Growth model of a carbon based 3D structure (Aerographite) and electrical/mechanical properties of composites

Citation
ICCM International Conferences on Composite Materials (2017-August): (2017)
Contribution to Conference
21st International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM 2017  
Aerographite is a 3D interconnected carbon based tetrapod structure. The production of Aerographite can be divided in two steps. First, the production of zinc oxide (ZnO) templates in a flame transport synthesis followed by the replication into the carbon structure in a chemical vapor deposition process (rCVD). During the rCVD process carbon deposits on the surfaces of the zinc oxide template, with the simultaneous reduction of zinc oxide into gaseous zinc. This replication process starts from the tetrapod base and continues alongside the tetrapod arms towards its top. Based on interrupted synthesis processes investigated by intense scanning electron microscopy (SEM) we present a simple model of the growth mechanisms of Aerographite. In a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation we could demonstrate that the initial flow of the cold Ar and H2 gas, when entering the reactor, sinks to the bottom, heats up to at the center of the reactor (where we have the maximum temperature) and advances to the top of the reactor. Vortexes are induced, leading to a partly backstream of the gas. The gas flow hits the samples from the back, so the conversion process of the zinc oxide templates starts from here towards the front of the samples. Furthermore, the electrical and mechanical properties of neat Aerographite and polymer composites will be shown.
Subjects
3D reinforced composite
CFD simulation
CVD process
Electrical properties
SEM
DDC Class
600: Technik
620: Ingenieurwissenschaften