The Morphology of Complex Materials
| METN 757 MWF 2-2:50 Baldwin 749 Quarter: Winter, 2006 LEVEL: Graduate Elective; Prof. Gregory Beaucage |
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2006 Quizzes: Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3, Quiz 4, Quiz 5, Quiz 6, Quiz 7, Quiz 8, Final, Quizzes 1-8
Course Description
Materials Science is a technical field generally found as a sub-discipline of Engineering as an outgrowth of Mechanical Engineering but with strong links to Chemical and Electrical Engineering. These links provide the three main topics within the Materials curriculum, Metals (Mechanical), Polymers (Chemical) and Ceramics (Electrical). The main area of growth for Materials occurs in Polymers and two areas of weak association with the traditional triumvirate, Biomaterials and Colloids and Nanomaterials.
Within materials the main areas of study pertain to synthesis or primary production, physics and processing. Morphology links all of these three thrusts in terms of processing-structure-property relationships. Despite the pivotal role of Morphology, it is rarely studied as a core course in the Materials or in any other academic curriculum. The morphology of metals and structural ceramics are based on crystallography and crystalline defect structure. The structure of polymers, advanced ceramics, biomaterials and colloids are based on a hierarchical motif that serves as a definition of complex materials. The hierarchical motif is best described in terms of levels-of-structure that build from small-scale structure to large-size-scale structure through discrete levels of morphology or structural levels. Structural levels were first understood in terms of degree in structural biology: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. When scaling features were understood for disordered materials, hierarchical levels were described by primary particle, aggregate, agglomerate structures. In polymers, thermodynamically equilibrated hierarchical structures were described through the Blob concept which has now been understood as a fundamental approach to thermodynamic accommodation and equilibration in complex materials. Complex materials display new mechanisms to equilibrate with their surroundings that are not available to conventional morphologies and these new mechanisms are pivotal to understanding issues such as protein folding, polymer structure/property relationships and growth processes in aggregated nanomaterials.
This elective (fun/enlightenment) course will explore the Morphology of Complex Materials by first considering the hierarchical structure of proteins where the concept of structural hierarchy was first adopted (4 weeks). The adoption of this hierarchical model to polymer chain and network structure and thermodynamic laws governing hierarchical chain structure will next be discussed (2 weeks). Fractal ceramic/carbon aggregate structure will be summarized emphasizing kinetic growth laws (2 weeks). Next the balance between kinetics and thermodynamics in polymer crystalline morphology will be described (2 weeks). Finally, an overview of a hierarchical approach in Materials Science will be given with an emphasis on structural design criterion. Morphology of Complex Materials will provide students with the tools to understand and design complex materials using hierarchical morphological models. Students will be familiar with semi-crystalline polymer morphology, polymer chain structure and thermodynamics, nano-structured ceramic morphology, and protein structure. (Through web reports students may also apply the hierarchical motif to the structure of colloids, micelles, amphiphilic molecules, block copolymers, phase structure in polymers, liquid crystalline structures, orientational hierarchy, structure of nucleic acids, dendrimers and branched polymers, or macroscopic structural hierarchy for example.)
The course will be geared towards the graduate level and a basic understanding of thermodynamics, diffraction, chemistry and physics will be needed. Undergraduates are encouraged to take this course but the course will not target the needs of undergraduates.
Grades:
-Grading will be based on 9 weekly quizzes (Friday's 1/2 hour) 9 grades
-A mandatory comprehensive final 3 quizzes
For a total of 12 equally weighted grades
These grades can be replaced with web reports applying the concept of
hierarchical structure to fields not covered in the lecture.
-Reports to be posted on the web page dealing with hierarchical structure in
areas not covered in the course. The reports will involve application of
the hierarchical concept so will involve synthesis on the part of the student.
References should include several books as well as papers and internet
resources. Depending on the length and complexity of the report it will be
used to replace between 1 and 4 quiz grades. Students will propose the
number of quiz grades they intend the report to replace.
Grading: A = 90.0 to 100.0; B = 80.0 to 89.9; C = 70.0 to 79.9; D = 60.0 to 69.9
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