IRES: Nanofibers for Resource Efficiency

资源效率的纳米纤维本计划的主题基础是纳米纤维的新兴领域。纳米纤维的直径比通过机械拉伸生产的传统微纤维的直径小一到四个数量级。由于它们的小尺寸，纳米纤维可以展示出在许多应用中提供关键优势的优越性能。纳米纤维在高性能过滤、电池和燃料电池、伤口愈合、复合材料增强、血管和组织工程、智能纺织品、药物输送、气体传感器、电子和催化等领域的应用越来越广泛。从2014年到2020年，全球NF市场预计将以35%的年增长率增长，到2017年将达到10亿美元。在发展大型及“绿色”楼宇方面，有巨大的需求。从更广泛的材料中生产NF，为NF加工成功能结构提供更容易的方法，并培养熟练的劳动力。这个IRES将为至少18名来自阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校的本科生和研究生提供独特的实践经验和尖端纳米纤维制造方法的重要知识，以及纳米纤维测试和应用，通过在捷克共和国利伯雷茨技术大学（TUL）和罗兹理工大学（UT-Lodz）提供一个密集的研究项目，利伯雷茨技术大学是纳米纤维研究和商业化的领先学术中心。是波兰催化和生物燃料领域的区域领导者。学生将培养解决NF科学和技术知识差距所需的实用技能，将他们的经验带回本国机构，并帮助为这个新兴市场培养具有全球能力的劳动力。通过采用统一的方法，利用各国和各地区互补性的专业知识、设施和传统，将提高IRES项目的智力、社会和经济回报。该项目将为阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校的18名学生提供一个独特的机会，让他们在纳米纤维研究和商业化的领先学术中心捷克利贝雷茨技术大学（TUL）和波兰多相催化的地区领导者罗兹技术大学（UT-Lodz）进行为期8周的纳米纤维科学、技术、生物医学和能源应用的前沿研究。纳米纤维（NF）形成了一大类材料，可以表现出纳米化的独特性能，这是在更大规模上无法实现的。然而，NF材料市场的增长潜力仍然受到有效生产大量具有可预测和可控的复杂宏观结构和理想性能的纳米纤维的有限能力的阻碍。学生们将在TUL研究一种新的、高速率的交流静电纺丝（ac-electrospinning）工艺，该工艺揭示了一些新的物理现象，这些现象有助于克服常用的直流静电纺丝的主要缺点，例如“鞭打”。不稳定性和残余电荷，同时将工艺生产率提高1 ？2个数量级。学生将探索选定的nf基材料用于先进的催化系统，这些材料在UT-Lodz的许多反应中具有更高的活性、选择性和稳定性，以及在TUL测试的其他应用。在旅行前的培训，国外的现场工作和旅行后的活动中，学生们将集中于提高对新兴的高速交流静电纺丝的各个方面的基本理解，以指导NF的组装成所需的结构，并促进纳米纤维基材料的商业化工艺的发展，用于多相催化，生物医学用途和其他潜在的应用。总的来说，该项目将通过引入新的合作者和促进相关领域的研究人员和学生之间的多重国际联系，促进美国和国际研究团体在纳米纤维研究和制造领域之间更广泛的长期合作。

IRES: Nanofibers for Resource EfficiencyA thematic basis of this program is the emerging area of nanofibers. Nanofibers have diameters from one to four orders of magnitude smaller than the diameters of conventional microfibers produced by mechanical drawing. As a result of their small size, nanofibers can demonstrate superior properties that provide critical advantages in many applications. Nanofibers (NF) are increasingly explored in high performance filtration, batteries and fuel cells, wound healing, composite material reinforcements, blood vessel and tissue engineering, smart textiles, drug delivery, gas sensors, electronics, and catalysis. The global market for NF is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of 35% between 2014 and 2020 and reach ~$1 billion by 2017. There are huge needs in the development of sizeable and ?green? production of NF from a larger range of materials, providing easier ways for NF processing into functional structures, and developing a skilled workforce. This IRES will provide at least 18 undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with unique hands-on experience and significant knowledge of cutting-edge NF fabrication methods, as well as NF testing and application by providing an intense research program at the Technical University of Liberec (TUL), Czech Republic, a leading academic center in nanofiber research and commercialization, and at the Lodz University of Technology (UT-Lodz), a regional leader in catalysis and bio-fuels in Poland. Students will develop practical skills needed to address the knowledge gaps in NF science and technology, bring their experiences back to their home institutions, and help to develop a global-capable workforce for this emerging market. By using a cohesive approach and drawing on complementary expertise, facilities and traditions across the nations and regions, will enhance the intellectual as well as the societal and economic returns of this IRES program.This program will provide 18 students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a unique opportunity to carry out 8 week of cutting-edge research at the forefront of nanofiber science, technology, and biomedical and energy applications at the Technical University of Liberec (TUL), Czech Republic, a leading academic center in nanofiber research and commercialization, and at the Lodz University of Technology (UT-Lodz), a regional leader in heterogeneous catalysis, Poland. Nanofibers (NF) form a large class of materials that can exhibit nano-enabled unique properties, which are unattainable at a larger scale. However, the growth potential of the NF materials market is still hindered by the limited ability to efficiently generate sizeable quantities of nanofibers with predictable and controllable complex, macroscopic architectures and desirable properties. Students will work at TUL with a new, high-rate, alternating-current electrospinning (ac-electrospinning) process that unveils several new physical phenomena which help to overcome major disadvantages of commonly used dc-electrospinning, such as ?whipping? instability and residual electric charge, while increasing the process productivity by 1 ? 2 orders of magnitude. Students will explore selected NF-based materials for advanced catalytic systems with improved activity, selectivity and stability in many reactions at UT-Lodz, along with other applications tested at TUL. During the pre-trip training, foreign site work, and post-trip activities, students will focus on advancing basic understanding of all aspects of emerging high-rate ac-electrospinning, in order to direct the assembly of NF into desired configurations and to stimulate the development of commercializable processes for nanofiber-based materials for heterogeneous catalysis, biomedical uses, and other potential applications. Overall, this program shall facilitate a broader long-term collaboration between the US and international research groups within the nanofiber research and manufacturing domain by bringing new collaborators and facilitating multiple international links between the researchers and students in related areas.