Abstract:

Two separate research programs pursued at the UIC Droplet and Particle Technology Laboratory are described, as examples of research targeting interactions between fluids and solids at the nanoscale. The first program features a technique capable of printing metal nanoparticle suspensions towards fabrication of low-resistance circuit electrodes/conductors for large-area low-cost flexible electronics. The numerous challenges on the road to commercialization of this technology are discussed, and the relevant transport phenomena are analyzed using both experiments and modeling. The second research program targets the dynamic behavior of multiphase fluids inside multiwall carbon nanotubes. Thermal experiments are conducted in real time with nanometer resolution using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). TEM video sequences demonstrate the capability to visualize interface dynamic behavior at nanometer scales. Selected modeling results are also presented. This program offers new insight into fundamental questions on fluid behavior near the continuum limit, and has potential implications for technological and biological applications of the future.

*This seminar series is geared towards students specifically but all are welcome.