CAREER: Additive Manufacturing using Electrospray Printing of Nanoparticle Inks

这项学院早期职业发展(CALEAR)奖将为印刷纳米颗粒薄膜提供一种新的添加剂制造方法。在加法制造中，复杂形状的物体是通过逐层沉积材料来建立的。这种方法彻底改变了大型三维原型的制作。然而，使用这项技术以精细的长度尺度打印有序的层还不可行。精确控制纳米粒子(即微结构)在薄膜中的位置和取向的能力是必不可少的，因为这控制着薄膜的电、机械和光学属性。用于能源生产、医疗保健和安全的下一代高性能设备将需要提供精细功能控制的高通量制造方法。该奖项支持电喷印的基础研究，这种工艺有可能在保持大批量生产的同时，提供对薄膜结构的精确控制。利用这项技术，电场被用来控制纳米颗粒溶液中薄功能层的生产。这项研究将通过在印刷功能纳米材料领域创造高科技就业机会，为美国制造业创新的加速做出贡献。此外，这项工作将通过参与跨学科研究和国际合作，培训和激励不同水平和背景的学生进行添加剂制造。建立电喷印功能材料薄膜的工艺-结构-性能关系将使该工艺成为一种可行的制造方法。主要发现包括确定由电喷雾产生的过量纳米颗粒电荷如何控制印刷沉积物的结构。这一新知识将有助于创造一种新的印刷技术，包括基材水平的库仑干预，以在尚未实现的规模上控制微观结构。库仑干涉使用在目标衬底附近产生的边缘磁场来精确地控制和定位由电喷雾发射的带电粒子。将利用实验研究和模拟来建立一个全面的电喷打印框架。概率建模将为电喷印沉积的演变提供关键的洞察，这种沉积很难通过实验获得。这一模型最终将被用于为目标功能设计印刷沉积物的结构。还将阐明基材拓扑结构和材料性能对薄膜结构的影响，以提高电喷印的通用性。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award will enable a novel additive manufacturing methodology for printing thin-films of nanoparticles. In additive manufacturing, objects with complex shapes are built up by depositing materials layer-by-layer. This approach has revolutionized the creation of large three-dimensional prototypes. However, it is not yet feasible to use this technology to print well-ordered layers at fine length scales. The ability to precisely control the position and orientation of the nanoparticles (i.e. the microstructure) within a thin-film is essential since this governs the electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of the film. The next-generation of high-performance devices for use in energy production, health care, and security will require a high-throughput manufacturing methodology that provides fine feature control. This award supports fundamental research on electrospray printing, a process that has the potential to offer precise control over thin-film structure while maintaining high-volume production. With this technique, electric fields are used to control the production of thin functional layers from nanoparticle solutions. This research will contribute to the acceleration of manufacturing innovation in the United States by enabling the creation of high technology jobs in the area of printed functional nanomaterials. Additionally, this effort will train and motivate students of varied levels and backgrounds in additive manufacturing through their engagement in interdisciplinary research and international partnerships.Establishing the processing-structure-property relationships for thin-films of functional materials produced by electrospray printing will enable the process to become a viable manufacturing method. Key findings include identifying how the excess nanoparticle electric charge imparted by electrospray governs the structure of a printed deposit. This new knowledge will facilitate the creation of a novel printing technique incorporating substrate-level Coulombic intervention to control the microstructure at a scale that is yet to be achieved. Coulombic intervention uses a fringing field created in the vicinity of a target substrate to accurately steer and position the charged particles emitted by electrospray. Experimental studies and simulations will be used to establish a comprehensive framework for electrospray printing. Probabilistic modeling will provide critical insight into the evolution of an electrospray printed deposit that is difficult to obtain experimentally. This model will ultimately be used to design the structure of printed deposits for targeted functionality. The influence of substrate topology and material properties on film structure will also be elucidated to advance the versatility of electrospray printing.