Multiscale manufacturing and characterization of nanofibrous structures

纳米纤维结构的多尺度制造和表征

• 批准号: 346195-2012
• 负责人: Ko, Frank
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=549672
• 关键词: Multiscale; manufacturing; characterization; nanofibrous; structures

Nanoscale polymeric fibrous materials are the fundamental building blocks of living systems. From 1.5nm double helix strands of DNA molecules to sensory cells, nanoscale fibers form the extracellular matrices for tissues and organs. Specific junctions between these cells conduct electrical and chemical signals that result from various kinds of stimulation. The signals direct normal functions of the cells such as energy storage, information storage and retrieval, tissue regeneration, and sensing. Inspired by the multifunctional nanofibrous nature of living systems, through the current NSERC Discovery grant, the concept of functional nanofibres has been successfully demonstrated by the development of co-electrospinning processes capable of fabricating composite nanofibres consisting of functional nanoparticles and polymeric matrices. This led to many exciting potential applications in energy, environment and health care industry. However it was also founded that the structural properties such as strength and modulus of the nanofibrous structures are below expectation. There is a lack of fundamental understanding of the structure and properties of nanofibres at the individual fibre level thus impeding our ability for hierarchical/multiscale design/fabrication of nanofibrous structures. It was recognized that an ability to manipulate and characterize nanofibrous materials is needed at the individual fibre level. In order to connect nanofibre properties to higher order structures the translation of nanofibre properties to linear fibre assemblies, planar and 3D fibre assemblies as well as composite structures must be characterized and understood. In order to close the gap between Technology Readiness Levels and turning nanofibre technology from a laboratory curiosity to manufacturing reality the issue of scale up manufacturing must be addressed. Accordingly our objective is to connect the fundamental level knowledge generated in this proposed program to form nano-, micro- and eventually macro-structures that will lead to multifunctional structures for various applications of composite nanofibres related to energy, environment and health care.

纳米级聚合纤维材料是生命系统的基本组成部分。从1.5nm的双螺旋DNA分子链到感觉细胞，纳米级纤维形成了组织和器官的细胞外基质。这些细胞之间的特定连接传导由各种刺激产生的电信号和化学信号。这些信号指导细胞的正常功能，如能量储存、信息存储和检索、组织再生和传感。受生命系统的多功能纳米纤维特性的启发，通过目前的NSERC发现资助，功能性纳米纤维的概念已经成功地通过开发共同静电纺丝工艺来证明，该工艺能够制造由功能性纳米颗粒和聚合物基质组成的复合纳米纤维。这导致了许多令人兴奋的潜在应用在能源，环境和医疗保健行业。然而，我们也发现纳米纤维结构的强度和模量等结构性能低于预期。在单个纤维水平上对纳米纤维的结构和性能缺乏基本的了解，从而阻碍了我们分层/多尺度设计/制造纳米纤维结构的能力。人们认识到，在单个纤维水平上需要操纵和表征纳米纤维材料的能力。为了将纳米纤维的性能与高阶结构联系起来，必须对纳米纤维性能转化为线性纤维组件、平面和三维纤维组件以及复合结构进行表征和理解。为了缩小技术准备水平之间的差距，并将纳米纤维技术从实验室的好奇心转变为生产现实，必须解决规模化生产的问题。因此，我们的目标是将本计划中产生的基础知识连接起来，形成纳米、微观和最终的宏观结构，从而形成与能源、环境和医疗保健相关的复合纳米纤维的各种应用的多功能结构。