Thermochemistry of Nanosintering
What if you could control the behavior of nanoparticles and nanostructures under heat treatment? This is what Professor Castro’s research group is looking for. Using specially designed thermochemical experiments, nanostructure characterization by TEM, SEM, BET, and others, we are currently designing a relationship between the interface energetics and nanosintering, nanostability, and phase transition, enabling a thermodynamic control of these phenomena. This work is supported by the NSF CAREER award.
Radiation Tolerance
Nanostructured materials are likely to play a large role in future nuclear reactors and radioactive waste storage due to their strength and potential resistance to structural damage from radiation. The goal of this project is to investigate nanomaterials with potential interest for nuclear components and establish the link between composition, interface thermodynamics, and radiation resistance, aiming to enable a better understanding of the nature of enhanced performance in nanocrystalline ceramics. This work is supported by the Early Career Research Program award, and MDI UCDavis-LANL.
Impact Resistant Composites
In this application-oriented research, impact dampening nanostructured composites are being developed using polymeric/ceramic/CNT and ceramic/ceramic/CNT. We have shown that mechanical impact energy can be dissipated during impact by converting it in useful electrical energy to be stored or simply grounded. This research is partially supported by NSF. If you or your company want to sponsor this project, please contact Prof. Castro.
