SGER: Utilizing Plasmon-Mediated Local Heating and Electromigration for Processing Nanocomposite Materials

这项探索性研究小额拨款(SGER)提案探索了利用纳米颗粒的固有特性，通过使用外力(例如，外加磁场)操纵内部纳米颗粒来处理材料的可能性。特别地，假设了两个假设：1)暴露在可见光下的金属纳米颗粒的等离子激元共振可以用作局部热源(局部变化高达100℃)，用于加工目的；2)交流电场可以用来诱导纳米颗粒的电迁移，从而改善复合材料的电性能(例如，增加电导率或降低临界体积分数)。通过对分散纳米颗粒的相控加热和电迁移效应的基本了解，可以通过局部加热每个纳米颗粒，然后施加交流电场来诱导纳米颗粒位置的微小变化，从而增加净复合电导率，从而对样品进行后处理。这种效应最终可能被用于粘合纳米纤维、激活温度敏感型形状记忆聚合物中的致动器运动以及其他功能。

This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal, explores the possibility of utilizing the innate properties of nano-sized particles to process a material via manipulation of internal nanoparticles using an external force (e.g. an applied field). In particular, two hypotheses are postulated: 1) the plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles excited by exposure to visible light can be used as a source of localized heat (local changes of up to 100 C) for processing purposes and 2) that an AC electric field can be used to induce nanoparticle electromigration such that composite electrical properties are improved (e.g. an increase in conductivity or decrease in critical volume fraction). A fundamental understanding of the effects of phasmon-mediated heating and electromigration of dispersed nanoparticulates could be used to post-process a sample by locally heating each nanoparticle and then applying an AC electric field to induce minute changes in the nanoparticle positions such that the net composite conductivity is increased. Such effects could ultimately be used for tasks such as bonding of nanofibers, activating actuator motion in temperature-sensitive shape memory polymers, and other functionalities.