Golden Gate Polymer Forum, Monday Evening, July 12, 2010
Topic: "Magnetorheological Polymer Fluids"
Speaker: Prof. Alan Fuchs,Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno
Date and Time: Monday, July 12, 2010, 6:00 pm
6:00 PM social hour
7:00 PM dinner
8:00 PM presentation
Location: Michael's at Shoreline Park, Mountain View
Cost:
Cost: Employed/postdocs: $30 with advance registration, $35 normal registration
Unemployed/retired/students: $15 with advance registration, $20 normal registration
After deadline: registration not guaranteed, so contact us
late fee applies -- $40 regular/employed, $25 unemployed/student/retired
Free if you attend just the lectures at 8:00 PM (but please let us know for headcount)
Advance/Discounted Registration ends 5pm Friday, July 2.
Regular Registration ends 5pm Friday, July 9.
Topic Description
Intelligent materials have properties which may be controlled by imposition of an external field. This presentation describes a surface grafting technique for poly(fluorostyrene) onto iron particles via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). This results in the synthesis of thermal–oxidatively stable, high viscosity magnetorheological fluids (HVMRFs). Grafted poly(fluorostyrene)–iron particles were synthesized by immobilizing 2-4(-chlorosulfonylphenyl)-ethytrichlorosilane to the iron particles through the covalent bond of a silanol group, followed by the polymerization of 4-fluorostyrene monomer. We found that the HVMRF prepared from surface coated iron particles has excellent thermal stability and constant viscosity. Also, these materials exhibit a large change in shear yield stress for on-state as compared to a benchmark HVMRF and non-surface coated iron particle HVMRF. In addition, the properties of surface grafted poly(fluorostyrene)–iron particles were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy–X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The grafted poly(fluorostyrene)–iron particles showed a higher thermal transition temperature as compared to bulk polymer because the covalent bond between the polymer backbone and the surface of the iron particles restricts the molecular mobility.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Alan Fuchs is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno since 2004 and has been at UNR since 1998. During this time he has developed the first Polymer Science and Engineering Laboratory in the State of Nevada. His laboratory has been successful in attracting funded research projects in several areas relating to polymeric materials development. These areas include membranes for fuel cells, intelligent materials, electronic materials, biomaterials and materials for environmental applications. Development of novel polymeric materials requires accomplishments in the areas of chemistry, physics and engineering and collaborations have been initiated in these departments at UNR and UNLV as well as collaborations at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, Arizona State University, University of California, Riverside, Colorado State University, University of Minnesota and several other institutions. He has been Chair of the Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering Department since January 2010.
