High Throughput Manufacturing of Carbide Nanowire-Carbon Microfiber Hybrid Structures and Polymer Composites from Cotton Textiles

该赠款为使用棉织物作为模板和碳源合成大量径向排列的高强度碳化物纳米线提供资金。纳米线在聚合物基复合材料中用作增强材料具有很大的兴趣，但由于制造挑战，目前尚未广泛使用。这项工作的主要目标是解决纳米复合材料制造中的两个最关键的限制，即，增强剂分散性差和产量低。该方法的新奇之处在于纳米线的受控分散，这是由于纳米线在既是模板又是碳源的衬底上生长的结果。该研究计划将研究棉花基底上纳米线的形成机制，以及研究复合结构中碳化物晶须-碳微纤维混合结构的增强机制。将通过专门设计的旋转浇铸和片材成型工艺探索层压聚合物纳米复合材料的高产量制造。如果成功的话，本研究的结果将有助于更好地理解碳化物晶须-碳微纤维混杂结构及其增强聚合物纳米复合材料的制造-结构-性能-功能。这项研究有可能改变纳米增强分散的传统概念，并对现有的纳米材料制造技术产生重大影响。通过该项目取得的研究进展将产生新的知识，这些知识将通过现有课程介绍给本科生和研究生，研究活动将作为各级学生学习材料加工和制造的教育平台。

This grant provides funding for synthesizing large quantities of radially-aligned high-strength carbide nanowires using cotton textiles as both the template and carbon source. Nanowires are of great interest for use as reinforcements in polymer matrix composites but are not in widespread use today due to manufacturing challenges. The primary goal of this work is to solve the two most critical limitations in nanocomposite manufacturing, i.e., poor dispersion of the reinforcements and low throughput. The novelty of the approach is the controlled dispersion of the nanowires "by design" as the result of growing the nanowires on a substrate that is both the template and carbon source. This research program will study both the mechanisms of formation for the nanowires on the cotton substrate as well as study the reinforcing mechanisms of the carbide nanowire-carbon microfiber hybrid structures in composite structures. High throughput manufacturing of laminated polymer nanocomposites will be explored through specially designed spin casting and sheet molding processes. If successful, the results of this research will contribute to a better understanding of the manufacturing-structure-property-function of carbide nanowire-carbon microfiber hybrid structures and their reinforced polymer nanocomposites. This research has the potential to change the conventional concepts for nano-reinforcement dispersion and to significantly impact existing nanomaterials manufacturing technologies. The research advances made through this project will generate new knowledge that will be introduced to undergraduate and graduate students through existing courses and the research activities will be used as an educational platform for students at all levels to learn about materials processing and manufacturing.