Abstract:
Recent developments in nanostructured materials have demonstrated myriad desirable properties ranging from optical and mechanical metamaterials to biomanipulative surfaces. To bring these properties from the lab to the commercial space will require innovative nanomanufacturing strategies focused on scalable and cost-effective techniques. My lab, the Hybrid Micro/Nanomanufacturing Laboratory, applies the manipulation of fundamental driving forces to this challenge through combinations of top-down and bottom-up techniques for new hybrid lithographic strategies. In this seminar, I will highlight one such strategy: self-limiting electrospray deposition (SLED) of thin film microcoatings. Electrospray deposition is a well-established technique for the creation of thin films from the spray of highly charged droplets loaded with the materials to be deposited. In SLED, specific manipulation of the electrostatic repulsion, hydrodynamic forces, and evaporation kinetics can be employed to conformally cover 3D architectures with microcoatings. The generated coatings are hierarchical, possessing either nanoshell or nanowire microstructure. Having demonstrated the mechanism of the self-limiting effect, we have developed the ability to employ materials that would be otherwise incompatible with self-limiting. In this way we have incorporated a wide variety of functional systems, including: (1) biocompatible, (2) plasmonic, (3) elastomerically-toughened composite, (4) anti-corrosive epoxy or sol gel, and (5) electrically conductive coatings. We have also characterized the geometric limits of features that can be coated through this approach, showing that the 3D capabilities increase with decreasing feature size to the micron-scale. This property, combined with the hierarchical structure of the coatings, shifts the burden of micro/nanoscale resolution from a costly or slow technique to a more scalable method, thereby removing barriers for integration into advanced manufacturing techniques such as roll-to-roll or additive manufacturing.
About the Speaker:
Jonathan Singer obtained his PhD (2013) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and MSc and BS (2008) from the University of Pennsylvania, all in Materials Science and Engineering. His undergraduate and masters research was in hydrogen storage for fuel cell vehicles. The latter study was conducted in collaboration with General Motors Company and pursued light metal hydrides as a chemisorption solution for cyclable and efficient hydrogen storage and generation. His doctoral studies at MIT focused on the development of hybrid laser direct write methods, most significantly, the use of highly focused lasers to provide the driving force for 2D and 3D self-assembly with applications in phoXonic metamaterials. After receiving his PhD, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate in Yale University’s Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. Here, he investigated methods for the nanoimprint of photovoltaic materials and bulk metallic glass alloys, focusing on approaches that would simultaneously push the maximum aspect ratio, resolution, and 3D compatibility of the patterned features. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Rutgers University, where he continues to research manufacturing hierarchically-structured materials that incorporate the extraordinary properties of nanostructures into complex geometries. His research was most recently recognized through a 2018 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award.
Host: Professor Sam Tawfick
