Moghaddari, Kimia

► Research

Synthesis of self-healing inorganic-organic nanocomposites with the ability to heal via induction heating

Degradation, damage and failure are the main obstacles in material applications which occur due to accidental loading, environmental attacks, design fault or construction defect. Nowadays, one of the main goals in chemical research and material design is to produce sustainable materials with expanded lifetime. To this end, various methods have been used and one of the most practical methods for repairing structural damages is to equip materials with self-healing properties. Self-healing materials exhibit the ability to repair themselves and to recover functionality using the resources inherently available to them.

Among healing systems, the intrinsic system is the most practical approach since it provides the opportunity of multiple healing cycles in the whole material triggered by physical damage or external stimulus. In general, Healing mechanisms are well-known for polymeric systems. While flexibility in the polymer network is the main requirement for healing mechanisms, it would lead to lack of mechanical stability in the final product which is not suitable for daily use. One potential solution is the incorporation of inorganic nanoparticles within the polymeric matrix resulting in inorganic-organic nanocomposites with improved mechanical, thermal and optical properties due to the combination of the physical and chemical properties of their components.

Within the doctoral thesis, novel inorganic-organic nanocomposites with the ability to heal in an induction magnetic field will be investigated. To this aim, surface-functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles will be used as building blocks for polymer-based nanocomposites that would enable healing by induction heating which provides a greatly accelerated setting of the temperatures in comparison to conventional heating method. The healing capacities and properties of the nanocomposites will be investigated applying various characterization techniques such as magnetic measurements, thermal analysis (TGA, DSC), and mechanical testing methods. The developed principles will be transferred to nanocomposites that can be used as glues for device fabrications.