Ta-I Yang

Synergistic effect of electroactivity and hydrophobicity on the anticorrosion property of room-temperature-cured epoxy coatings with multi-scale structures mimicking the surface of Xanthosoma sagittifolium leaf†

A novel method is introduced to fabricate an electroactive epoxy (EE) coating with structured hydrophobic surfaces using an environmentally friendly process for anticorrosion application. First of all, the electroactive amine-capped aniline trimer (ACAT) was used as a curing agent to cure the epoxy resin and additionally provided electroactivity to the cured epoxy resin. The EE coating was cured at room temperature without using any solvent. The increased amount of the ACAT component in the EE coating not only accelerated the curing process but also promoted the thermal stability and anticorrosion performance. Subsequently, the multi-scale papilla-like structures on the surface of the Xanthosoma sagittifolium leaf were successfully replicated on the surface of the EE coating using PDMS as a negative template, as evidenced by the SEM investigation. The resulting hydrophobic electroactive epoxy (HEE) coating with the replicated nanostructured surface showed a hydrophobic characteristic with a water contact angle close to 120°. The developed HEE coating exhibited superior anticorrosion performance in electrochemical corrosion tests as its corrosion rate is better than that of the bare steel substrate by a factor of 450. The significantly improved corrosion protection is attributed to, besides the steel substrate isolated by the coating, the synergistic effect of electroactivity and hydrophobicity from the HEE coatings with the multi-scale structures mimicking the surface of the Xanthosoma sagittifolium leaf.

Advanced superhydrophobic electroactive fluorinated polyimide and its application in anticorrosion coating

ABSTRACT A novel superhydrophobicelectroactive fluorinated polyimide (HEFPI) was first synthesized from aniline trimer and 4,4′-(Hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride. The HEFPI could be fabricated as superhydrophobicfilm by replicated the surface of the Xanthosomasagittifolium leaves. The water contact angle of HEFPI film reaches as high as 157 ° and the superhydrophobic property of HEFPI could coat on cold-rolled steel (CRS) to prevent the metal corrosion. Electroactivity of EFPI was evaluated by performing electrochemical cyclic voltammetry study. Besides, redox catalytic capabilities of aniline trimer units existed in HEFPI main chain may induce the formation of passive metal oxide layers on the CRS electrode. The synergistic effects (hydrophobic property and passive metal oxide layers) make the HEFPI coating has great potential for advanced anticorrosion material.

Photocatalysis of titanium dioxide-carbon nanotube composites with reversible superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity (Conference Presentation)

Titanium dioxide- carbon nanotube (TiO2-CNT) composites are promising for application of photocatalysis. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a TiO2-CNTcomposite with reversible superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity for use in self-cleaning application. The amount of TiO2 precursor, the added water, and the reaction time were systematically studied to obtain a TiO2 layer with desired thickness coated on the surface of CNT. In addition, the heat-treatment was utilized to control the crystalline structure of TiO2 and the hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of resulting TiO2-CNT composites. The photocatalytic activity of the developed composites was evaluated by the photodegradation of a methylene blue (MB) solution under the illumination of ultraviolet (UV) light at ambient temperature. Experimental results demonstrated that a layer of anatase TiO2 with thickness of 21nm, 27nm, or 65nm was successfully coated on the surface of CNT. The resulting TiO2-CNT composites are superhydrophobic, which the water contact angles ranged from 143o to126o based on the thickness of TiO2 layers. After subjected to a UV light, they became hydrophilic with a water contact angle less than 50o . Furthermore, the water contact angle of these TiO2-CNT composites restored to their original values without UV exposure, confirming they were with reversible superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity. Moreover, the developed TiO2-CNT composites also exhibited the capability of photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB).

Electroactive polyamide modified carbon paste electrode for the determination of ascorbic acid

ABSTRACTS Construction electroactive polyamide (EPA) with aniline-pentamer-based in the main chain has been modified on the surface of carbon paste electrode (CPE) for detecting ascorbic acid (AA). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies confirm the well-defined molecular structure of the oligoaniline and EPA. Further, the in situ chemical oxidation of EPA was monitored by UV-Visible absorption spectrum. The electroactivity of the EPA was evaluated by performing electrochemical cyclic voltammetry study. The sensing response studies have revealed that this EPA-modified CPE electrode can detect AA in the range of 0.05–0.7 mM with detection limit of 0.005 mM and sensitivity of 1.5 × 10–5 AmM–1. Besides, this EPA-modified CPE electrode shows a minimal relative standard deviation of 1.73%.

AC magnetic field-assisted method to develop porous carbon nanotube/conducting polymer composites for application in thermoelectric materials

Thermoelectric materials are very effective in converting waste heat sources into useful electricity. Researchers are continuing to develop new polymeric thermoelectric materials. The segregated-network carbon nanotube (CNT)- polymer composites are most promising. Thus, the goal of this study is to develop novel porous CNT -polymer composites with improved thermoelectric properties. The research efforts focused on modifying the surface of the CNT with magnetic nanoparticles so that heat was released when subjecting to an AC magnetic field. Subsequently, polymers covered on the surface of the CNT were crosslinked. The porous CNT -polymer composites can be obtained by removing the un-crosslinked polymers. Polydimethylsiloxane polymer was utilized to investigate the effect of porosity and electrical conductivity on the thermoelectric properties of the composites. This AC magnetic field-assisted method to develop porous carbon nanotube/polymer composites for application in thermoelectric materials is introduced for the first time. The advantage of this method is that the electrical conductivity of the composites was high since we can easily to manipulate the CNT to form a conducting path. Another advantage is that the high porosity significantly reduced the thermal conductivity of the composites. These two advantages enable us to realize the polymer composites for thermoelectric applications. We are confident that this research will open a new avenue for developing polymer thermoelectric materials.