Research Area 9: Materials Science: Topic 9.4 - Synthesis and Processing of Hierarchical Inverse Opal Cellular Materials
Abstract
The technical objective of the proposed effort is to establish a robust synthetic process for the scalable synthesis of hierarchical cellular metamaterials. The proposed effort is motivated by the recent development of spherical polymer particles with diameters as small as 50 nm, combined with methods for their assembly into synthetic (opal) crystals, to enable the stated technical objective to be achieved. The proposed effort will seek to infiltrate interior void spaces in hierarchical lattices constructed from a polymer opal with nickel using electrodeposition methods. Removal (by dissolution or vaporization) of the polymer spheres then results in a metallic inverse opal (MIO) whose composition can be subsequently modified using deposition and diffusion processes such as aluminization. The proposed research is organized around three primary focus areas. First, scalable inverse nickel opal synthesis will be explored. An inverse opal nanostructured cellular structure will be used due to its theoretical scalability. Lightly sintering will be used to form strong interparticle contacts in these structures, and to enable infiltration of interior void spaces with metals such as copper and nickel using a variety of chemical vapor (e.g. atomic layer deposition) or electrodeposition methods. Second, hierarchical assembly concepts will be investigated. A hierarchical polymer octet lattice will be assembled from a sintered polymer nano-opal in order to enable (through several complementary approaches) the creation of metallic inverse opal hierarchical lattices. Third, multifunctional properties will be characterized and evaluated. Metallic inverse opals whose cell size approaches the nanoscopic regime will be utilized to explore opportunities to achieve increased strength, heat transport, and catalytic properties.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1610366
Entities
People
- H.N.G. Wadley
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Virginia