Advisor: M. E. McHenry, MSE.
Ferrogels are magnetic shape memory materials
studied for biomedical applications with Tom
Gilbert of the McGowan Tissue Engineering Center.
They use magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) chaining in
a polymer matrix in response to an applied field
to change their mechanical state. The mechanical
or thermal response of a MNP-reinforced polymer
composites can be tailored by applied DC and AC
magnetic fields. FeCo particles will be modified
with surfactants that bind to their thin oxide
layer. The mechanical response of magnetoelastic
polymer composites will be tuned by control of
the matrix crosslink density in collaboration with
Michael Bockstaller. Hydrogels will be chosen based
on demonstrated shape-changes in low-modulus gels
and for tissue engineering applications. We
will investigate FeCo nanorods synthesized by electroless
deposition on carbon nanotube templates as provided
by Prof. Kalu of Florida A&M University as
part of the PREM program. We will also investigated
thermally oxidized FeCo MNPs produced by plasma
torch synthesis at CMU. We will collaborate
with investigators at NIST to investigate MNP chaining
by small angle neutron scattering (SANS). This
will involve a trip to the NIST reactor in the
summer. Materials will be investigated for
their RF heating response for assessing their viability
in thermoablative cancer therapies. |
