This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal, explores the possibility of utilizing the innate properties of nano-sized particles to process a material via manipulation of internal nanoparticles using an external force (e.g. an applied field). In particular, two hypotheses are postulated: 1) the plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles excited by exposure to visible light can be used as a source of localized heat (local changes of up to 100 C) for processing purposes and 2) that an AC electric field can be used to induce nanoparticle electromigration such that composite electrical properties are improved (e.g. an increase in conductivity or decrease in critical volume fraction).
A fundamental understanding of the effects of phasmon-mediated heating and electromigration of dispersed nanoparticulates could be used to post-process a sample by locally heating each nanoparticle and then applying an AC electric field to induce minute changes in the nanoparticle positions such that the net composite conductivity is increased. Such effects could ultimately be used for tasks such as bonding of nanofibers, activating actuator motion in temperature-sensitive shape memory polymers, and other functionalities.
