Engineered Ceramic-Organic Interfaces: Properties and Applications

设计的有机-陶瓷界面为材料合成提供了丰富的机会。此外，研究有机-无机材料的形成和性质有助于更好地理解这些不同成分之间在纳米和微观尺度上的相互作用。由水溶液在有机自组装单分子膜(SAM)上形成的陶瓷薄膜是本研究计划的重点，它构成了一种几何简化和化学通用的模型结构，具有重要的技术应用。这项研究将研究这些系统的三个方面：1)溶液优化；2)基板工程；3)工艺设计，旨在经济、环境友好地合成纳米晶陶瓷薄膜。要研究的具体系统包括用于颜料的陶瓷颗粒上的铝硅酸盐涂层；作为透明半导体的铟锡氧化物薄膜；以及用于催化应用的钒钛氧化物。主要的理论和实验工具包括临界溶液比的Gorer-Hodes理论，利用原子力显微镜测量陶瓷-有机界面力，以及有机表面官能度的原位转换。将陶瓷与有机物质结合在一起的材料范围从涂料、轮胎、骨骼和柔性磁铁等不可或缺的常见物体，到用于光学、电子、传感器、催化剂、涂层和生物医学应用的创新有机-无机纳米复合材料。这项研究计划将使用两纳米厚的超薄工程有机层作为“底漆”，开发低成本、节能、环保的形成陶瓷薄膜和涂层的路线。该方法的多功能性反映在具体目标中，其中包括改进油漆颜料(通过凯斯西储大学和Sherwin Williams Corporation之间的大学与行业合作)、薄膜催化剂和透明半导体涂层。这项工作还寻求更清晰地了解工程有机表面与陶瓷之间的基本相互作用，以促进有机-无机复合工程材料的更广泛应用。教育计划的重要特点包括本科生每年参与为期一年的研究项目，与德国和以色列的领先研究小组积极合作(包括扩大互访)，以及高级和初级学术和工业科学家之间持续的并肩合作。学术界对行业的技术转让讨论正在进行中，涉及一项对行业合作伙伴具有重大商业潜力的现行专利。

Engineered organic-ceramic interfaces offer a wealth of opportunities for materials synthesis. Furthermore, studying the formation and properties of organic-inorganic materials affords improved understanding of the interactions between these dissimilar components on nanoscopic and microscopic scales. Ceramic thin films formed from aqueous solutions on organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), the focus of this GOALI research program, constitute a geometrically simplified and chemically versatile model configuration with important technological applications. The research will study three aspects of these systems: 1) solution optimization; 2) substrate engineering; and 3) process design, directed toward economical, environmentally benign synthesis of nanocrystalline ceramic thin films. The specific systems to be studied include aluminosilicate coatings on ceramic particles for pigments; indium-tin oxide films as transparent semiconductors; and vanadium-titanium oxides for catalytic applications. The major theoretical and experimental tools to be utilized include the Gorer-Hodes theory of critical solution ratios, ceramic-organic interfacial force measurements using the atomic force microscope, and in-situ conversions of organic surface functionalities. Materials that combine ceramics with organic substances range from indispensable and familiar objects like paint, tires, bones, and flexible magnets to innovative organic-inorganic nanocomposite materials for optics, electronics, sensors, catalysts, coatings, and biomedical applications. This research program will use ultrathin engineered organic layers two nanometers thick as "primers" to develop low-cost, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly routes for forming ceramic thin films and coatings. The versatility of the approach is reflected in the specific objectives, which include improved paint pigments (through a university-industry collaboration between Case Western Reserve University and Sherwin Williams Corporation), thin-film catalysts, and transparent semiconducting coatings. This work also seeks a clearer understanding of the fundamental interactions between engineered organic surfaces and ceramics, to facilitate more widespread applications for organic-inorganic composite engineering materials. Significant features of the educational plan include annual involvement of undergraduate students in year-long research projects, active collaborations (including extended reciprocal visits) with leading research groups in Germany and Israel, and continuous side-by-side collaboration between academic and industrial scientists at both the senior and junior level. Academia-to-industry technology-transfer discussions are underway, involving an active patent with significant commercial potential for the industrial partners.