated CNTs and copper (Cu) decorated CNTs on silicon (Si) and Inconel are compared with undecorated samples. A significant improvement in the field emission characteristics of the cold cathode was observed with ultralow turn on voltage (Eto ∼ 0.1 V/μm) due to decoration of CNTs with metal nanoparticles. Contact resistance between the CNTs and the substrate has also been reduced to a large extent, allowing us to get stable emission for longer duration without any current degradation, thereby providing a possibility of their use in vacuum microelectronic devices.

Zirconia-Nanoparticle-Reinforced Morphology-Engineered Graphene-Based Foams

The morphology of graphene-based foams can be engineered by reinforcing them with nanocrystalline zirconia, thus improving their oil-adsorption capacity; This can be observed experimentally and explained theoretically. Low zirconia fractions yield flaky microstructures where zirconia nanoparticles arrest propagating cracks. Higher zirconia concentrations possess a mesh-like interconnected structure where the degree of coiling is dependant on the local zirconia content.

Strain Rate Dependent Shear Plasticity in Graphite Oxide

Graphene oxide film is made of stacked graphene layers with chemical functionalities, and we report that plasticity in the film can be engineered by strain rate tuning. The deformation behavior and plasticity of such functionalized layered systems is dominated by shear slip between individual layers and interaction between functional groups. Stress-strain behavior and theoretical models suggest that the deformation is strongly strain rate dependent and undergoes brittle to ductile transition with decreasing strain rate.

Synthesis of Low-Density, Carbon-Doped, Porous Hexagonal Boron Nitride Solids.

Here, we report the scalable synthesis and characterization of low-density, porous, three-dimensional (3D) solids consisting of two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) sheets. The structures are synthesized using bottom-up, low-temperature (∼300 °C), solid-state reaction of melamine and boric acid giving rise to porous and mechanically stable interconnected h-BN layers. A layered 3D structure forms due to the formation of h-BN, and significant improvements in the mechanical properties were observed over a range of temperatures, compared to graphene oxide or reduced graphene oxide foams. A theoretical model based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) is proposed for the formation of h-BN architectures. The material shows excellent, recyclable absorption capacity for oils and organic solvents.

3D Porous Graphene by Low-Temperature Plasma Welding for Bone Implants

3D scaffolds of graphene, possessing ultra-low density, macroporous microstructure, and high yield strength and stiffness can be developed by a novel plasma welding process. The bonding between adjacent graphene sheets is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The high degree of biocompatibility along with high porosity and good mechanical properties makes graphene an ideal material for use as body implants.

Functionalized boron nitride porous solids

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), also known as white graphene, is well known for its chemical inertness. Recent studies indicate that functionalization of h-BN can tune its physico-chemical properties, including its electrical conductivity. Here we propose a method for the functionalization of h-BN flakes with various oxygen functionalities to make a graphite oxide analogue of h-BN, with a view to develop cross-linked, low-density (∼40 mg cm−3), and porous h-BN solids, as have been recently well cited for graphene and graphite oxide. For the first time, a macro-porous low density h-BN monolith foam is developed via a single step template free chemical route followed by a lyophilisation process. h-BN is known for its high thermal stability, and here oil adsorption by the foam (∼2 g g−1) and complete burning of the adsorbed oil without disrupting the h-BN skeleton were demonstrated indicating the flexibility of tuning the morphology of the h-BN in bulk, like graphite, without losing its inherent physical properties, opening new avenues for h-BN in the energy and environment related fields.

Interphase Induced Dynamic Self‐Stiffening in Graphene‐Based Polydimethylsiloxane Nanocomposites

The ability to rearrange microstructures and self-stiffen in response to dynamic external mechanical stimuli is critical for biological tissues to adapt to the environment. While for most synthetic materials, subjecting to repeated mechanical stress lower than their yield point would lead to structural failure. Here, it is reported that the graphene-based polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposite, a chemically and physically cross-linked system, exhibits an increase in the storage modulus under low-frequency, low-amplitude dynamic compressive loading. Cross-linking density statistics and molecular dynamics calculations show that the dynamic self-stiffening could be attributed to the increase in physical cross-linking density, resulted from the re-alignment and re-orientation of polymer chains along the surface of nano-fillers that constitute an interphase. Consequently, the interfacial interaction between PDMS-nano-fillers and the mobility of polymer chain, which depend on the degree of chemical cross-linking and temperature, are important factors defining the observed performance of self-stiffening. The understanding of the dynamic self-stiffening mechanism lays the ground for the future development of adaptive structural materials and bio-compatible, load-bearing materials for tissue engineering applications.

Mechanical Properties of Ultralow Density Graphene Oxide/Polydimethylsiloxane Foams

Low-density, highly porous graphene/graphene oxide (GO) based-foams have shown high performance in energy absorption applications, even under high compressive deformations. In general, foams are very effective as energy dissipative materials and have been widely used in many areas such as automotive, aerospace and biomedical industries. In the case of graphene-based foams, the good mechanical properties are mainly attributed to the intrinsic graphene and/or GO electronic and mechanical properties. Despite the attractive physical properties of graphene/GO based-foams, their structural and thermal stabilities are still a problem for some applications. For instance, they are easily degraded when placed in flowing solutions, either by the collapsing of their layers or just by structural disintegration into small pieces. Recently, a new and scalable synthetic approach to produce low-density 3D macroscopic GO structure interconnected with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymeric chains (pGO) was proposed. A controlled amount of PDMS is infused into the freeze-dried foam resulting into a very rigid structure with improved mechanical properties, such as tensile plasticity and toughness. The PDMS wets the graphene oxide sheets and acts like a glue bonding PDMS and GO sheets. In order to obtain further insights on mechanisms behind the enhanced mechanical pGO response we carried out fully atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Based on MD results, we build up a structural model that can explain the experimentally observed mechanical behavior.