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SUMMARY:Synthesis of Low Symmetry Responsive Materials from Nanoscale to M
 icro- and Macroscale - Stoyan Smoukov\, North Carolina State University\, 
 USA
DTSTART:20110517T133000Z
DTEND:20110517T143000Z
UID:TALK31400@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jenny Clark
DESCRIPTION:Bridging nanometer to macroscopic length scales is a major cha
 llenge to nanoscience. Low\nsymmetry building blocks and assemblies offer 
 possibilities for complex “smart” material\nbehavior by introducing an
 isotropy and sometimes endowing macroscopic objects with\nnanoscale quantu
 m properties. Field-driven synthesis and assembly is a promising strategy 
 for\nthe fabrication of responsive hierarchical structures. This talk will
  focus on several examples of\nsuch research. First\, we describe a novel 
 mechanism for electrostatic cooperative self-assembly\nof dense nanopartic
 le monolayers on surfaces. Second\, we use electric and magnetic fields fo
 r\nmanipulating magnetic Janus particles and characterize the forces betwe
 en them. The Janus\nparticles can be assembled in different low symmetry c
 onfigurations and even disassembled on\ndemand. Third\, we present novel t
 ypes of foams stabilized by composite magnetic particles and\ninvestigate 
 their breakdown on demand. The foams exhibit extraordinary stability in th
 e absence\nof fields\, but can be destroyed instantaneously by the applica
 tion of a threshold magnetic field.\nWe also discuss the use of mechanical
  shear fields as an alternative to electric and magnetic\nfields for the f
 abrication of nanofibers. 1D structures\, such as nanofibers\, can exhibit
  quantum-\nscale confinement and molecular alignment effects\, yet allow e
 asy\, macroscopic handling at the\nsame time. We have recently developed a
  process for massively parallel fabrication of nanofibers\nfrom polymer so
 lution droplets\, based on shear fields in an antisolvent precipitation me
 dium.\nWe have investigated the fundamental processes involved in the fibe
 r formation as well as the\nopportunities for scalable nanofiber manufactu
 ring by this method. The methods presented\nwould have applications in num
 erous areas\, including fabrication of nanostructured substrates\,\nphotov
 oltaic energy production\, smart\, responsive liquid\, gel\, and solid mat
 erials\, and novel\ntissue engineering scaffolds.
LOCATION:Kapitza Building Seminar Room\, Cavendish Laboratory\, Department
  of Physics
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