title: Porous Materials with Tunable Structure and Mechanical Properties via Templated Layer-by-Layer Assembly.
abstract: The deposition of stiff and strong coatings onto porous templates offers a novel strategy for fabricating macroscale materials with controlled architectures at the micro- and nanoscale. Here, layer-by-layer assembly is utilized to fabricate nanocomposite-coated foams with highly customizable properties by depositing polymer-nanoclay coatings onto open-cell foam templates. The compressive mechanical behavior of these materials evolves in a predictable manner that is qualitatively captured by scaling laws for the mechanical properties of cellular materials. The observed and predicted properties span a remarkable range of density-stiffness space, extending from regions of very soft elastomer foams to very stiff, lightweight honeycomb and lattice materials.
authors: School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Queen's University Belfast , Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AH, United Kingdom.
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Ziminska
authors: Centre for Medical Engineering Research, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Dublin City University , Stokes Building, Collins Avenue, Dublin 9, Ireland.|Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Dublin 2, Ireland.|School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast , 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom.
authors: Nicholas
authors: N
authors: Dunne
authors: School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Queen's University Belfast , Ashby Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AH, United Kingdom.
authors: Andrew R
authors: AR
authors: Hamilton
keywords: foams; layer-by-layer assembly; mechanical properties; polymer nanoclay composites; porous materials