Seminar: It’s a (Smart!) Materials World: Characterization, Processing and Opportunities in Electroactive Polymer-Based Materials

Dr. Zoubeida Ounaies, Pennsylvania State University

All dates for this event occur in the past.

E001 Scott Lab
E001 Scott Lab
201 W. 19th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Our research at the Electroactive Materials Characterization Laboratory (EMCLab) focuses on processing-microstructure-property relationships in smart materials with the goal of developing new materials with unique combinations of coupled properties for uses that range from autonomous system concepts to the aerospace, automotive, medical and consumer industries. Our main research thrusts are active polymers and polymer composites. In this presentation, I will start with a brief discussion on polymer-based responsive materials, referred to as electroactive polymers or EAPs, which have shown great potential by exhibiting relatively large deformations in response to an applied voltage. I will then discuss different strategies we have pursued to push functional polymers to the next level in terms of performance and opportunities as actuators and capacitors. These strategies will be demonstrated through two main case studies: 1) processing, characterization and application of a relaxor ferroelectric terpolymer in origami-inspired self-folding structures; and 2) judicious modification of polymers using low amounts of nanoscale components to improve dielectricenergy storage and functionality. These approaches will aid in our fundamental understanding of new opportunities in the area of polymer-based dielectrics, and can be extended to the design of new electro-active materials in a broader sense.

About the Speaker

Zoubeida Ounaies is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University and the associate department head of administration. Prior to joining Penn State, she was assistant then associate professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Texas A&M University. She received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and her Ph.D. in Engineering Science and Mechanics, both from the Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on materials that couple between multiple physical domains, in particular mechanical-electrical-magnetic coupling phenomena in polymers and polymer nanocomposites.

Hosted by Professor Vishnu Sundaresan