Engineering Commons^™

Adaption Of Catechol And Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain-Transfer (Raft) Chemistries For Water-Based Applications, Olabode Oyeneye

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Incorporating the binding chemistry of catechol functionality with RAFT chemistry offers a facile and simplified approach for developing a suite of new 2D and 3D hybrid materials with tailored morphologies. Leveraging both chemistries by synthesizing catechol-end functionalized RAFT agents and catechol-containing monomeric species for RAFT (co)polymerization, this dissertation examined a new series of advanced materials that were designed for water-based applications including model flocculants, thermoresponsive hydrogels, adsorbents and underwater adhesives.

To prepare the RAFT agents, novel trithiocarbonates with several catechol end R groups (as postpolymerization anchors) were synthesized that differ in their carbonyl α-substituents (Dopa-CTAs). These materials were evaluated for …

Fabrication And Modification Of Titania Nanotube Arrays For Harvesting Solar Energy And Drug Delivery Applications, Ahmed El Ruby Abdel Rahman Mohamed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The fast diminishing of fossil fuels in the near future, as well as the global warming caused by increasing greenhouse gases have motivated the urgent quest to develop advanced materials as cost-effective photoanodes for solar light harvesting and many other photocatalytic applications. Recently, titania nanotube arrays (TNTAs) fabricated by anodization process has attracted great interest due to their excellent properties such as: high surface area, vertically oriented, highly organized, one-dimensional, nanotubular structure, photoactivity, chemical stability and biocompatibility. This unique combination of excellent properties makes TNTAs an excellent photoanode for solar light harvesting. However, the relatively wide band gap energy of …

Gamma-Radiation Induced Corrosion Of Alloy 800, Mojtaba Momeni

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis presents a newly developed mechanism and predictive model for the corrosion of Alloy 800. The Fe-Cr-Ni Alloy (Incoloy 800) is mainly used for steam generator (SG) tubing in CANDU and PWR reactors and is a candidate material for the proposed Canadian Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR) in which it will be exposed to extreme conditions of high radiation flux and large temperature gradients. The influence of gamma radiation and water chemistry conditions on the corrosion behaviour of Alloy 800 are studied in this work. Ionizing radiation creates reducing (•e_aq^–, •H, •O₂^-) and oxidizing …

Development Of Nanomaterials For Lithium-Ion Batteries By Atomic Layer Deposition, Biqiong Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have been the dominant candidate in the field of energy storage. The ever-growing demand of high energy and power density, longer battery life, and more assured safety level has geared the development of LIBs towards all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). The solid-state nature allows more flexibility in battery design and higher area capacity to be obtained within limited space. Moreover, replacing liquid electrolytes with solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) is a most effective approach to achieve safer battery system. In addition, ASSBs hold great promise in the actual fabrication of microbatteries for microelectronics. Therefore, a technique which can synthesize materials …

Advanced Materials For Lithium Ion Batteries:Surface And Interface Chemistry, Yulong Liu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are the indispensable energy storage devices in our modern society. LiFePO₄, as one of the most promising cathode, are widely used in LIBs. However, impurity phases are formed in LiFePO₄ during carbon coating process due to the intrinsic strong reducing atmosphere. Herein, as the first part of my work, interface chemistry of carbon coating on LiFePO₄ are symmetrically investigated by advanced characterization techniques. Two distinct secondary phases are formed during carbon coating process at different condition. Moreover, secondary phase formation is controllable by changing the particle size of LiFePO₄, annealing …

Development Of High-Performance Carbon And Phosphorus Anode Materials For Sodium-Ion Batteries, Wei Xiao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries, as dominant power sources for prevailing consumer electronics and electric vehicles, have been plagued by limited lithium resources with the soaring prices. Sodium-ion batteries, benefitted from ubiquitous and inexpensive sodium resources without toxicity and pollution, have emerged as promising alternatives for large-scale applications. Considering their kinetic challenges and disadvantageous energy densities, it is urgently necessary to pursue high-performance electrode materials to remedy these intrinsic defects. For anode materials, the primary choices of sodium metal and graphite are correspondingly denied for safety issues and intercalation incapability. Therefore, the objective for this doctoral work is to develop high-performance anode …

3d Printing Of Functional Materials: Surface Technology And Structural Optimization, Dongxing Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There has been a surge in interest of 3D printing technology in the recent 5 years with respect to the equipment and materials, because this technology allows one to create sophisticated and customized parts in a manner that is more efficient regarding both material and time consumption. However, 3D printing has not yet become a mainstream technology within the established manufacturing routes. One primary factor accounting for this slow progress is the lack of a broad variety of 3D printable materials, resulting in limited functions of 3D printed parts.

To bridge this gap, I present an integrated strategy to fabricate …

Effects Of Lignin As A Stabilizer Or Antioxidant In Polyolefins, Afsana S. Kabir

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Lignin, a major component of biomass, is an attractive alternative to hindered phenol-based antioxidants for polymers due to its renewable nature and naturally occurring hindered phenolic structure. In this study, for the first time, lignin de-polymerization was explored as a promising approach to improve the reactivity of the lignin-based antioxidants for polymers (polyethylene, PE and polypropylene, PP). A proprietary hydrolytic de-polymerization process was utilized to increase the antioxidant activity of two types of technical lignin: kraft lignin, KL (a by-product from the pulp and paper industry) and hydrolysis lignin, HL (a by-product from the pre-treatment processes in cellulosic ethanol plants). …

Additive Manufacturing Process Of 3d Polyaniline Transducers Via Direct Ink Writing, Frederick Benjamin Holness

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Electroactive polymers exhibit a change in properties, typically size or shape, in response to electrical stimuli. One class of electroactive polymer of particular interest are the conjugated polymers, whose conjugated backbone structure imparts electrical conductivity. However, this structure imposes processing limitations restricting their form to 2D structures. To overcome this, we develop specially formulated polyaniline- based blends via counter-ion induced thermal doping for the fabrication of 3D conductive structures via direct ink writing. This approach employs multi-material extrusion for the production of structures with passive and active features, rapid device fabrication, and improved design freedom. A model of the thermal …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Hybrid Nanocomposites By Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation, Songlin Yang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Different methods have been applied to deposit hybrid nanocomposites which can be applied in various fields due to their light weight and multifunctional properties. Here, matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) equipment with 532 nm Nd:YAG laser is applied to fabricate three types of hybrid nanocomposites on different substrates.

Chemical synthesized FeCo nanoparticles were deposited on graphene sheets by MAPLE technique (laser fluence: 300 mJ/cm²). The effects of deposition time (t) on particle amount, shape and size have been investigated. Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) materials are one type of high-temperature superconductive materials and …

Thermal Kinetics Of Helium Irradiation Hardening In Selected Alloys For The Canadian Gen. Iv Nuclear Reactor Concept, Feifei Nie

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this thesis, we present nano-indentation measurements performed to quantify the increase in hardness as a result of He⁺ and Fe⁴⁺ implantation in both Inconel 800H and AISI 310 alloys. After annealing, the softening rate of He⁺ and Fe⁴⁺ implanted samples were compared, and it is found that Ni can slow the helium diffusion. Thermal activation energy Q characterizing this process was similar to the computed thermal activation energy Q_He for interstitial helium diffusion within pure nickel. Indentation hardness tests were also performed at various indentation strain rates, to further study the effect of implanted …

Effective Boronizing Process For Age Hardened Inconel 718, Aria Khalili

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Boronizing or boriding is a technique to mitigate wear damage in industrial valves made of age-hardenable Inconel^® 718 which is a nickel-based superalloy. Boriding involves immersing the part in a patented boron-based compound and heating over 800 ^oC.

Boriding combined with aging has a detrimental thermal effect and was the subject of this investigation. The effects on hardness, wear and grain size, of boriding and aging separately, subsequently, and simultaneously, were investigated to observe the microstructure and mechanical properties.

The results show that boriding has negligible effect on the grain size and the hardness of the substrate. Besides, …