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Project

Design of new materials based on capillary suspensions and related ternary structures.

Suspensions are ubiquitous; they are found in everything from mud to chocolate and are used in many industrial processes. As any cook will know, the addition of water to a molten chocolate can dramatically change its strength or feel. This change is caused by the attractive capillary interaction causing the formation of a network between particles. We can use this simple physical phenomenon to create highly porous ceramics and other materials with tunable properties for the next generation of materials. The properties of the “capillary suspension” are examined using confocal microscopy to understand the shape of the particle network and rheology to measure the material response during flow. By carefully changing the amount and type of the added liquid, we can significantly change the properties of the network to either induce this porosity or completely collapse the network. These networks also change in response to flow and we can use this to create elongated pores. Such materials with elongated pores are can mimic the lightweight strength of bone or nacre (also known as mother of pearl).

A team of researchers will measure and tune the properties of micro- and nanoparticle suspensions to simplify the formulation of nacre-like materials and then push further to create novel, intelligent materials.

Date:1 Aug 2018 →  31 Jul 2023
Keywords:Suspensions and particulate gels, Porous materials, Rheology
Disciplines:Ceramic and glass materials, Materials science and engineering, Semiconductor materials, Other materials engineering