Small-sized fibers have thin diameters (10-100 µm) and pose challenges for sub-micro scale structural control. Successful manipulation of chemical composition and physical dimensions over multiple scales or at particular locations will render new functions for smart behaviors. This research focuses on polymer-based nanoparticle-included nanocomposite fibers with different nanoparticle distributions or orientations from conventional mixing or dispersions. New fiber spinning principles were designed with additively manufactured spinneret. The tooling engineering rapidly prototyped channel shapes and configurations for polymer or nanoparticle raw materials to comply. As a result, the composite fibers have unique hierarchies (e.g., core-shells, layer stacks) and microstructures (e.g., closely-packed dense layers, hollow tubes with porous channels). The mechanical, electrical, and thermal parameters improved significantly due to optimized nanofiller placement and conformations that efficiently transfer properties from nanoscale to macroscale. A few polymer and nanoparticle types showed the general applications of material/manufacturing design in producing high-performance fibers, which have broad applications in structural materials, thermal dissipations, electrical devices, optics, and systems with intelligent behaviors.

Hierarchy and microstructure design in composite fibers for smart behaviors

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ACS Fall 2022

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