CAREER: Tailoring Nanoparticle Microstructure Using Stimuli-Responsive Polymers

这一早期教师职业发展奖的研究目标是开发一种新的方法，通过在加工过程中控制纳米颗粒的组织来定制液体悬浮液和纳米复合材料的性能。目前由碳纳米管和其他纳米颗粒制成的材料受到缺乏定制微结构特性的限制。这一点在缺乏颗粒分散控制方面尤为明显。通过控制微观结构，可以改变悬浮液粘度等性能以及导电性、强度和降解温度等其他复合材料性能。为了控制一组模型纳米粒子的微观性质，将使用光、pH和温度刺激响应性聚合物。这种方法及其结果很重要，因为它将展示控制纳米粒子在液体分散体中分散的设计方法。这对于生物医学应用是很重要的。此外，微结构性能的控制创造了一类新的轻质工程复合材料，将在微波天线基板、生物医学应用的传感和驱动换能器以及高导电性柔性微电子材料中得到应用。该奖项的教育目标包括面向高中生和本科生。少数民族高中生将通过与这项研究相关的科学博览会项目的合作而被纳入这项研究。微结构实验将被整合到本科生的课程中，并将被开发，以及本科生直接参与研究项目。

The research objective of this Early Faculty Career Development (CAREER) award is to develop a new method to tailor the properties of liquid suspensions and nanocomposites by controlling the organization of nanoparticles during processing. Current materials that are made with carbon nanotubes and other nanoparticles are limited by a lack of tailored microstructure properties. This is seen especially in the lack of particle dispersion control. By controlling the microstructure, properties like suspension viscosity can be altered along with other composite properties including electrical conductivity, strength and degradation temperature. In order to control the microscopic properties of a set of model nanoparticles, light, pH and temperature stimuli responsive polymers will be used.This methodology and its results are important because it will demonstrate design methods to control nanoparticle dispersion in liquid dispersions. This is important for biomedical applications. In addition, the control of microstructure properties creates a new class of lightweight engineering composites that will have applications in microwave antenna substrates, sensing and actuation transducers for biomedical applications and highly conductive flexible microelectronic materials. The educational objectives of this award include outreach to high school students as well as undergraduate students. Minority high school students will be included in the research via collaboration on science fair projects related to the research. Experiments in microstructure will be integrated into undergraduate coursework that will be developed as well as direct involvement of undergraduates in the research project as well.