In a joint effort with former HMNL Postdoc Prof. Molla Hasan (at UT-Permian Basin), HMNL PhD candidate Yogin Patel has published research on the porous materials formulation as the inside back cover of the latest issue of Advanced Materials Interfaces. High shear mixing of immiscible liquids, surfactant, and nanoparticles create a macropore-infused nanocomposite emulsion thermosets (MINET) with tunable surface behavior and pore size. The MINETs are prepared from common ingredients used in the industry and different types of nanoparticles for tuning various functionality into the materials. These MINETs are processed at ambient conditions and show low shrinkage (<2%). The interconnected porous architecture of MINET is even preserved in molded micrometer-scale features and thus ensures mass transport through multiscale structures. It is shown that MINETs can be applied to create dense arrays of ionic liquid emitters for space propulsion applications. The cover image illustrates the use of this multiphase glue to rapidly create structures for future space propulsion. This research was funded by Espace Inc. and the Office of Naval Research. To learn more about this work, please see here.
