Polymeric Nanofibres as a Scaffold for Nanoporous Metal Foams (NMFs) Production

目前，纳米多孔金属泡沫（NMF）的紧凑和大表面积特性允许其用于各种应用，如电极，传感器和过滤器。随着市场要求电子设备在性能提高的同时继续减小尺寸，为其供电的超紧凑型电池将把NMF制成的电极视为重要组件。为了制造NMF，聚合物支架，例如海绵，通常用作起始材料。有些应用需要最大的表面积，支架的目标孔径在5至20μm之间，以便最终的金属空隙可以达到小于3 nm至1μm的直径。通过常规生产方法制造的聚合物泡沫支架不能产生这样的细孔。一种被称为静电纺丝的有前途的技术能够产生均匀的纳米多孔聚合物结构，用于随后的NMF生产。静电纺丝涉及经由注射泵通过高压静电场将溶剂-凝胶相的聚合物精确挤出，直到其在收集器板上聚结。高压电源连接到针尖和收集器板，从而产生静电场。电场中的聚合物流将受到静电力的作用，使其旋转并伸长，直到到达收集器。该过程还导致溶剂蒸发，在收集板上留下具有独特间隙性质的聚合物垫，以及用于NMF的优异支架材料。该拟议项目涉及在谢里丹学院制造和组装试验性静电纺丝设备，并为其安全操作建造屏蔽。随着设备的到位，各种聚合物将被静电纺丝，并测试其机械性能，并与行业合作伙伴Cnem公司使用的现有支架进行比较。该公司的目标是使用该项目最成功的纺丝聚合物支架生产NMF原型。

Currently, the compact and large surface-area properties of nanoporous metal foams (NMFs) allow for its use in various applications such as electrodes, sensors, and filters. With the market demanding electronic devices to continue to decrease in size while increasing in performance, the ultra-compact batteries powering them will see electrodes made of NMFs as an essential component. To manufacture NMFs, a polymer scaffold, such as a sponge, is often used as the starting material. There are applications that require maximum surface area, with target pore sizes of the scaffold to be between 5 and 20µm so that the final metallic void can reach a diameter ranging from less than 3nm to 1µm. Polymer foam scaffold manufactured through conventional production methods cannot create such fine pores. A promising technology called electrospinning has the ability to produce uniform nanoporous polymer structures for the subsequent production of NMFs. Electrospinning involves the pinpoint extrusion of the polymer in a solvent-gel phase via a syringe pump through a high voltage static field until it coalesces on a collector plate. A high-voltage power supply is connected to both the tip of the needle and to the collector plate, which creates the electrostatic field. A polymer stream within this field will be subjected to electrostatic forces, causing it to spin and elongate until it reaches the collector. This process also causes the solvent to evaporate, leaving on the collector plate a polymer mat with unique interstitial properties, and an excellent scaffold material for NMFs.This proposed project involves the fabrication and assembly of pilot electrospinning equipment at Sheridan College and construction of shielding for its safe operation. With the equipment in place, various polymers will be electrospun and their mechanical properties tested and compared to incumbent scaffolds used by industry partner Cnem Corporation. The company aims to produce NMF prototypes using the project's most successfully-spun polymer scaffolds.