High-quality bismuth telluride crystals having a thickness of only a few atoms were prepared by a method similar to that for graphene mechanical exfoliation. The potential for these materials to be used as thermoelectric materials was then investigated. It was found that the properties of these materials could be fine-tuned by altering the thickness, or the sequence of atomic planes. “Stacked superlattices” were formed using these atomic films, and these ...
PMMA/silica mesocomposites (PSM) and nanocomposites (PSN) were synthesized by incorporating vinyl-modified mesoporous silica (VMS) or silica particles into the poly (methyl methacrylate). The prepared composites were characterized by TEM and GPC. Thermal conductivity and gas permeability measurements were performed on the composites using a thermal constants analyzer and Yanco GTR-31 gas permeability analyzer, respectively. It was determined that an increase in the content of nanoscale silica particles improved the ...
A novel replication technique for the fabrication of 3D microstructures was developed. A polished silicon wafer was transferred onto an epoxy composite. The thermal properties of the epoxy composite were investigated and compared to those of the pure epoxy. It was determined that not only was the thermal conductivity increased, but the epoxy composite also showed an improvement in mechanical properties over the pure epoxy....
The thermal transport properties of nanofluids containing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in ethylene glycol and (poly)-alpha olefins (PAO) were investigated. It was found that the addition of SWCNTs enhanced the thermal conductivity of each of the two base fluids, with this enhancement increasing as the loading of SWCNTs increased. The authors were able to create an accurate predictive model of the thermal conductivity for these nanofluids by characterizing the ...
This paper proposes conducting carbon aerogels, composed of graphene and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, as an option for a thermoelectric material. The researchers found that this combination of materials increased the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient due to bridging effects, and decreased the thermal conductivity through high porosity and a uniquely structured 3-D skeleton. Atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to quantify the physical structure of the aerogels. ...
