Insight into thermal regulation of supercapacitors via surface-engineered phase change microcapsules.

Constructing efficient thermal management system to settle the thermal runaway of energy storage devices via employing phase change microcapsules (MEPCMs) is of great significance. However, it is still a challenge that the conventional MEPCMs go against the electrochemical performance and hardly be homogenously fixed in the electrodes. In order to conquer these long-standing critical issues, we designed a novel electrochemically active double-shell phase change microcapsule by introducing polypyrrole on the surface of dense amine resin shell of the conventional inert MEPCM. The active MEPCMs@PPy are uniformly immobilized on the surface of the electrode material using reduced graphene oxide to ensure the stable and efficient operation of the flexible supercapacitor. The assembled all-solid-state supercapacitor containing MEPCMs@PPy (SCs@MEPCMs@PPy) lagged 103 s to 55 °C than the SCs@00 without the added phase change material. At a high temperature of 55 °C and a scan rate of 50 mV s-1, SCs@MEPCMs@PPy exhibits an areal specific capacitance of 110.6 mA cm-2, which is higher than that of the original SCs@MEPCMs. A capacitance retention of 79.8 % and coulombic efficiency of 98.4 % can be reached after 3000 cycles. This study opens a new avenue for developing applicable microencapsulated phase change materials in temperature-regulated electrode systems for supercapacitors and alkaline-ion batteries.

A Smart Epoxy Composite Based on Phase Change Microcapsules: Preparation, Microstructure, Thermal and Dynamic Mechanical Performances.

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MicroPCMs)-incorporated in epoxy composites have drawn increasing interest due to their promising application potential in the fields of thermal energy storage and temperature regulation. However, the study on the effect of MicroPCMs on their microstructure, thermal and viscoelastic properties is quite limited. Herein, a new type of smart epoxy composite incorporated with polyurea (PU)-shelled MicroPCMs was fabricated via solution casting method. Field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) images revealed that the MicroPCMs were uniformly distributed in the epoxy matrix. The thermal stabilities, conductivities, phase change properties, and dynamic mechanical behaviors of the composite were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermal constant analyzer and infrared thermography. The results suggested that the heat storage ability of the composites was improved by increasing the MicroPCMs content. The thermal stability of MicroPCMs was found to be enhanced after incorporation into the matrix, and the MicroPCMs-incorporated epoxy composites showed a good thermal cycling reliability. Moreover, the incorporation of MicroPCMs reduced the composites' storage modulus but increased the glass transition temperature (Tg) as a result of their restriction to the chain motion of epoxy resin. Besides, a less marked heating effect for the composite was explored through infrared thermography analysis, demonstrating the good prospect for temperature regulation application.

Mechanical properties and in vitro evaluation of bioactivity and degradation of dexamethasone-releasing poly-D-L-lactide/nano-hydroxyapatite composite scaffolds.

The purpose of this study was to fabricate drug-release nano-composite scaffolds and perform in vitro evaluation of their mechanical properties, bioactivity, biodegradability and drug release behaviors. Porous drug-release poly-d-l-lactide (PDLLA) composite scaffolds filled with different amounts of nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HAp) were prepared by a technique combining polymer coagulation, cold compression moulding, salt leaching and drug coating. Apatite detected on the scaffolds after exposure to a simulated body fluid showed improvement in bioactivity and the apatite formation ability through the addition of the nano-HAp content in the composites. Nano-HAp incorporation and apatite formation made a positive impact on the mechanical properties of the scaffolds; however, plasticization and degradation of PDLLA had a negative impact. The pH-compensation effect of the composite scaffolds can reduce the risk of chronic inflammation complications. The fabrication method in this study can produce scaffolds with controllable structure, appropriate mechanical properties and degradation rates for cancellous bone repair applications.

Fabrication and characterization of needle-like nano-HA and HA/MWNT composites.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic has been used in tissue engineering and orthopedics for its good biocompatibility and osteoconductivity. However, its clinical applications are usually limited by the low strength and brittleness. The objective of this research was to develop a new kind of HA composites in which multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were introduced to the HA ceramic matrix to improve the mechanical properties of the resulting composites. A simple chemical wet method was applied to synthesize the HA ceramic particles with the aid of surfactant and ultrasonication technique at normal atmospheric pressure. The morphology and microstructure of the synthesized HA were characterized by XRD and TEM as a function of treatment time. The results showed that the synthesized HA particles are needle-like with a length of 80-160 nm along the (211) direction and an aspect ratio of 5-15. MWNTs were treated with a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid. The HA/MWNT composites were prepared by solution blending. The composites were sintered using a hot-press method. The mechanical properties of the HA/MWNT composites with different volume percentages of MWNTs were examined. The fracture toughness and flexural strength were improved by 50% and 28% separately when the volume percentage of MWNTs reached 7%.