The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Structural reinforcement of microvascular networks using electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly with halloysite nanotubes

Structural reinforcement of microvascular networks using electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly with halloysite nanotubes
Structural reinforcement of microvascular networks using electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly with halloysite nanotubes

We demonstrate a method for tailoring local mechanical properties near channel surfaces of vascular structural polymers in order to achieve high structural performance in microvascular systems. While synthetic vascularized materials have been created by a variety of manufacturing techniques, unreinforced microchannels act as stress concentrators and lead to the initiation of premature failure. Taking inspiration from biological tissues such as dentin and bone, these mechanical deficiencies can be mitigated by complex hierarchical structural features near to channel surfaces. By employing electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly (ELbL) to deposit films containing halloysite nanotubes onto scaffold surfaces followed by matrix infiltration and scaffold removal, we are able to controllably deposit nanoscale reinforcement onto 200 micron diameter channel surface interiors in microvascular networks. High resolution strain measurements on reinforced networks under load verify that the halloysite reduces strain concentrations and improves mechanical performance.

1744-683X
544-548
Olugebefola, Solar C.
ab06f0d0-3940-423f-a31b-1bcb3184147e
Hamilton, Andrew R.
9088cf01-8d7f-45f0-af56-b4784227447c
Fairfield, Daniel J.
a880483a-6f71-4d4c-a3b4-a1d0b91c0f9d
Sottos, Nancy R.
a329a43c-958b-46fa-9a2c-cb53cd7e4d12
White, Scott R.
bcdc6d47-824d-4014-a8e2-58b48cdc8c99
Olugebefola, Solar C.
ab06f0d0-3940-423f-a31b-1bcb3184147e
Hamilton, Andrew R.
9088cf01-8d7f-45f0-af56-b4784227447c
Fairfield, Daniel J.
a880483a-6f71-4d4c-a3b4-a1d0b91c0f9d
Sottos, Nancy R.
a329a43c-958b-46fa-9a2c-cb53cd7e4d12
White, Scott R.
bcdc6d47-824d-4014-a8e2-58b48cdc8c99

Olugebefola, Solar C., Hamilton, Andrew R., Fairfield, Daniel J., Sottos, Nancy R. and White, Scott R. (2014) Structural reinforcement of microvascular networks using electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly with halloysite nanotubes. Soft Matter, 10 (4), 544-548. (doi:10.1039/c3sm52288a).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We demonstrate a method for tailoring local mechanical properties near channel surfaces of vascular structural polymers in order to achieve high structural performance in microvascular systems. While synthetic vascularized materials have been created by a variety of manufacturing techniques, unreinforced microchannels act as stress concentrators and lead to the initiation of premature failure. Taking inspiration from biological tissues such as dentin and bone, these mechanical deficiencies can be mitigated by complex hierarchical structural features near to channel surfaces. By employing electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly (ELbL) to deposit films containing halloysite nanotubes onto scaffold surfaces followed by matrix infiltration and scaffold removal, we are able to controllably deposit nanoscale reinforcement onto 200 micron diameter channel surface interiors in microvascular networks. High resolution strain measurements on reinforced networks under load verify that the halloysite reduces strain concentrations and improves mechanical performance.

Text
solugebefola-Small-paper_v3f_formatted - Accepted Manuscript
Download (8MB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 25 October 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 29 October 2013
Published date: 28 January 2014

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 413396
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/413396
ISSN: 1744-683X
PURE UUID: 783cb68d-9e91-4a44-8822-4f45c0f8f9a3
ORCID for Andrew R. Hamilton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4627-849X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 Aug 2017 16:31
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:59

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Solar C. Olugebefola
Author: Daniel J. Fairfield
Author: Nancy R. Sottos
Author: Scott R. White

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×