Prof. Yanqiu Zhu | 朱艳秋 [University of Exeter, UK]

Title: Investigate the Dynamic Behavior of Fullerene-like Nano structured Materials

Time: 10:00 - 11:00 AM, Thursday, October 19, 2017

Place: Conference room 410, HPSTAR (Shanghai)

Host: Toshimori Sekine

Abstract

This talk will focus on investigations of the dynamic performance of various Fullerene-like cage structures, under shockwave impacts, using several borrowed techniques that had not been attempted in traditional materials research area. An interesting link between two seemingly far away subject areas, High Pressure and Nanomaterials, will be established to achieve new understandings.  

Fullerene and Fullerene-like nanomaterials (including their cousin carbon and WS2 nanotubes) are characterised by their typical close-caged structural features, and have been studied intensively in the widest possible subject areas under or close to ambient conditions, due to their numerous extremely attractive physical, chemical, optical and in particular their tribological and mechanical properties that made them highly appealing for the construction of advanced composites.  However, the full potentials of these intriguing nanostructured materials, especially under dynamic conditions, have yet to be understood, because current materials characterisation techniques are mainly focusing on static ambient conditions. As a promising filler to enhance various matrices to create composites, some composites will be involved in applications where dynamic behaviour is essential. It is obvious that excellent static performance of a material does not always translate to high dynamic performance. Therefore, to establish new ways that allow us to investigate and understand the behaviour of these Fullerene-like nanoscale cages and their actual roles in a matrix is of scientifically importance.

Starting from the investigation of carbon nanotubes under shockwaves, using shock recovery technique, we will move on to study the dynamic properties of the WS2 inorganic Fullerene-like nanostructures, we will then try to understand the exact roles of these WS2 nanoscale cages within a model Al matrix under high speed impacts, by using two in-situ techniques, to achieve an unprecedented understanding on the shock-absorbing mechanism.

Biography of the Speaker:

Research and Academic Career:

Professor, Chair of Functional Materials

College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences

University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK

Associate Professor and Reader in Nanomaterials (Jan 2008-July 2010)

Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK

EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow (Dec 2003 – Nov 2008)

Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK

Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow (Apr 1997- Nov 2003)

Fullerene Science Centre

School of Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science

University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QJ, UK

Supervisors: Professor Sir H W Kroto, Dr. D R M Walton

COE Research Fellow of Japanese Science and Technology Agency (1st Aug. 1996 - 31st March 1997)

Advanced Materials Laboratory

National Institute for Materials Science

Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, JAPAN

Supervisor: Prof. T. Sekine