Recently in Materials Category

Once again, Missouri S&T researchers are leading the way in nanomaterials.

Today, the journal Chemistry of Materials published online an article describing how Dr. Jay A. Switzer, the Professor of Discovery in S&T's chemistry department, and his team grew zinc nanoscale zinc oxide crystals on a single-crystal silicon (full article | press release).

The research on these little crystals -- Switzer calls them "nanospears" -- could yield big results for the future of solar energy. That's because both zinc oxide and silicon are semiconductors, and by perfectly aligning the two materials, engineers could create a new breed of solar cell that absorbs more of the solar spectrum, thereby increasing the efficiency of solar cells.

The other cool thing about Switzer's work in this area is that he's come up with an inexpensive way to grow zinc oxide on silicon. It's been done before -- but not on the cheap. Previously, researchers have had to use expensive ultra-high-vacuum methods. Switzer just uses a beaker and some alkaline solution -- and gets a better result.

Defense-related research projects at Missouri S&T stand to gain $15 million through the Defense Appropriations bill, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week. According to a press release from U.S. Rep. Joann Emerson, whose 8th Congressional District includes Rolla, the bill contains $3 million for power generation and storage systems, $3 million for robotic weapons systems, $3 million for heat-resistant materials used in hypersonic flight and $6 million to detect and track explosive materials such as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a topic we wrote about a few days ago.

The development of new high-temperature-resistant materials could heat up soon, thanks to some recent research by Dr. Nicholas Leventis and his colleagues in Missouri S&T's chemistry department.

Working with a professor at Oklahoma State University, Leventis and company created a fast-reacting explosive by mixing it at the nanoscopic level. While their experiments could result in more spectacular firework displays, Leventis says the method used to mix chemicals at that tiny scale is more important. The method could lead to new strong porous materials for high-temperature applications, from thermal insulation in jet engines to industrial chemical reactors.

Leventis and his colleagues reported their findings in the April 8 Journal of the American Chemical Society. We also reported on their red-hot research.

Burn, baby, burn: Pictured are two versions of the aerogel -- the fuel-only version, which didn't ignite (left), and the fuel-mixed-with-oxidizer version (right). | Photo courtesy of Dr. Nicholas Leventis

Missouri S&T grad Michel Barsoum thinks the ancient Egyptians can teach us some things about materials science. At MIT, Barsoum recently presented evidence that a revolutionary kind of cement was used to put the Great Pyramids together 4,500 years ago.

Dr. Tom O'Keefe, Curator's Professor emeritus of materials science and engineering at Missouri S&T, passed away April 13 in Rolla. O'Keefe earned his undergraduate and doctorate degrees in Rolla and worked at the university for 34 years. He reitred in 1999.

“Unofficially, dad never retired," says Dr. Matt O'Keefe, who has followed in his father's footsteps at Missouri S&T. "He was still doing research and a lot of it was with me.”

You can read about one of those research efforts here.

Also, there's a nice piece in today's RDN about Matt's dad.

Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, at James and Gahr Mortuary in Rolla (with a prayer service beginning at 5 p.m.). The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 17, at St. Patrick Church in Rolla.

By mimicking the interlocking structure of a bird's nest -- but on a much smaller scale, using nanoparticles -- Missouri S&T's Nicholas Leventis and his colleagues have come up with a way to make a certain class of aerogels less fragile. A recent edition of the journal Chemical Science reports:

Aerogels are typically made from pearl necklace-like strings of silica nanoparticles, and can be strengthened with a polymer coating, so that the strands form crosslinks wherever they meet. But inspired by the highly interlocked structures of bird nests, Leventis switched to vanadia-based structures, which form a more highly entangled worm-like nanostructure.

'Both crosslinked silica and vanadia are very strong materials. But crosslinked vanadia aerogels never fail under compression, and can absorb at least four times the kinetic energy of the silicon carbide ceramics used for armour,' said Leventis. 'Killer applications will be in areas where we can take advantage of the multifunctional character of these materials - strength in combination with acoustic and thermal insulation - such as lightweight structural materials for buildings, and the automotive and airplane industries.'

This is not the first time Leventis has gained notice for his work with nanomaterials. Last June, the chemistry professor made Nanotech Briefs' Nano 50 list of top researchers in the field. Leventis made the list for his previous work with aerogels.

Here's something Missouri S&T's Greg Hilmas, who is working on materials that could protect hypersonic missiles from intense heat, told us a year or two ago:

“These hypersonic vehicles are just test vehicles right now or simply on the drawing board. It is expected that they will exit and re-enter the atmosphere as they are gliding toward their intended target.”

We thought about this materials research at Missouri S&T when we read the following earlier today:

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials say the Pentagon is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March.

The Associated Press has learned that the option preferred by the Bush administration will be to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down the satellite before it enters Earth's atmosphere.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the options will not be publicly discussed until a Pentagon briefing later Thursday.

Reports have it that Dr. Scott Miller in materials sciences and engineering has become obsessed with the campus's new toy, a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope capable of reproducing/etching detailed images that you could see with your own eyes if they were capable of magnifying things about a million times. Check this out (it's Miller's Missouri S&T logo near the eye of a needle):

You don't have to be Louis Armstrong to blow glass. It just takes a few puffs. (Just be careful, the crucible furnace in UMR's new Hot Glass Shop fires at 2,100 degrees.) The news release is up.

P.S. For updates on UMR design teams, be sure to visit our sister blog. These days, Experience This! is being written (mostly) by Bob Phelan, who is currently in Florida with the solar car (which is apparently big in Europe).

And you thought you had to go all the way to Silver Dollar City to see glass blowing...As Lee Corso would say, Not so fast, my friend! At a university known for blowing up store-bought chickens, there is now a new glass blowing studio. The Hot Glass Shop, which was funded by Delbert Day's Mo-Sci Corp., will be formally dedicated at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, in Fulton Hall on campus. The dedication ceremony will feature glass blowing demos. “We are using an artistic approach to teach materials science,” says Dr. Richard Brow, Curators’ Professor of ceramic engineering. UMR is internationally known for glass science and materials research. We'll post a link to the official news release on this as soon as it's available.