MRI: Collaborative Facility for Research on Aerogel Materials

MRI：气凝胶材料研究合作设施

• 批准号: 0722842
• 负责人: Ann Anderson
• 金额: $ 17.26万
• 依托单位: Union College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-08-01 至 2011-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0722842&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Collaborative; Facility; Research; Aerogel

This award will enhance an interdisciplinary collaborative facility, the Aerogel Fabrication, Characterization, and Applications Lab (AFCAL), for faculty and student researchers in the Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry Departments at Union College. Aerogels are a class of ceramic materials fab-ricated from a sol-gel procedure followed by a carefully controlled solvent evacuation. This fabrication results in a porous nanostructure that is approximately 90-99% air by volume, with pore sizes primarily in the 2 to 50 nm range. This pore structure gives aerogels the lowest known density, index of refraction, thermal, electrical, and acoustical conductivities of any solid material. At Union College, the PIs and their undergraduate students have developed a new rapid supercritical extraction (RSCE) process, which utilizes a hydraulic hot press to fabricate aerogel monoliths. Using tetramethylorthosilicate-based recipes, we have fabricated silica aerogel monoliths as large as 51 x 51 x 13 mm in size. These aerogels have bulk densities as low as 0.066 g/cm3, surface areas as high as 800 m2/g, thermal conductivities in the 30-40 mW/mK range and they transmit 20 to 90% of the light in the visible range. The enhanced AFCAL facility will be used by faculty and students in the Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry departments to: (1) study the RSCE process and the effect of processing variables on aerogel material properties; (2) examine the effects of chemical reagents on the aerogel material proper-ties; (3) model and characterize the aerogel mechanical properties; (4) prepare aerogels doped with luminescent sensors to be used in fundamental spectroscopic studies of aerogel structure and as chemical sensors; (5) determine what is necessary to scale up the RSCE process to make larger amounts of aerogel material and address any safety issues; and (6) investigate additional application areas for these materials. We will purchase an automated pressure and temperature controlled hydraulic press, two critical point drying systems; and equipment to characterize the aerogels including a high-throughput three station physical adsorption analyzer and a materials testing system which will allow us to expand our capabilities to measure the mechanical properties of the aerogel material. Expanding the instrumental ability will allow us to continue our successful efforts in using the AFCAL laboratory as a vehicle for fundamental interdisciplinary research. Moreover, it will facilitate collaboration with additional colleagues from Union and other academic institutions and from industry. Union College recently enhanced its long-standing commitment to technology and engineering by approving a new interdisciplinary initiative called Converging Technologies (CT). The goal of the CT initiative is to bring together students and faculty from engineering and the liberal arts to examine problems that occur at the intersections of traditional disciplines. This will enable students to graduate with a broad background that goes beyond that provided by their major. This is being done while maintaining our commitment to science and engineering fundamentals, and in the context of our liberal arts tradition - teaching occurs in small classes and laboratories, teachers and students interact closely, undergraduate research is prized, and interdisciplinary work is encouraged. This project involves the merging of two traditional disciplines ? one in the sciences and one in engineering - and will contribute to our CT focus on nanotechnology. The Union College Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering Departments have a demonstrated history of excellence in introducing students to research at a formative stage of their academic careers, providing students with coursework that provides the necessary background for success in graduate studies, and placing these students successfully in graduate programs and industrial positions. As a result, these departments have had an impact on the scientific infrastructure of this nation. Already, 39 undergraduate students in mechanical engineering, chemistry, and biochemistry have performed aerogel related research in association with the lab. Eighteen of these students are women, two of whom are members of underrepresented minority groups; six of the men are international students. Eighty percent of the senior thesis students have gone on to full-time graduate school in engineering- or chemistry-related fields. The PIs on this award will continue to involve undergraduate students in their research, including students from traditionally underrepresented groups, and to encourage their students to consider graduate studies in engineering- and science-related fields and careers in research.

该奖项将加强跨学科的合作设施，气凝胶制造，表征和应用实验室（AFCAL），在联合学院的机械工程和化学系的教师和学生研究人员。气凝胶是一类陶瓷材料，它是通过溶胶-凝胶过程，然后仔细控制溶剂排空而制成的。 这种制造产生了多孔纳米结构，其为约90- 99体积%的空气，孔径主要在2至50 nm范围内。 这种孔结构使气凝胶具有任何固体材料中已知的最低密度、折射率、热导率、电导率和声学传导率。 在联合学院，PI和他们的本科生开发了一种新的快速超临界萃取（RSCE）工艺，该工艺利用液压热压机制造气凝胶整体。使用基于原硅酸四甲酯的配方，我们已经制造了尺寸大至51 X 51 X 13 mm的二氧化硅气凝胶整料。这些气凝胶具有低至0.066 g/cm 3的体积密度、高达800 m2/g的表面积、在30-40 mW/mK范围内的热导率，并且它们透射20 - 90%的可见光范围内的光。机械工程系和化学系的教师和学生将使用增强的AFCAL设备：（1）研究RSCE过程和工艺变量对气凝胶材料性能的影响;（2）检查化学试剂对气凝胶材料性能的影响;（3）模拟和表征气凝胶的机械性能;（4）制备掺杂有发光传感器的气凝胶，以用于气凝胶结构的基础光谱研究和作为化学传感器;（5）确定扩大RSCE过程以制备更大量的气凝胶材料和解决任何安全问题所必需的条件;以及（6）研究这些材料的其它应用领域。我们将购买一台自动压力和温度控制的液压机、两个临界点干燥系统;以及用于表征气凝胶的设备，包括高通量三站物理吸附分析仪和材料测试系统，这将使我们能够扩展我们的测量能力气凝胶材料的机械性能。扩大仪器能力将使我们能够继续我们的成功努力，使用AFCAL实验室作为基础跨学科研究的工具。此外，它将促进与来自工会和其他学术机构以及工业界的其他同事的合作。联合学院最近通过批准一项名为融合技术（CT）的新跨学科计划，加强了对技术和工程的长期承诺。CT计划的目标是将工程和文科的学生和教师聚集在一起，研究在传统学科交叉点发生的问题。这将使学生毕业时具有超越其专业所提供的广泛背景。这是在保持我们对科学和工程基础的承诺的同时完成的，并且在我们的文科传统的背景下-教学发生在小班和实验室中，教师和学生密切互动，本科研究受到重视，跨学科工作受到鼓励。这个项目涉及两个传统学科的合并？一个在科学领域，一个在工程领域，这将有助于我们把CT的重点放在纳米技术上。联合学院化学和机械工程系在向学生介绍他们的学术生涯的形成阶段的研究方面有着卓越的历史，为学生提供课程，为研究生学习的成功提供必要的背景，并将这些学生成功地安置在研究生课程和工业岗位上。因此，这些部门对这个国家的科学基础设施产生了影响。已经有39名机械工程、化学和生物化学专业的本科生与该实验室一起进行了气凝胶相关的研究。这些学生中有18名女生，其中两名是代表性不足的少数群体成员; 6名男生是国际学生。百分之八十的高年级论文学生已经进入全日制研究生院在工程或化学相关领域。该奖项的PI将继续让本科生参与他们的研究，包括来自传统上代表性不足的群体的学生，并鼓励他们的学生考虑在工程和科学相关领域的研究生学习和研究职业。