Seminar - Richard Vaia

Functional Materials Division - Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

All dates for this event occur in the past.

130 Koffolt Lab
130 Koffolt Lab
151 W Woodruff Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Richard Vaia

Functional Materials Division
Materials Manufacturing Directorate

Air Force Research Laboratory

Wright-Patterson AFB, OH

Polymer Nanocomposites: Moving from Filled Plastics to Active Devices

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) are a blend of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) and polymer, where the nanoscale morphology, increased number density of filler, and prominence of internal interfaces may yield improved thermal, mechanical and electrical performance with respect to classic filled and composite systems.  These enhancements have provided numerous solutions, ranging from transportation and packaging to coatings.  For many emerging technologies however (e.g. energy storage, human performance monitoring), these gains are insufficient; thermodynamics, processing requirements, and interface functionalization pose practical limits to these traditional blended PNCs.  Here in, we will discuss alternative PNC concepts, such as single component assemblies of polymer grafted nanoparticles, and consider their potential to impact printed electronics, pulsed power capacitors, biosensors, and optical elements.  In general, such approaches present intriguing parallels with the physics of molecular and colloidal self-assembly, as well as mesoscale ordered polymers such as hard-soft blocks and semi-crystalline polymers.  However, the unique tunability of the hard-soft architecture (e.g. polymer grafts on nanoparticle cores) leads to chimeric characteristics, and thus opportunities to design high inorganic fraction systems with ordered morphology while retaining the necessary processibility to create high-performance films and fibers.

Bio

Richard A. Vaia is the Technical Director of the Functional Materials Division at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).  The Division delivers materials and processing solutions to revolutionize AF capabilities in Survivability, Directed Energy, Reconnaissance and Human Performance.  Rich has published more than 200 articles on nanomaterials, with honors including the AF McLucas Award for Basic Research, ACS Doolittle Award, Air Force Outstanding Scientist, Air Force Office of Scientific Research Star Teams, and Fellow of the Materials Research Society, American Physical Society, American Chemical Society, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

 

Category: Seminar