TY - JOUR A1 - Pham, Q.L. A1 - Haldorai, Y. A1 - Nguyen, V.H. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Facile synthesis of poly(p-phenylenediamine)/MWCNT nanocomposites and characterization for investigation of structural effects of carbon nanotubes N2 - Poly(p-phenylenediamine) (PpPD)/carboxylic acid-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (c-MWCNTs) nanocomposites were prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization using potassium persulfate (K2S2O8) as an oxidant. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE–SEM) and field-emission Transmission electron microscopy (FE–TEM) showed that a tubular layer of PpPD was coated on the surface of carbon nanotubes with a thickness of 10–20 nm. FT–IR analysis provided an evidence for the formation of nanocomposites. The thermal stability of nanocomposites was improved by addition of c-MWCNTs as confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). XRD spectra showed that the crystalline nature of PpPD was not affected much by the addition of c-MWCNTs. As the content of c-MWCNTs was increased, the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites increased due to the interaction between polymer and nanotubes that enhances electron delocalization. KW - p-Phenylenediamine KW - Multi-walled carbon nanotube KW - Nanocomposite KW - Oxidative polymerization PY - 2011 SN - 0250-4707 SN - 0973-7669 VL - 34 IS - 1 SP - 37 EP - 43 PB - Indian Academy of Sciences CY - Bangalore AN - OPUS4-24339 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lamiel, C. A1 - Nguyen, V. H. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Non-aqueous synthesis of ultrasmall NiO nanoparticle-intercalated graphene composite as active electrode material for supercapacitors N2 - With the vast exploration of the applications of graphene, researchers are assessing different methods for fabricating graphene-based electrode material with high capacitance but low material and energy costs. In this study, reduced graphene oxide/nickel oxide (RGO/NiO) nanocomposites were prepared using a non-aqueous solvent-based method followed by calcination. Nickel acetate tetrahydrate and tert-butanol were used as the precursor and solvent, respectively. Ultrasmall nickel oxide nanoparticles, ca. 8.0 nm in size, were deposited on the surface of the graphene sheets simultaneously with the partial reduction of graphene oxide. The resulting RGO/NiO electrode exhibited a high capacitance of 689 F g⁻1 at a current density of 0.8 A g⁻1. After 1500 cycles, the specific retention and the coulombic efficiency yielded to 86.34% and 96.39%, respectively, which supports the viability of this composite as an alternative activated material with high electrochemical performance. KW - Nanocomposite KW - Graphene KW - Supercapacitor PY - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2016.06.005 SN - 0025-5408 SN - 1873-4227 VL - 83 SP - 275 EP - 283 PB - Elsevier Ltd. CY - London AN - OPUS4-36812 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nguyen, V. Q. A1 - Baynosa, M. L. A1 - Nguyen, V. H. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Lee, Y. R. A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Solvent-driven morphology-controlled synthesis of highly efficient long-life ZnO/graphene nanocomposite photocatalysts for the practical degradation of organic wastewater under solar light N2 - Metal oxide/graphene photocatalysts have been attracting considerable attention in solving environmental pollution problems because of the limitations of the semiconductor-based photocatalysts. In this study, highly efficient and inexpensive zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with three different morphologies, such as nanospheres, nanodisks, and nanorods, anchored on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were synthesized in solvent mixtures with different ethanol to water ratios. Among the three morphologies, the nanospherical ZnO/RGO (sZG) Composite exhibited the highest methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B removal efficiencies at 99% and 98%, respectively, after only 60 min under low-power (40 W) ultraviolet irradiation at a low catalyst loading of 0.1 g L−1. This nanocomposite also showed excellent photocatalytic stability under UV irradiation, retaining 96% Efficiency even after 15 cycles of MB degradation. Moreover, the sZG composite exhibited a high MB degradation Efficiency of approximately 99% after 100 min at a low catalyst loading of 0.2 g L−1 under solar light illumination. The excellent photocatalytic performance and high stability of this low-cost nanospherical ZnO/RGO Composite exemplarily highlights the potential of sustainable next-generation photocatalysis for treating wastewater containing organic pollutants. KW - Nanocomposite KW - Photocatalyst KW - Dye degradation PY - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.03.262 SN - 0169-4332 SN - 1873-5584 VL - 486 SP - 37 EP - 51 PB - Elsevier B. V. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-48081 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tran, V. C. A1 - Nguyen, V. H. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Ionic liquid mediated synthesis of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-block-methyl methacrylate)/Fe3O4 core–shell structured nanocomposite by ATRP method N2 - A hybrid nanocomposite of magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-blockpoly(methyl methacrylate) (PHEMA-b-PMMA) was synthesized successfully by the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in an ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([Bmim]PF6). Fe3O4 nanoparticles were first surface-modified with the initiator, 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BiBBr), in dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent, which produced the macro-initiator, Fe3O4-BiB, to initiate the polymerization reactions for the synthesis of the block polymer, PHEMA-b-PMMA. After immobilizing the Initiator on the surface of Fe3O4, the block polymer chains were grafted successfully onto the Fe3O4 surface, causing the Formation of a core-shell nanostructure. The incorporation of Fe3O4 in the nanocomposite was confirmed by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The thermal stability and magnetic properties increased with increasing amount of Fe3O4 in the nanocomposite. KW - Nanocomposite KW - Block copolymer KW - Fe3O4 nanoparticles KW - Ionic liquid KW - Atom transfer radical polymerization PY - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-016-3835-5 SN - 1435-1536 SN - 0303-402X VL - 294 IS - 4 SP - 777 EP - 785 PB - Springer International Publishing AG CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-35893 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Baynosa, M. L. A1 - Mady, A. H. A1 - Nguyen, V. Q. A1 - Kumar, D. R. A1 - Sayed, M. S. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Eco-friendly synthesis of recyclable mesoporous zinc ferrite@reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite for efficient photocatalytic dye degradation under solar radiation N2 - Zinc ferrite and graphene composites have attracted considerable attention in wastewater treatment. In this work, a magnetically separable mesoporous composite of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was prepared through a simple and eco-friendly method with pure water as solvent and without the need for subsequent thermal treatment. Uniformly dispersed ZnFe2O4 NPs on the surface of rGO sheets exhibited good crystallinity and a large BET specific surface area. These factors contributed to good photocatalytic performance of the composite for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under simulated solar-light radiation, increased adsorptivity, increased separation efficiency of the photo-excited charges on the surface of the catalyst, and broadened light-absorption range of the composite. Efficient interfacial interaction between the ZnFe2O4 NPs and rGO sheets resulted in synergistic effects. The magnetically separable ZnFe2O4@rGO nanocomposite proved an efficient and stable catalyst in three consecutive photodegradation cycles for MB dye in aqueous solution under solar radiation. In addition, the synthesis method proposed in this study could be scaled-up easily due to the simplicity of the process, the lack of a toxic reagent, and the use of low temperatures. KW - Zinc ferrite KW - Reduced graphene oxide KW - Nanocomposite KW - Wastewater PY - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2019.11.018 SN - 0021-9797 VL - 561 SP - 459 EP - 469 PB - Elsevier B. V. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-50211 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lamiel, C. A1 - Lee, Y. R. A1 - Cho, M. H. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Enhanced electrochemical performance of nickel-cobalt-oxide@reduced graphene oxide//activated carbon asymmetric supercapacitors by the addition of a redox-active electrolyte N2 - Supercapacitors are an emerging energy-storage system with a wide range of potential applications. In this study, highly porous nickel-cobalt-oxide@reduced graphene oxide (Ni-Co-O@RGO-s) nanosheets were synthesized as an active material for supercapacitors using a surfactant-assisted microwave irradiation technique. The RGO-modified nanocomposite showed a larger specific area, better conductivity, and lower resistivity than the unmodified nanocomposite because the RGO facilitated faster ion diffusion/transport for improved redox activity. The synergistic effect of Ni-Co-O@RGO-s resulted in a high capacitance of 1903 F/g (at 0.8 A/g) in a mixed KOH/redox active K3Fe(CN)6 electrolyte. The asymmetric Ni-Co-O@RGO-s//AC supercapacitor device yielded a high energy density and power density of 39 Wh/kg and 7500 W/kg, respectively. The porous structure and combination of redox couples from both the electrode and electrolyte provided a highly synergistic effect, which improved the performance of the supercapacitor device. KW - Ni-Co oxide KW - Reduced graphene oxide KW - Nanocomposite KW - Supercapacitor PY - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2017.08.003 SN - 0021-9797 SN - 1095-7103 VL - 507 SP - 300 EP - 309 PB - Elsevier Inc. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-41284 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -