Characterization of hydrophobic nanoporous particle liquids for energy absorption

Abstract

Recently, the development of hydrophobic nanoporous technologies has drawn increased attention, especially for the applications of energy absorption and impact protection. Although significant amount of research has been conducted to synthesis and characterize materials to protect structures from impact damage, the tradition methods focused on converting kinetic energy to other forms, such as heat and cell buckling. Due to their high energy absorption efficiency, hydrophobic nanoporous particle liquids (NPLs) are one of the most attractive impact mitigation materials. During impact, such particles directly trap liquid molecules inside the non-wetting surface of nanopores in the particles. The captured impact energy is simply stored temporarily and isolated from the original energy transmission path. In this paper we will investigate the energy absorption efficiency of combinations of silica nanoporous particles and with multiple liquids. Inorganic particles, such as nanoporous silica, are characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Small molecule promoters, such as methanol and ethanol, are introduced to the prepared NPLs. Their effects on the energy absorption efficiency are studied in this paper. NPLs are prepared by dispersing the studied materials in deionized water. Energy absorption efficiency of these liquids are experimentally characterized using an Instron mechanical testing frame and in-house develop stainless steel hydraulic cylinder system.