Ice-Tempered Hybrid Materials
A metal-polymer composite scaffold includes metal particles coupled with polymer binder, the scaffold having regions of aligned porosity with a gradient. In a particular embodiment, the metal particles include stainless steel. The metal particles have sizes equal to or smaller than 3 μm. The scaffold has Young's modulus is below 950 MPa. The polymer binder includes chitosan and gelatin. The composite also includes ethanol. The composite has porosity of at least 70%. Systems and methods for producing such metal polymer composite scaffold are also provided.
1 . A metal-polymer composite scaffold, comprising:
metal particles coupled with polymer binder, the scaffold having regions of aligned porosity with a gradient.
2 . The metal-polymer composite scaffold of claim 1 , wherein the metal particles comprise stainless steel.
3 . The metal-polymer composite scaffold of claim 2 , wherein the metal particles have sizes equal to or smaller than 3 mm.
4 . The metal-polymer composite scaffold of claim 3 , wherein the scaffold has Young's modulus is below 950 MPa.
5 . The metal-polymer composite scaffold of claim 1 , wherein the polymer binder comprises chitosan and gelatin.
6 . The metal-polymer composite scaffold of claim 1 , wherein the composite comprises ethanol.
7 . The metal-polymer composite scaffold of claim 1 , wherein the composite has a porosity of at least 70%.
8 . A ceramic-polymer composite, comprising:
alumina; and
polymer binder, the composite having regions of aligned porosity with a gradient.
9 . The ceramic-polymer composite of claim 8 , wherein the composite has a porosity of at least 90%.
10 . The ceramic-polymer composite of claim 8 , wherein the polymer binder comprises chitosan and gelatin.
11 . The ceramic-polymer composite of claim 8 , wherein the alumina is in a form of particles or platelets.
12 . The ceramic-polymer composite of claim 11 , wherein the composite formed with the alumina in the form of platelets has less shrinkage and improved yield strength and Young's modulus than a ceramic-polymer composite formed with the alumina in the form of particles.
13 . The ceramic-polymer composite of claim 11 , wherein the alumina particles have diameters in the range of a few hundred nms.
14 . The ceramic-polymer composite of claim 11 , wherein the alumina particles have diameters in the range of approximately 10 μm.
15 . The ceramic-polymer composite of claim 11 , wherein the alumina particles comprise a first portion of particles with diameters in the range of a few hundred nms and a second portion of particles with diameters in the range of approximately 10 μm
16 . A multi-functional polymer-ceramic composite, the composite comprising:
glass beads; and
polymer binder; the composite having regions of aligned porosity with a gradient.
17 . The multi-functional polymer-ceramic composite of claim 16 , wherein the glass beads are selected from a group consisted of hollow beads, solid beads, and flakes.
18 . The multi-functional polymer-ceramic composite of claim 16 , wherein the polymer binder comprises chitosan.
19 . The multi-functional polymer-ceramic composite of claim 16 , wherein the composite has a reflectivity above 80% in a visible and IR spectra ranging from 250 nm to 2500 nm.
20 . The multi-functional polymer-ceramic composite of claim 16 , wherein the composite has thermal conductivity below 0.1 W*m−1K−1.
21 . The multi-functional polymer-ceramic composite of claim 16 , wherein the glass beads have sizes ranging from 2 μm to 25 μm.