Electrophoretic deposition of nanomaterials and nanocomposites
Description: Electrophoretic deposition consists of two processes, i.e. the movement of charged particles in suspension in an electric field between two electrodes (electrophoresis) and particle deposition on one of the electrodes or onto a membrane (electro-coagulation). Colloidal processing, such as electrophoretic deposition (EPD), is the preferred route for preparing nanomaterials and nanocomposites from nanosized powders.
The ultimate aim of the doctorate is to be able to predict and control the microstructure of nanomaterials that are made by electrophoretic deposition. The different steps in the processing comprise: the dispersion of the nanoparticles in a suspension thereby giving the particles a sufficient surface charge; forming a deposit of the particles with sufficient thickness on a substrate; drying and sintering of the deposit. In each of these processing steps it is necessary to fully control the parameters. The doctorate can focus and enter into greater depth in any of these steps, in order to understand more deeply the critical parameters. This may involve dedicated experimentation as well as theoretical work. There is in fact room for more than one doctorate depending on the interest and background of the candidate.
Some publications which have resulted from our research in this area:
Van der Biest O and Vandeperre L, Electrophoretic Deposition of Materials. Annual Review Material Science, 1999; 29: 327.
G. Anné, B. Neirinck, K. Vanmeensel, O. Van der Biest, J. Vleugels, Origin of the potential drop over the deposit during electrophoretic deposition, J. Amer. Ceram. Soc., 89 [3] (2006) 823–828.
G. Anné, K. Vanmeensel, J. Vleugels, O. Van der Biest, “Influence of the suspension composition on the electric field and deposition rate during electrophoretic deposition”, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, Vol. 245, Nr. 1-3, p. 35-39 (2004).
Put S., Vleugels J. and Van der Biest O., Gradient profile prediction in functionally graded materials processed by electrophoretic deposition. Acta Materialia, 51 [20] (2003) 6303-6317..
G. Anné, K. Vanmeensel, J. Vleugels, O. Van der Biest, “A mathematical description of the kinetics of the electrophoretic deposition process for Al2O3 based suspensions”, Journal of the American Ceramic Society, [88], p. 2036-2039 (2005).
Key words: Electrophoretic deposition, EPD, nano-materials, ceramics, nano-composites, suspensions, sintering.
Latest application date: 2009-12-13
Financing: available
Type of Position: scholarship
Research group: Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering (MTM)
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