Synthesis of Ceramic Powders of Tailored Size and Morphology
Funding: U.S. Army Medical and Materiel Command through the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program and the Indiana 21st Century Fund
Postdoc: Mark Z. Zhang
Graduate Students: Gabriel L. Converse and Timothy Conrad
Undergraduate Intern: Matthew Meagher
Chemical solution syntheses include environmentally benign and highly controllable methods for precipitating inorganic crystals. Nanoparticles are of interest for use as contrast agents in biomedical imaging. The use of anisometric (e.g., whiskers or plate-like) and/or nano-scale reinforcement particles is well-known to enhance the mechanical properties in engineered composites. Many natural biocomposites, such as bone and teeth, use biochemical processes to control the size and shape of the mineral phase that reinforces an organic phase. The objectives of this work are to 1) examining processing effects on the size and morphology of precipitates and 2) delineate governing reaction mechanisms in order to improve process control.
