Active Nanotube-Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Nanocomposites

活性纳米管-液晶弹性体纳米复合材料摘要本项目旨在推进对新型碳纳米管（CNT）-液晶弹性体（LCE）纳米复合材料的基本理解。主要创新是使用独特的纳米管化学平台将碳纳米管（CNT）共价偶联到液晶弹性体（LCE），以实现CNT、介晶单元和LCE网络之间的强大协同作用。 本论文将进行系统的实验和分析工作，以（1）合理地设计碳纳米管表面的功能基团，使其能够促进碳纳米管的分散并与LCE网络形成共价键合;（2）合成具有不同负载水平和界面结构的新型碳纳米管-LCE复合材料;（3）系统地表征各种类型的碳纳米管-LCE复合材料的材料性能;（4）通过电场和远红外辐射等不同的外界刺激，制备和表征了不同的CNT-LCE致动器;（5）建立了组成-合成-结构-性能-功能的关系，不同特性的CNTs与LCE之间的协同作用可以产生许多新的性能和功能。对CNT-LCE复合材料的基本理解的进展将对智能材料领域产生重大影响，并导致从致动器和人工肌肉到微机械和纳米机械的许多潜在应用。由此产生的知识将被整合到威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校的一门新的U/G课程中，以教育学生了解纳米材料日益增长的重要性。此外，代表性不足群体的学生将通过本科生研究经验（REU）补充招募参加这项研究。

Active Nanotube-Liquid Crystalline Elastomer NanocompositesAbstractThis project aims to advance the fundamental understanding of novel carbon nanotube (CNT)-liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) nanocomposites. The major innovation is to covalently couple the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to the liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) using a unique nanotube chemistry platform to achieve strong synergies among CNTs, mesogenic units, and LCE networks. Systematic experimental and analytical work will be conducted to (1) rationally engineer the CNTs' surfaces with the designed functional groups that can facilitate their dispersion and form covalent bonding to the LCE network; (2) synthesize novel CNT-LCE composites with CNTs at different loading levels and interfacial structures; (3) systematically characterize the material properties of various types of CNT-LCE composites; (4) fabricate and characterize various CNT-LCE actuators via different external stimuli, including electrical field and remote IR irradiation; and (5) establish the composition-synthesis-structure-property-function relationship.The strong synergies between CNTs with various characteristics and LCEs could generate many novel properties and functions. The advances in fundamental understanding of CNT-LCE composites will have a significant impact on the field of smart materials and lead to numerous potential applications ranging from actuators and artificial muscles to micro- and nano-machines. The resultant knowledge will be integrated into a new U/G course at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to educate students about the growing importance of nanomaterials. In addition, students of underrepresented groups will be recruited through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplement to participate in this research.