In Situ Synthesis of Polyaniline Based Ceramic Wastes Composites: Dielectric and Electrical Properties

In the present study, ceramic wastes collected from the premises of industrial zone in Peshawar, KP Pakistan were investigated. An effort has been made to recycle and use the ceramic wastes as fillers in polymeric composites. The negative cost ceramic wastes were purified and activated thermally. The elemental composition and pellets of the wastes were investigated through SEM/EDX analysis. Waste/Polyaniline (PANI) composite was synthesized via in-situ free radical polymerization technique. SEM of the composites showed the uniform distribution of fillers particles in the PANI matrix. XRD studies confirmed that the prepared composite material had a face- centered cubic geometry with distinct preferential orientations. Dielectric analysis showed that the materials exhibit active performance at high frequency regions (3MHz to 3GHz) at room temperature. The results show decrease in dielectric losses and capacitance (1.6 pF) at high frequency regions. AC conductivity of the composite has been increased up to 37.95 Scm-1. This revealed the effect of PANI on the ceramic wastes while increasing its conductance performance. This suggests that the composite material can be investigated for use in photovoltaic detectors, electro-responsive capacitors and power applications.

Characterization of Cure Behavior in Epoxy Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation Compared with Dielectric Analysis and DSC

The curing behavior of a thermosetting material that influences the properties of the material is a key issue for predicting the changes in material properties during processing. An empirical equation can describe the reaction kinetics of the curing behavior of an investigated material, which is usually estimated using experimental methods. In this study, the curing process of an epoxy resin, the polymer matrix in an epoxy molding compound, is computed concerning thermal influence using molecular dynamics. Furthermore, the accelerated reaction kinetics, which are influenced by an increased reaction cutoff distance, are investigated. As a result, the simulated crosslink density with various cutoff distances increases to plateau at a crosslink density of approx. 90% for the investigated temperatures during curing time. The reaction kinetics are derived according to the numerical results and compared with the results using experimental methods (dielectric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry), whereby the comparison shows a good agreement between experiment and simulation.

Curing characterization of tannin-hexamine adhesive by automated bonding evaluation system, dielectric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis

The characterization of the curing process allows the determination of the optimal pressing parameters, which is essential for the economical production of wood-based composites. In this study, an automated bonding evaluation system (ABES), dielectric analysis (DEA), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were used to determine the curing parameters of biobased pine tannin-hexamine adhesive at five temperatures ranging from 75 to 175 °C. This study aimed to compare the three above methods and to find correlations between them. All methods showed the same trend of the curing process, which became faster with increasing temperature. Due to various heating rates among the different methods, the curves representing the degree of cure were shifted to the left for the period in which nearly isothermal conditions were reached. It was determined that these methods could be mutually comparable. The ABES was regarded as the reference method; the DEA was regarded as a method that overestimates the curing process and that describes the beginning of the curing process more precisely; and the DMA method was regarded as a method that underestimates the curing process and that describes the end of the curing process more precisely. Linear trend lines were found between the observed methods.

Effect of Manganese Ions on Spectroscopic and Insulating Properties of Aluminophosphate Glasses

The melt-quenching technique was used to produce 39CdO–10Al2O3-(51-x) P2O5: xMnO glasses (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 wt.%). Various stability factors were calculated and presented from DTA analysis. The stability of the glass network appears to increase with the increase of MnO concentration, according to the findings. IR spectral analysis of these glasses exhibited several symmetrical and asymmetrical bands due to phosphate groups. The observed change in these band intensities with the rise in MnO concentrations, ranging from 0.1 wt.% to 0.4 wt.%, shows an increase in the stability of the glass network. Optical absorption analyses of these glasses revealed an absorption band that shifted from 500 to 488 nm as the concentration of manganese oxide (MnO) increased from 0.1 wt.% to 0.4 wt.%, indicating that Mn2+ ions were gradually converted into Mn3+ ions. EPR spectra of these glasses were characterized by two signals due to Mn2+ and Mn3+ ions. Observations on these signal intensity variations revealed an increase in stability of the glass network with the increase of MnO concentration from 0.1 wt.% to 0.4 wt.%. Parameters, which describe the insulating characteristics, for example, dielectric constant, ε, dielectric loss, tan δ, and AC conductivity σac, were determined in relation to frequency (103 Hz to 105 Hz) and temperature (20°C to 400°C) and presented in the dielectric analysis of these glasses.

Cure Kinetics Modeling of a High Glass Transition Temperature Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC) Based on Inline Dielectric Analysis

We report on the cure characterization, based on inline monitoring of the dielectric parameters, of a commercially available epoxy phenol resin molding compound with a high glass transition temperature (>195 °C), which is suitable for the direct packaging of electronic components. The resin was cured under isothermal temperatures close to general process conditions (165–185 °C). The material conversion was determined by measuring the ion viscosity. The change of the ion viscosity as a function of time and temperature was used to characterize the cross-linking behavior, following two separate approaches (model based and isoconversional). The determined kinetic parameters are in good agreement with those reported in the literature for EMCs and lead to accurate cure predictions under process-near conditions. Furthermore, the kinetic models based on dielectric analysis (DEA) were compared with standard offline differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) models, which were based on dynamic measurements. Many of the determined kinetic parameters had similar values for the different approaches. Major deviations were found for the parameters linked to the end of the reaction where vitrification phenomena occur under process-related conditions. The glass transition temperature of the inline molded parts was determined via thermomechanical analysis (TMA) to confirm the vitrification effect. The similarities and differences between the resulting kinetics models of the two different measurement techniques are presented and it is shown how dielectric analysis can be of high relevance for the characterization of the curing reaction under conditions close to series production.