Investigation of Structure-Property Relations in Active Piezoelectric Nanocomposites

The research objective of this award is to develop methodologies to fabricate piezoelectric nanomaterials (in the form of particle, rods and wires) for their inclusion into polymer matrices. The resulting nanocomposites will be theoretically and experimentally characterized to elucidate the impact of the piezoelectric constituent?s geometry on the electomechanical properties of the nanocomposite. These compliant piezoelectric materials have been proposed for use in a wide variety of applications including polymeric actuators, sensors and multifunctional materials for applications including structural health monitoring, sensing, energy harvesting, and control of adaptive structures. However to realize the potential of these nanocomposites improvements in the coupling efficiency is required. This research effort will build the knowledge base required to achieve the required increase in electromechanical coupling. Expected deliverables from these efforts include a new micromechanics model to predict the electroelastic properties of active nanocomposites, heuristics for designing a nanocomposite with the desired properties, and engineering student education and the development of an after school outreach program to educate students on the scientific diversity of the engineering field.

The outreach activities planned under this program will impact students from middle school to graduate school. A sustainable program to familiarize the students with the engineering discipline and allow them to experience hands on how the fields are interconnected will be developed. This program will be implemented through a series of presentations and hands-on exercises that will be delivered to the students in ongoing programs sponsored by the Student Outreach and Retention Program (SORP) at Arizona State University. Undergraduate students will be directly incorporated into this research effort through an internship program where they will work side-by-side with the graduate student. This opportunity will expose the students to a cross-disciplinary skill set (polymer processing, materials synthesis, morphological and electromechanical characterization) as they learn to expand their communication skills and knowledge base across disciplines.