Manufacturing of Responsive and Functional Nanoporous Metal/polymer Heterostructures using Strain Engineering

本研究的目的是研究聚合物-纳米多孔金属双分子层的制备工艺和性能。纳米多孔（NP）金属是一类独特的材料，其特点是具有非常高的表面体积比，并具有诸如高导电性和强度等金属的理想性能。大量的自由表面被认为导致了NP金属的许多不寻常的特性，包括响应各种外部刺激的能力。这些材料在许多应用中显示出巨大的前景，包括小型传感器和执行器。在这项工作中，聚合物- np金属双分子层将通过纳米级自组装工艺制造，最终目标是获得柔顺，响应和功能的三维异质结构。异质结构是由不同的材料制成的结构，以获得新的性能。具体来说，这项工作将探索不匹配的应变如何影响NP金属在聚合物衬底上的自组装，以及结构的整体形态。研究了自组装异质结构在不同刺激下的响应和疲劳行为。提出的研究可以在理解应变界面不匹配的作用以及如何调整它们以制造具有纳米尺寸特征的功能性3D宏观，微观或纳米尺度物体方面取得根本性进展。本提案中考虑的制造技术和具体结构可能会影响各种各样的技术领域。例如，响应不同外部刺激的3D结构可以用作传感器，致动器，开关，用于输送和过滤应用的囊泡等。包括聚合物科学、纳米技术和制造业在内的多个学科的研究、教学和推广项目的整合将影响研究生、本科生和高中不同学生群体的教育和培训。

The goal of this research is to investigate both the manufacturing process and properties of polymer-nanoporous metal bilayers. Nanoporous (NP) metals are a unique class of materials that are characterized by very high surface-to-volume ratios and possess such desirable properties of metals as high electrical conductivity and strength. The abundance of free surfaces is thought to give rise to many of the unusual properties of NP metals, including the ability to actuate in response to various external stimuli. These materials have shown great promise in many applications, including small-scale sensors and actuators. In this work, polymer-NP metal bilayers will be manufactured through nano-scale self-assembly processes with the ultimate goal of obtaining compliant, responsive, and functional three dimensional heterostructures. Heterostructures are structures made of different materials to obtain new properties. Specifically, this work will explore how mismatched strains affect the self-assembly of NP metals on polymer substrates, as well as the overall morphology of the structure. The response and fatigue behavior of the self-assembled heterostructures under different stimuli will be examined.The proposed research can lead to fundamental advances in understanding of the role of interfacial mismatching of strains and how they can be tuned to manufacture functional 3D macro-, micro-, or nano-scale objects with nano-size features. Both the manufacturing technology and the specific structures considered in this proposal may potentially impact a wide variety of technological areas. For example 3D structures responsive to different external stimuli can be used as sensors, actuators, switches, vesicles for delivery and filtrating applications, etc. Integration of research, teaching, and outreach programs across multiple disciplines including polymer science, nanotechnology, and manufacturing will impact the education and training of a diverse student body at graduate, undergraduate, and high-school levels.