Structure-Property-Processing Correlations in Ice-templated Materials

这笔赠款为研究冰模材料的结构-性能-加工相关性提供了资金，利用达特茅斯学院冰研究实验室的独特设施，深入了解冷冻铸造过程的基础科学。其目标是检验下列假设：(I)可以仔细地控制聚合物溶液中的冰晶生长，以便能够创建具有高度排列的单向孔结构的支架，并且在孔内具有额外的微结构特征；(Ii)可以通过材料组成、添加剂和冻结条件来控制冰晶的几何和表面结构，从而可以控制冰模支架；(Iii)能够对孔大小和几何形状以及孔表面结构进行建模和预测。整理经验和理论结果，并将它们绘制在结构-性质-加工图中，将有助于系统地探索目前无人居住的空白？在材料结构和性能空间，能够客观比较不同支架成分和设计的性能，指出特别有希望的性能分布。上述工作的成功完成将提供知识和工具，通过使广大受众能够获得收集的结构-性能-加工相关性，指导范式转变，以更系统地设计和制造通过冷冻铸造制成的多孔材料。预计这项工作的主要贡献将影响许多应用领域，如生物材料和组织支架(如神经、骨)、用于建筑和环境工程的多功能材料(如红外反射、隔热、电磁屏蔽材料)、绿色设计(如可再生包装)以及能源生产和储存(如生物陶瓷、核燃料颗粒)。

The grant provides funding for a study of structure-property-processing correlations in ice-templated materials, applying the unique facilities of the Ice Research Laboratory at Dartmouth College to gain insight into the fundamental science of the freeze-casting process. The objectives are to test the following hypotheses: (i) that ice crystal growth in polymer solutions can be carefully controlled so that scaffolds can be created that have highly aligned, unidirectional pore structures with additional microstructural features within the pores, (ii) that the geometry and surface structure of the ice crystal, and thus the ice-templated scaffold, can be controlled through materials composition, additives and freezing conditions, (iii) that pore size and geometry and pore surface structure can be modeled and predicted. Collating the empirical and theoretical results and plotting them in structure-property-processing charts will aid the systematic exploration of currently unpopulated ?white spaces? in the material structure and property space, enabling an objective comparison of the performance of different scaffold compositions and designs, pointing out property profiles which are of particular promise.The successful completion of the described work will provide knowledge and tools that guide a paradigm shift towards a more systematic approach for the design and manufacture of porous materials made by freeze casting by making the collected structure-property-processing correlations accessible to a broad audience. Major contributions of this work are expected to impact a multitude of application areas such as biomaterials and tissue scaffolds (e.g., nerve, bone), multifunctional materials for architectural and environmental engineering (e.g., infra-red reflecting, thermally insulating, electromagnetic shielding materials), green design (e.g., renewable packaging) and energy generation and storage (e.g., biobatteries, nuclear fuel pellets).