Electrochemical energy-storage material architecture built brick-by-brick
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fail at their weakest point, the fibrillation happened at the bundles level in their experiments. The researchers point out that to understand the real fracture of the fibers in tension mode, direct in situ characterization of nanofibrils and bundles would be required. This study contributes to our understanding and quantification of the interaction mechanisms in high-performance fibers. This research could lead to further enhancement of fiber properties by developing a drawing process that would result in an optimum microstructure. Among the many avenues the researchers plan to pursue, “further in situ multiscale testing and extracting individual nanofibrils and nanofibril bundles to perform tensile tests would be of great value,” says Dzenis. “The results can lead to new fundamental scaling models of the discovered unique
fractal fracture behavior of hierarchical high-performance fibers.” Flavia Libonati, an associate professor at the Università di Genova, Italy, and affiliated with the Laboratory for Atomistic and Molecular Mechanics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and who did not participate in this study, says that “the fracture mechanisms resemble the failure of fibers present in natural and biological materials and, in particular, the role of the interfaces in the load transfer and the importance of hierarchy on the amplification of the mechanical performance with respect to the building blocks. A deeper understanding of such mechanisms and of the processing–structure–property relationships, via multiscale modeling and experiments, can pave the way toward the design of better advanced materials.” Hortense Le Ferrand
Electrochemical energy-storage material architecture built brick-by-brick
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ed bricks form load-bearing walls, line chimneys, and adorn architecturally aesthetic facades of countless buildings around the world. Most common fired bricks are comprised of silica (SiO2), alumina, (Al2O3), and hematite (iron oxide, or Fe2O3)—the latter being responsible for its recognizable red color. Masons have relied on this ubiquitous and inexpensive construction material for thousands of years. Recently, researchers have unlocked a redhot discovery: everyday bricks can not only provide shelter but also pave the way toward a new electrochemical energy-storage material. A close examination of a typical fired brick reveals a highly porous microstructure that can easily take up solvents and materials such as polymers. The iron oxide component provides positive iron ions that can promote the synthesis of the polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), or PEDOT. This conductive polymer coats the inner surfaces of the brick pores, and, owing to its high electronic conductivity and ability to rapidly transfer charge, functions
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Photograph of a commercially available brick, as well as analysis of its microstructure, before and after it is coated with the polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) to become an energy-storage module. Credit: D’Arcy Research Laboratory, Washington University in St. Louis.
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