Structure-Property-Processing Correlations in Ice-templated Materials

该基金为冰模板材料的结构-性能-加工相关性研究提供资金，应用达特茅斯学院冰研究实验室的独特设施，深入了解冷冻铸造过程的基础科学。目的是检验以下假设：(1)可以仔细控制聚合物溶液中的冰晶生长，这样就可以制造出具有高度排列的单向孔结构的支架，并在孔内具有额外的微观结构特征；(2)可以通过材料组成、添加剂和冷冻条件来控制冰晶的几何形状和表面结构，从而控制冰模板支架；（iii）孔隙大小、几何形状和孔隙表面结构可以建模和预测。整理经验和理论结果，并将它们绘制成结构-属性-处理图表，将有助于系统地探索目前无人居住的？空白?在材料结构和性能方面，能够客观比较不同支架组合和设计的性能，指出具有特殊前景的性能概况。所描述的工作的成功完成将提供知识和工具，通过将收集到的结构-性能-处理相关性提供给广泛的受众，从而指导设计和制造由冷冻铸造制成的多孔材料的更系统的方法的范式转变。这项工作的主要贡献预计将影响许多应用领域，如生物材料和组织支架（例如，神经，骨骼），建筑和环境工程的多功能材料（例如，红外反射，隔热，电磁屏蔽材料），绿色设计（例如，可再生包装）和能源生产和储存（例如，生物电池，核燃料颗粒）。

The grant provides funding for a study of structure-property-processing correlations in ice-templated materials, applying the unique facilities of the Ice Research Laboratory at Dartmouth College to gain insight into the fundamental science of the freeze-casting process. The objectives are to test the following hypotheses: (i) that ice crystal growth in polymer solutions can be carefully controlled so that scaffolds can be created that have highly aligned, unidirectional pore structures with additional microstructural features within the pores, (ii) that the geometry and surface structure of the ice crystal, and thus the ice-templated scaffold, can be controlled through materials composition, additives and freezing conditions, (iii) that pore size and geometry and pore surface structure can be modeled and predicted. Collating the empirical and theoretical results and plotting them in structure-property-processing charts will aid the systematic exploration of currently unpopulated ?white spaces? in the material structure and property space, enabling an objective comparison of the performance of different scaffold compositions and designs, pointing out property profiles which are of particular promise.The successful completion of the described work will provide knowledge and tools that guide a paradigm shift towards a more systematic approach for the design and manufacture of porous materials made by freeze casting by making the collected structure-property-processing correlations accessible to a broad audience. Major contributions of this work are expected to impact a multitude of application areas such as biomaterials and tissue scaffolds (e.g., nerve, bone), multifunctional materials for architectural and environmental engineering (e.g., infra-red reflecting, thermally insulating, electromagnetic shielding materials), green design (e.g., renewable packaging) and energy generation and storage (e.g., biobatteries, nuclear fuel pellets).