Date of Completion
1-23-2019
Embargo Period
1-21-2025
Keywords
Graphene, Nanocomposites, Sol-gel Chemistry, Anionic Polymerization, Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Materials
Major Advisor
Dr. Douglas Adamson
Associate Advisor
Dr. Richard Parnas
Associate Advisor
Dr. Mu-Ping Nieh
Associate Advisor
Dr. Kelly Burke
Associate Advisor
Dr. Thomas Seery
Field of Study
Polymer Science
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Open Access
Open Access
Abstract
Templating is a commercially viable process to achieve materials with reproducible morphology ranging from the nano-scale to the macro-scale. Templating techniques can be broken down into two broad categories based on their design strategy. The two design strategies are ether sacrificial templates or reusable templates. Sacrificial templates are consumed or unrecoverable. As a result, a new template has to be made and used with every production run and must be inexpensive to keep manufacturing costs reasonable. A reusable template requires that the template be durable and easily removed from the material afterward without damaging the structure that was just templated.
This dissertation highlights the use of templating, self-assembly, and hierarchical design to make unique ceramic and polymeric based composites with graphene. The materials produced have a wide range of properties and applications. Sol-gel chemistry was used in unique ways to produce hybrid organic-inorganic materials that mimicked the catalytic performance of the protein silicatein α. The catalytically active polymer was processed via spincoating or electrospinning and used as a template to fabricate ceramic films and fibers. Graphene was used to stabilize oil and water emulsions. The emulsions templated the formation of conductive composite foam materials with percolating networks of graphene. The emulsions could be made with the sol-gel precursor TEOS, to make silica-based composite, or with olefins such as butyl acrylate and styrene, to make polymeric composites with different physical properties.
Recommended Citation
Kraft, Garrett, "Templating The Formation Of Multidimensional Hybrid Materials And Composites" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations. 2415.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/dissertations/2415