Design and self-assembly of functional colloidal films

材料的性能在很大程度上受其表面和体结构的影响。胶体自组装方法，使用悬浮在溶剂中的颗粒作为构建块，最近被提出作为“按需”获得表面的单步替代方法。在这个项目中，聚合物胶体和二氧化硅纳米颗粒的混合物将自组装成结构薄膜。预计二氧化硅纳米颗粒将移动到顶部表面，提供增强的抗划伤性。自组装参数，如固体含量、尺寸和数量比以及湿膜厚度，将被调整以优化表面覆盖率。在项目的后半段，二氧化硅将被纳入聚合物颗粒中，使最终的薄膜结构更加耐用。二氧化硅纳米颗粒与疏水单体的功能化将改善最终涂层的水阻隔性能，由于二氧化硅的存在，最终涂层将具有更高的硬度和抗划伤性。

The properties of a material are heavily influenced by its surface and bulk structures. Colloidal self-assembly methods, using particles suspended in a solvent as the building blocks, have been recently proposed as a single-step alternative for obtaining surfaces "on demand. In this project, blends of polymer colloids and silica nanoparticles will be self-assembled into structured films. It is expected that the silica nanoparticles will move to the top surface, providing enhanced scratch resistance. Self-assembly parameters, such as solids content, size and number ratio, and wet film thickness, will be tuned to optimize the surface coverage. In the second half of the project, the silica will be incorporated inside the polymer particles, making the final film structure more durable. The functionalization of the silica nanoparticles with hydrophobic monomers will improve the water barrier properties of the final coating, which will have enhanced hardness and scratch resistance because of the presence of silica.