TY - JOUR A1 - Ghasem Zadeh Khorasani, Media A1 - Elert, Anna Maria A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Silbernagl, Dorothee A1 - Sturm, Heinz T1 - Short- and long-range mechanical and chemical interphases caused by interaction of Boehmite (γ-AlOOH) with anhydride-cured epoxy resins N2 - Understanding the interaction between boehmite and epoxy and the formation of their interphases with different mechanical and chemical structures is crucial to predict and optimize the properties of epoxy-boehmite nanocomposites. Probing the interfacial properties with atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based methods, especially particle-matrix long-range interactions, is challenging. This is due to size limitations of various analytical methods in resolving nanoparticles and their interphases, the overlap of interphases, and the effect of buried particles that prevent the accurate interphase property measurement. Here, we develop a layered model system in which the epoxy is cured in contact with a thin layer of hydrothermally synthesized boehmite. Different microscopy methods are employed to evaluate the interfacial properties. With intermodulation atomic force microscopy (ImAFM) and amplitude dependence force spectroscopy (ADFS), which contain information about stiffness, electrostatic, and van der Waals forces, a soft interphase was detected between the epoxy and boehmite. Surface potential maps obtained by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) revealed another interphase about one order of magnitude larger than the mechanical interphase. The AFM-infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) technique reveals that the soft interphase consists of unreacted curing agent. The long-range electrical interphase is attributed to the chemical alteration of the bulk epoxy and the formation of new absorption bands. KW - Nanocomposites KW - Interphase KW - Intermodulation AFM KW - Electron microscopy KW - Infrared nano AFM PY - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-483672 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/9/6/853/htm SN - 2079-4991 VL - 9 IS - 6 SP - 853, 1 EP - 20 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-48367 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fahmy, A. A1 - Saeed, A. A1 - Dawood, U. A1 - Abdelbary, H. A1 - Altmann, Korinna A1 - Schönhals, Andreas T1 - Nano-MnO2/xanthan gum composite films for NO2 gas sensing N2 - Nowadays, sensors based on polymers/nanostructured metal oxide composites have been investigated exten-sively because of their sensitivity to NO2 gas at ambient temperature. In this work, nanocomposite membranes of xanthan gum (XG) with different contents of MnO2 nanoparticles were prepared as a potential NO2 gas sensor operating at room temperature by a simple one-step oxidation-reduction reaction. The structural, morphological, thermal, and electrical properties of the composite membrane were investigated. The FT-IR results confirm the successful preparation of MnO2 through the oxidation of XG by KMnO4 and reveal further the structural changes of the XG/MnO2 nanocomposite upon its exposure to NO2 gas. The capping of the synthesized MnO2 nano-particles by XG, the surface composition of the XG/MnO2 nanocomposite membranes, and the effect of NO2 gas on the surface composition was investigated using the XPS technique. The DC conductivity and dielectric loss of nanocomposites were higher than for neat XG. The conductivities of the nanocomposites XG/MO-4, XG/MO-4/ low NO2, and XG/MO-4/high NO2 composites are half, one, and three orders of magnitude higher than that for pure XG revealing a transition from insulating to conductive properties. The results demonstrated that XG/MnO2 nanocomposite membranes are promising for potential applications in NO2 gas sensing. KW - Gas sensors KW - Membranes KW - Metal oxides KW - Nanocomposites KW - Semiconductors PY - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2022.127277 SN - 0254-0584 VL - 296 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-56769 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -