Tunable Nanocomposites for Smart Materials and Technology Platform

我从NSERC发现基金申请189,525.00美元的资金，为期五年，以支持我的研究计划，即开发一个使用对环境变化高度敏感的新颖和可调纳米材料的智能材料和技术平台。智能材料和技术是感知环境事件、处理感官信息、然后作用于环境的物体。它们应该具有内在或嵌入的快速反应和自激能力，并表现出特征，包括对不止一个刺激状态的实时反应，离散的、可预测的和局部的对激活事件的反应。这种材料的新候选者是陶瓷纳米颗粒，因为它们的性质可以很容易地进行调整和定制，以满足所需的用途。例如，金属氧化物纳米陶瓷可以很容易地形成中空的纳米颗粒，以及具有独特的磁性和自旋电子行为。因此，纳米陶瓷可以同时用于催化纳米颗粒的感官和微载体，或者作为纳米反应器。 具体地说，申请的资金将用于支持基础研究，以开发具有定制和可调性能的空心陶瓷纳米材料的制造和功能化方法，以支持智能技术平台的开发。在陶瓷材料的形成过程中，材料在界面上定向流动，这可能会导致原子晶格中形成空洞-这一过程被称为Kirkendall效应，形成中空的纳米颗粒或纳米壳，可用作负载、存储和控制释放反应组分的捕获系统。当空心结构与磁性相结合时，这种陶瓷纳米材料可以用来开发能够与监测接收器进行无线通信的现场传感设备。 目前，我的研究计划有两个正在进行的研究项目，以受益于该支持，即：(A)开发智能包装材料(SPM)，以延长易腐烂食品的储存和保质期。SPM将要求中空的陶瓷纳米颗粒包裹气体清除材料(例如，负责水果成熟的乙烯或负责肉类和乳制品降解的氧气)。很好的例子包括硅酸铝中空圆筒(即埃洛石粘土纳米管)，能够装载和持续释放化学剂；以及(B)开发智能伤口敷料材料(SWMS)，用于在伤口仍在包扎时实时监测伤口愈合过程。SWMS需要在纱布纤维中嵌入磁性纳米陶瓷，这将通过改变其磁性和自旋电子行为来响应伤口愈合生物标记物(如温度梯度和气体释放，如过氧化氢)。

I am requesting funding in tune of $189,525.00 from NSERC Discovery grant for a span of five years to support my research program of developing a Smart Material and Technology Platform using novel and tuneable nanomaterials with highly sensitivity to milieu changes. Smart materials and technologies are objects that sense environmental events, process the sensory information, and then act on the environment. They should have intrinsic or embedded quick response and self-actuation capabilities and exhibit characteristics, including responding in real-time, to more than one stimulating state, discretely, predictably and locally to the activating' event. Novel candidates for such materials are ceramic nanoparticles, because their properties can be easily tuned and tailored to desired use. For instance, metal oxide nanoceramic can be easily formed into hollowed nanoparticles, as well as have unique magnetic and spintronic behaviors. As such, the nanoceramics can be simultaneously used in sensory and micro-carriers of catalytic nanoparticles or act as nano-reactors. Specifically, the requested funding will support fundamental research to develop methods of fabricating and functionalizing hollowed ceramic nanomaterial with tailored and tuneable properties to support the development of smart technology platforms. During formation of ceramic material, there is a directional flow of material across an interface, which can lead to the formation of holes in the atomic lattice - a process known as the Kirkendall effect forming hollowed nanoparticles or nanoshells, which can be used as entrapment system for loading, storage, and controlled release of reactive components. When hollowed structure are combined with magnetic properties, such ceramic nanomaterial can be used to develop in situ sensing devices, capable of communicating wirelessly to a monitoring receiver. Currently, my research programme has two on-going research projects to benefit from the support, namely: (a) developing Smart Packaging Materials (SPMs) for prolonging storage and shelf-life of perishable food products. SPM will require the hollowed ceramic nanoparticles to encapsulate gas-scavenging material (e.g. ethylene responsible for fruit ripening or oxygen responsible for meat and dairy products degradation). Good examples include aluminum-silicate hollow cylinders (i.e., halloysite clay nanotubes), capable to load and sustained release of chemical agent; and, (b) developing Smart Wound-dressing Material (SWMs) for real-time monitoring of the wound-healing process while still the wound is still dressed. The SWMs require magnetic nanoceramic embedded into the gauze fibre, which would response to wound healing biomarker (e.g. temperature gradient and gas release, like H2O2) by changing their magnetism and spintronic behaviour.