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

目前，纳米多孔金属泡沫（NMFs）的紧凑和大表面积特性允许其在各种应用中使用，如电极，传感器和过滤器。随着市场对电子设备的要求不断缩小尺寸，同时提高性能，为它们供电的超紧凑电池将看到由纳米颗粒制成的电极作为必不可少的组件。为了制造纳米纤维，通常使用聚合物支架，如海绵作为起始材料。有一些应用需要最大的表面积，支架的目标孔径在5到20微米之间，这样最终的金属空洞的直径可以达到小于3nm到1微米。通过常规生产方法制造的聚合物泡沫支架无法产生如此细的孔隙。一种很有前途的技术叫做静电纺丝，它能够生产出均匀的纳米多孔聚合物结构，用于后续的纳米纳米纤维的生产。静电纺丝是通过注射泵在高压静电场中将溶剂-凝胶相的聚合物精确挤出，直到聚合在集电极上。高压电源连接到针的尖端和集电极板，从而产生静电场。在该场中的聚合物流将受到静电力的作用，使其旋转和拉长，直到到达收集器。这一过程还会使溶剂蒸发，在集热器板上留下具有独特间隙特性的聚合物垫，以及一种极好的纳米颗粒支架材料。本项目涉及谢里丹学院试制和组装静电纺丝设备，并为其安全运行建造屏蔽。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中最成功的聚合物支架生产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.