NER: Improving the Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in a Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Polymer Composite by Dry-Coating

这项资助使用了一种新的材料处理技术，以最大限度地减少薄膜处理过程中的成分变化，并评估了沉淀生长作为结晶过程的函数。新的材料加工技术是利用非平衡磁控溅射源，或者单独使用，或者与我们小组开发的使用加热靶材的专利概念相结合。拟议的项目有三个主要技术目标。第一个目标是设计和制造非平衡磁控溅射源，并利用该源制备出均匀的化学计量比的NiTi薄膜。第二个目标是研究和了解利用新的加工技术开发的NiTi薄膜的物理和力学性能，最后第三个目标是将这种材料用于制造医用三维NiTi薄膜。这项资助的学术价值在于提供形状记忆合金领域中非平衡磁控溅射的知识。这项研究将解决磁控溅射领域中跨膜厚和大表面成分控制的主要挑战。在本项目中生产的NiTi薄膜的成分和化学计量比将与所用靶材的成分和化学计量比一致。采用不同的材料表征技术来确定NiTi薄膜的物理和机械性能。此外，这笔赠款将提供在管状或固体表面均匀沉积NiTi的知识，以及三维NiTi薄膜结构的知识。这种沉积技术将适合于生产壁厚小于25微米的NiTi管。这笔赠款的更广泛影响来自于用这种新的材料处理技术制造的生物医学设备的开发。也就是说，在这个微创手术的时代，对微型设备的需求越来越大，由薄膜三维结构制成的生物医学设备将满足医学的期望。

This grant uses a new material processing technique to minimize compositional variations during the thin film processing and evaluates precipitate growth as a function of crystallization procedures. The new material processing technique is to utilize unbalanced magnetron sputtering source either alone or in combination with the patented concept of using a heated target developed by our group. The proposed project has three primary technical objectives. The first objective is to design and fabricate the unbalanced magnetron sputtering source and use this source to produce a uniform and stoichiometric NiTi thin film. The second objective is to investigate and understand the physical and mechanical properties NiTi thin film developed by the new processing technique, and finally the third objective is to use this material for the manufacture of 3-D NiTi thin film for medical applications. The intellectual merit of this grant is to provide knowledge on unbalanced magnetron sputtering in the area of shape memory alloys. The research will solve the major challenge of composition control across the film thickness and over large surfaces in the field of magnetron sputtering. The NiTi thin film produced in this program will have uniform composition and stoichiometry that of the target used. Different material characterization techniques are being employed to determine the physical and mechanical properties of the NiTi thin film. In addition, this grant will provide the knowledge of uniform deposition of NiTi on tubular or solid surfaces and of 3-D NiTi thin film structure. This deposition technique will be suitable for producing NiTi tubes with wall thickness smaller than 25 microns. The broader impact of the grant arises from the development of a biomedical device manufactured from this novel material processing technique. Namely, in this era of minimal invasive surgeries, demand for micro-size devices is increasing and biomedical devices made out of thin film 3-D structure will meet the medical expectations.