PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A CARBON-METAL COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND USE THEREOF FOR MANUFACTURING AN ELECTRIC CABLE

Abstract

A composite material is provided. The composite material has a non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material and metal nanoparticles of a metal M dispersed within the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material. The non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material is selected from the group consisting of amorphous carbon, glassy carbon, graphite, graphene, and carbon nanotubes.

Claims

1. A composite material comprising: a non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material; and metal nanoparticles of a metal M dispersed within said non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material, wherein the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material is selected from the group consisting of amorphous carbon, glassy carbon, graphite, graphene, and carbon nanotubes.

2. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein said composite material is deposited on the surface of a metallic support, and wherein the metallic support has at least one metal M′ having a redox potential lower than that of a precursor of said metal M.

3. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of metal M have a size ranging from 1 to 250 nm.

4. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of metal M have a size ranging from 1 to 10 nm.

5. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the metal M is chosen from copper, nickel, tin, gold and silver.

6. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein said composite material has a porosity of at most 20% by volume, relative to the total volume of said composite material.

7. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein said composite material comprises from 0.01% to 10% by weight of carbon and from 90% to 99.99% by weight of metal M, relative to the total weight of said composite material.

8. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material is in the form of a film or a fibrous material.

9. The composite material according to claim 8, wherein the fibres of the fibrous material are in any of the following forms: linear, surface fabrics, 3D fabrics, or mats.

10. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the precursor of said metal M is a salt of a metal M chosen from a copper salt, a nickel salt, a tin salt, a gold salt, and a silver salt.

11. The composite material according to claim 2, wherein a metal of the metallic support is aluminium or zinc.

12. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of metal M are formed from the precursor of said metal M.

13. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the precursor of said metal M comprises metal ions of said metal M to be reduced into the metal nanoparticles of metal M.

14. The composite material according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of metal M are homogeneously dispersed at the surface and at depth in the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material.

15. An electrically conductive element comprising a composite material as defined in claim 1.

16. An electric cable comprising at least one electrically conductive element as claimed in claim 15.

17. A process for manufacturing said composite material as claimed in claim 1, wherein said method comprises the steps of: a) immersing said metallic support with said at least one non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material deposited thereon, into an emulsion comprising water, at least one precursor of a metal M, at least one surfactant, and at least one organic solvent, in order to form the composite material deposited on the metallic support; and b) washing the composite material deposited on the metallic support resulting from step a).

18. The process according to claim 17, wherein the surfactant is chosen from the group consisting of sodium dodecylsulfate, octyltrimethylammonium bromide, and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide.

19. The process according to claim 17, wherein the organic solvent is selected from the group consisting of acetone, acetonitrile, butanone, dimethyl sulfoxide, and mixtures thereof.

20. The process according to claim 17, wherein the emulsion comprises: from 40% to 80% by weight of water, from 2% to 15% by weight of at least one precursor of said metal M, from 0.5% to 5% by weight of said at least one surfactant, and from 10% to 40% by weight of said at least one organic solvent, relative to the total weight of the emulsion.

21. The process according claim 17, wherein step a) lasts from 5 min to 1 h.

22. The process according to claim 17, said process further comprising, after step b), a step c) of separating the composite material and the metallic support.

23. The process according to claim 17, wherein step a) is of Substrate-Enhanced Electroless Deposition type.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0135] FIG. 1 represents a scanning electron microscopy image of the composite material formed in accordance with one embodiment; and

[0136] FIG. 2 represents a photograph of the composite material obtained according to the process of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example

Preparation of a Composite Material in Accordance with the First Subject of the Invention

[0137] A 1 mol/1 aqueous copper sulfate solution was prepared. Next, separately, a 1 mol/1 aqueous solution of EDTA complexing agent was prepared. 140 ml of the aqueous copper sulfate solution, 150 ml of the aqueous complexing agent and 60 ml of distilled water were mixed to form a resulting aqueous phase which was stirred using a conventional magnetic stirrer at around 600 rpm. The resulting aqueous solution became sky blue, then its pH was adjusted to a pH of 12.6, using a 10 mol/1 NaOH solution.

[0138] 100 ml of acetone as organic solvent were added to the resulting aqueous solution, and also 1 g of OTAB as surfactant, while keeping the resulting emulsion under stirring. Then, the stirring was continued for 24 h.

[0139] At the same time, a mat of carbon nanotubes manufactured by the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy of Cambridge University (UK) was attached with tweezers to a metallic support made of aluminium having dimensions of 70 mm×50 mm×2 mm. Next, the metallic support+NTC assembly was introduced and immersed in the emulsion formed previously for 2 minutes, then removed and washed twice with a 0.1 mol/l acidic aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid and twice with distilled water. The metallic support made of aluminium and the composite material formed were then separated, and the composite material was washed once with distilled water then dried with absorbent paper.

[0140] FIG. 1 represents a scanning electron microscopy image taken with a JEOL 7800F microscope of the composite material formed according to the process of the invention and shows the homogeneous dispersion of the copper nanoparticles with a size of 50 nm in the CNT network, at the surface and at depth.

[0141] The composite material obtained comprised 1% by weight of carbon and 99% by weight of copper.

[0142] FIG. 2 represents a photograph of the composite material obtained according to the process of the invention.