Systems that enable reversible transformation of mechanical energy are of great importance to modern technology spanning the areas from MEMS to car dampers. This work explores the idea of using short-range adhesion interactions at lyophobic solid-liquid interfaces for storing and converting mechanical energy. Forcing water into hydrophobic capillaries results in the formation of an interface of high interfacial free energy and, if the surface area is high enough, up to 50J can be stored by one gram of a porous material. The first group of objectives is directed at understanding the mechanisms of the reversible transformation of mechanical energy in excess interfacial energy and the development of a thermodynamic model of this process. Nanoporous solids with well-defined pore structure and surface chemistry (carbon nanotubes, porous silicates and quartz capillaries hydrophobized by self-assembled monolayers) are used as non-wettable materials. The second group of objectives is related to the development of systems that are capable of creating an excess interfacial energy and can perform mechanical work at the expense of the surface chemical reactions (Chemical Battery of Mechanical Energy). Special emphasis is directed at the development of chemisorption reactions that increase interfacial surface tension of the system. In the education plan, this work enhances the infrastructure of research and education at SHU by including undergraduate and graduate students into the project and by incorporating the latest developments of surface science and engineering into the teaching and training programs in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
