"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."
In this nanotechnology-driven era, having the capability to understand the materials mechanical behavior at the nanometer-scale is not only ideal, but required. Nanoindentation is a state-of-the-art technique used for such characterization and therefore, in order to support a number of ongoing materials research initiatives at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM), the proposed project seeks to acquire a Nano Indenter G200 system. The instrument solicited will be the first-ever nanoindentation unit to be available in Puerto Rico. The acquisition of this system will enable the proposed interdisciplinary team to assess the integration capability of newly-developed polymer- and metal-based nanocomposite materials into electronic devices, construe the actual mechanisms involved in the degradation and aging of glass-fiber reinforced polymers, evaluate tribo-mechanical properties of high-wear strength aluminum matrix composites, define the fundamental materials mechanical requirements for nanoimprint lithography, and characterize the mechanical properties of intermetallic compounds in Pb-free soldering systems, VO2 thin films, nanostructured membranes, and oxide nanoscaffolds. The broader impact of the requested nanoindentation system hinges in the improved infrastructure and/or state-of-the-art equipment that will be available for research and training activities of a large number of Hispanic graduate and undergraduate students in a variety of science and engineering fields at UPRM as well as on the reinforcement of ongoing research collaborations with other institutions. Layman Summary: Over the years, scientists have learned that the properties of materials are a direct result of their atomic arrangement and that, in order to fully understand the materials capabilities and potentials, these need to be studied at the nanometer scale (approximately 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair). This project proposes to acquire a Nano Indenter G200 system, a state-of-the-art instrument to study the mechanical behavior of materials at such nanometer level. This nanoindentation system will support a number of ongoing research activities at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (UPRM) and will represent the first instrument of its kind to be available in Puerto Rico. The acquisition of the nanoindenter will not only significantly enhance the current UPRM facilities, but it will also allow for critical mechanical property studies to be performed on materials such as nanocomposites for electronic applications, glass-fiber reinforced polymers, high-wear strength aluminum composites, nanostructured membranes, and oxide nanoscaffolds. As a result of these studies, advanced materials with improved properties are expected to be developed for novel nanotechnology applications like fuel cells, sensors, and/or biomedical devices. Besides the apparent impact on the existing research infrastructure, the nanoindentation system will also be instrumental in the training of a large number of Hispanic graduate and undergraduate students in a variety of science and engineering fields as a direct result of the interdisciplinary nature of the proposing team. Finally, this instrument will support ongoing research collaborations with other institutions expanding the fast growing materials research network created at UPRM.
