No abstract

Polymer nanocomposites offer enhancement in thermomechanical and physicochemical properties of polymers with the presence of a little amount of nanostructured fillers such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and layered silicates. A facile and rapid preparation of hytrel (HTL)-graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites is done via a solution mixing method. The influence of GO content (0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 wt%) on mechanical and thermal properties of GO/HTL nanocomposites has been evaluated by using various techniques such as tensile testing, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of GO/HTL nanocomposites were increased with increasing GO content. The composites have valuable improvement in tensile strength (139%) and storage modulus (72%) for HTL composite containing 5 wt% GO. The incorporation of GO into HTL polymer shows enhancement in thermal and mechanical properties due to the presence of strongest noncovalent interaction (π–π stacking) between the interface of nanocomposites. These enhanced physical properties of GO/HTL composites show its potential use in structural application.

The demand for energy and energy storage devices is the urgent need of our society due to heavy dependence on electric appliances. Hence, the demand of graphene-like smart materials has grown tremendously in the past years. Herein, we investigated the binder-free graphene allies named reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as electrode materials for the supercapacitor after the reduction of graphene oxide by sinking and leaving process. The rGO-based devices show the areal specific capacitance of 80.2 and 7.89 mF cm−2 with aqueous 1M phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and poly (vinyl alcohol)-H3PO4 polymer gel electrolytes, respectively, over the graphite sheet.

Presently, waste plastic management is one of the burning issue across the globe which is not easy to resolve. We made an attempt to resolve this issue and make the...

No abstract

No abstract

Herein, we report the modification of PEDOT:PSS by in-situ direct addition of graphene oxide powder processed by spray dryer (SPGO) for the enhancement in the performance of organic solar cell. The preparation of PEDOT:PSS/SPGO composite was done by direct incorporation of graphene oxide powder at lower temperature i.e., below 5 °C. Raman spectroscopy of the prepared PEDOT:PSS/SPGO nanocomposites at low temperature suggested that low temperature plays a vital role to improve the ability of these composite as hole transport layer by improving adhesive properties of the composite. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis suggested that the adhesive ability of these composite decreased surface roughness and thus providing smoother path for the hole transportation. After the successful synthesis of PEDOT:PSS/SPGO nanocomposites, ITO/PEDOT:PSS/SPGO/PTB7:PC71BM/Al based organic solar cell was fabricated. The J–V curves under AM 1.5G illumination (100 mW/cm2) of the PTB7:PC71BM based OSCs using PEDOT:PSS/SPGO as a HTL exhibit Voc = 0.67 V, Jsc = 17.3 mA, FF = 41.5%, PCE = 4.82%, and device with PEDOT:PSS as HTL exhibit Voc = 0.68 V, Jsc = 16.0 mA/cm2, FF = 38.7% and PCE = 4.04%. The enhance PCE in case of PEDOT:PSS/SPGO based devices depicted that the direct inclusion of graphene oxide in PEDOT:PSS increased the PCE almost 16%, which arises due the high conductivity and stable pi–pi stacking of the spray dryer processed graphene sheets with PEDOT:PSS which ease the charge carrier mobility, thus providing feasible path for charge transportation.

: Natural products have widely been used in applications ranging from antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and various other medicinal applications. Use of these natural products was recognized way before the establishment of basic chemistry behind the disease and the chemistry of plant metabolites. After the establishment of plant chemistry various new horizons evolved, and application of the natural products breached the orthodox limitations. In one such interdisciplinary area, use of plant materials in the synthesis of nano particles (NPs) has exponentially emerged. This advancement has offered various environment friendly methods where hazardous chemicals are completely replaced by natural products in the sophisticated and hectic synthesis processes. This review is an attempt to understand the mechanism of metal nano particles synthesis using plant materials. It includes details on the role of plant’s secondary metabolites in the synthesis of nano particles including the mechanism of action. In addition, use of these nano materials has widely been discussed along with the possible mechanism behind their antimicrobial and catalytic action.