Optically-based Processing of Nanostructures in Polymer Matrix Nanocomposites

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

Polymer matrix nanocomposites are materials that contain nanostructured components in polymer matrices and display a wide variety of behaviors depending on the size, shape and distribution of these components in the polymer. These materials have the potential to revolutionize a range of energy production and usage technologies, but manufacturing methods for these materials must be improved to make them affordable. This requires the development of entirely new processing techniques for production of nanostructures in polymers that permit rapid, large-scale fabrication of the desired structures. This award supports fundamental research to establish the knowledge base for the development of optically-based processing methods that can be used to produce nano-reinforced, functional nanocomposites. These methods will allow for the production of large quantities of materials with properties that can only be achieved using nanostructured materials. Examples of these materials include photochromic coatings that darken with exposure to sunlight, photocatalytic films that can purify water using sunlight, and artificial photosynthetic materials that can produce hydrogen using water and sunlight. The work supported by this award is multidisciplinary and requires understanding of photochemistry, processing science, materials chemistry, measurement science as well as computational simulation techniques. This research will lead to new manufacturing methods having broad impacts on energy-related technologies and will also encourage young scientists and engineers (including those from underrepresented groups) to pursue careers in related fields. This work investigates photo-initiated, in situ, chemical vapor deposition for particle modification to alter the properties of polymer matrix, nanocomposite materials. The research focuses on fundamental issues connected to the synthesis of nanostructures using a type of in situ chemical vapor deposition that can be controlled using photo-activated processing. Deposition within these materials using laser-induced precursor chemical decomposition can yield complicated nanostructured particle systems with desirable behaviors. The use of lasers allows particles to be processed at selected locations in the matrix permitting patterning of the material. The research will address knowledge gaps related to the processing science behind these polymer matrix nanocomposites including the importance of various processing parameters on in situ nanoparticle formation in polymer matrices, the role of precursor diffusion when photothermal heating of the matrix material is performed, the roles of synthesis mechanisms in optically-initiated processing, and the factors that govern selective processing of particles at particular locations in the base polymer.