Process for manufacturing a carbon-metal composite material and use thereof for manufacturing an electric cable

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a composite material comprising a non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material and metal nanoparticles dispersed within said non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material, to said composite material, to the use of the composite material for manufacturing an electrically conductive element, and to an electric cable comprising at least one such composite material, as electrically conductive element.

Claims

1. A process for manufacturing a carbon-metal composite material, said method comprising the steps of: a) immersing a material comprising a metallic support and at least one non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material deposited on said metallic support, in 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 carbon-metal composite material deposited on the metallic support, the carbon-metal composite material comprising the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material and metal nanoparticles of said metal M, the metallic support comprising at least one metal M′ having a redox potential lower than that of said metal M precursor, and b) washing the carbon-metal composite material deposited on the metallic support resulting from step a).

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material is amorphous carbon, glassy carbon, graphite, graphene or carbon nanotubes.

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

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

5. The process 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.

6. The process according to claim 1, wherein the surfactant is chosen from sodium dodecylsulfate, octyltrimethylammonium bromide, and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide.

7. The process according to claim 1, wherein the organic solvent is chosen from acetone, acetonitrile, butanone, dimethyl sulfoxide and a mixture thereof.

8. The process according to claim 1, wherein the metal of the metallic support is aluminium or zinc.

9. The process according to claim 1, wherein the emulsion comprises: from 40% to 80% by weight of water, from 2% to 15% by weight of at least one precursor of a metal M, from 0.5% to 5% by weight of at least one surfactant, and from 10% to 40% by weight of at least one organic solvent, relative to the total weight of the emulsion.

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

11. The process according to claim 1, said process further comprises, after step b), a step c) of separating the carbon metal composite material and the metallic support.

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

13. The process according to claim 1, wherein step a) is of Substrate-Enhanced Electroless Deposition type.

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

15. The process according to claim 14, wherein the metal M′ has a redox potential lower than that of the metal ions of said metal M.

16. The process according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of said metal M have a size ranging from 1 to 250 nm.

17. The process according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of said metal M have a size ranging from 1 to 10 nm.

18. The process according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of said metal M are formed from the precursor of said metal M.

19. The process according to claim 1, wherein the metal nanoparticles of said metal M are dispersed within the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material.

20. The process according to claim 19, wherein the metal nanoparticles of said metal M are homogeneously dispersed at the surface and at depth in the non-pulverulent carbon-based conductive material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

(2) 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

(3) A 1 mol/l aqueous copper sulfate solution was prepared. Next, separately, a 1 mol/l 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/l NaOH solution.

(4) 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.

(5) 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.

(6) 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.

(7) The composite material obtained comprised 1% by weight of carbon and 99% by weight of copper.

(8) FIG. 2 represents a photograph of the composite material obtained according to the process of the invention.