Rational Design and Processing of Multifunctional Nanocomposites

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Nanocomposites composed of polymer matrix and nanoparticles offer a vast design-space of potential material properties, depending greatly on the properties of the two constituents and their spatial arrangement. Composites inherit good flexibility and processability from the polymer matrix and desirable features such as mechanical strength, unique optical, electrical, or magnetic properties, as well as conductivity and catalytic activity from nanoparticles. More importantly, they often impart new properties due to the strong coupling effect and strategic arrangement of the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. This award supports fundamental research on rational design and processing of multifunctional nanocomposites composed of multiferroic core/shell nanoparticles and block copolymers. This research will enhance the current understanding of the structure-property relationships for these novel polymer-based, multifunctional nanostructured materials. These materials will be used in devices for applications such as advanced spintronics, capacitors, actuators, transducers, electromagnetic sensors and communication. The research project will be integrated with nanoscience education through the involvement of graduate students, undergraduate students, high school science teachers, and high school students in a multilevel learning experience.Magnetoelectric multiferroics exhibit both magnetic order and electrical polarization in the same compound. They are recognized as next generation multifunctional materials. The strong coupling between the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic orders in these materials renders a magnetic field-induced electrical polarization, and conversely, an electric field-induced magnetization. The ability to selectively incorporate multiferroic core/shell nanoparticles into the desired block copolymer domains to yield block copolymer/multiferroic nanoparticle multifunctional nanocomposites with long-range hierarchical order may open up a new avenue for developing miniaturized multifunctional electromagnetic materials and devices with controlled dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability. This research aims to rationally design and process multifunctional nanocomposites with long-range hierarchical order. The research team will design and engineer monodisperse multiferroic nanoparticles tethered with polymers on the surface, process multiferroic nanocomposites via incorporating multiferroic core/shell nanoparticles within the target block of block copolymer, and explore the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of nanocomposites.