DISCIPLINE - MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
DISCIPLINE – MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
TYPE OF STUDY – WORKSHOPS
A series of specialized workshops will allow the student to produce and modify the surface of a titanium-based material for potential application in medicine. In the first stage the student will be introduced to the method of producing materials – powder metallurgy, and will produce a projected alloy for potential use in medicine. The surface of the material will be modified by depositing a biocompatible coating using an electrochemical method. In the second stage, the student will be introduced to the basic methods of characterizing the structure, microstructure, porosity and basic properties of the prepared materials. The student will investigate the X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, stereology, scanning electron microscopy and corrosion resistance and analyze the results.
The dynamic progress in the field of liquid crystal displays continues to generate great interest in new mesogenic compounds. Thermotropic liquid crystals characterized by high order and a wide temperature range of mesophase occurrence are used in liquid crystal displays based on various switching principles. The most popular TN (Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal displays use compounds with positive dielectric anisotropy. Liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy are used to build displays working in the VA (Vertical Alignment mode). The optical and electrical properties of liquid crystal displays strongly depend on the molecular orientation of the liquid crystal, hence the exact determination of the order is extremely important from the point of view of applications. Information about the long-range ordering parameter was obtained on the basis of the anisotropy of absorption and light emission by the dopant molecules dissolved in the liquid crystal (“guest-host” effect). Doping of liquid crystals with non-mesogenic molecules exhibiting anisotropic absorption and fluorescent properties not only increases the functionality of such materials, but also creates additional research opportunities.
The aim of the exercise is to familiarize students with electro-optical, dielectic and spectroscopic methods in the study of liquid crystals. The exercise will include measurements of quantities important for the application of liquid crystals in LCD, such as: spontaneous polarization, switching time, and the influence of an electric field on the orientation of liquid crystal molecules. Samples of liquid crystal substances in the so-called electro-optical cells placed under a polarizing microscope equipped with a temperature control table with the possibility of connecting an electric field.
As part of the workshop, students will become familiar with the method of dielectric and infrared spectroscopy. Dielectric spectra will be measured as a function of temperature and frequency for a selected liquid crystal substance. The influence of the base field (constant electric field) on the relaxation processes occurring in the liquid crystal phases will also be investigated.
Students learn about the variety of liquid crystal phases, the method of preparing samples for measuring their properties and the basic measurements of the anisotropic properties of liquid crystals (dielectric permittivity, birefringence and IR absorbance).
The aim of the workshop will be to produce and characterize a selected high-entropy alloy.
A modern group of engineering materials known in the literature since 2004 are High Entropy Alloys (HEAs). By definition, HEAs are alloys with at least five elements in equilibrium atomic concentrations. For non-atomically equilibrium alloys, the element concentration should be within 5-35 atomic % range. High-entropy alloys exhibit excellent mechanical properties.
The research part of the workshop will include the preparation of selected chemical composition of the alloy, making the molding and obtaining the finished alloy by arc melting methods. The next stage of the workshop will be the analysis of the microstructure of the obtained material using the methods of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The final stage will be determination of the alloy mechanical properties by microhardness measurements.
Methods of material characterization
- X-ray methods of material analysis,
- magnetic methods of testing materials.
During the workshop, the student will select a material for the presented medical application (targeted design of medical materials), perform an analysis of basic physicochemical properties (chemical composition analysis, morphology imaging, strength analysis), prepare a report with a discussion of the obtained results.
Electron microscopy has been the research tool of choice of the last century. By using an electron beam, the structure of materials can be imaged on the micro and nanometer scales. In addition, the electron beam interacting with matter provides additional information about the structure of materials, such as local chemical composition. At the workshop, students will be introduced to modern methods of both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. They will learn about sample preparation methods and how to interpret the results obtained.
This course introduces the students to the practice calculations performed with Density Functional Theory (DFT) for selected one- and diatomic systems, e.g., silicon, iron, or gallium arsenide. In contrast, the theory will be only described as necessary to understand and perform correct calculations. DFT is a powerful tool that enables the structural, electric, optic, mechanic, and magnetic properties calculation of many atoms compounds.
After this course, the students should be able to:
- prepare initial calculation data: select a primitive cell based on crystallographic data, determine the optimal calculation parameter (do all convergence tests),
- recognize commonly used exchange-correlation functionals and categorize them,
- employe the energy optimization techniques,
- define crystal parameters,
- determine electronic and magnetic properties (band structure, energy gap, and the density of state) of different kinds of materials,
- comprehend the opportunities and challenges of DFT-based modeling in nowadays science.
A series of specialized workshops will allow the student to produce and modify the surface of a titanium-based material for potential application in medicine. In the first stage the student will be introduced to the method of producing materials – powder metallurgy, and will produce a projected alloy for potential use in medicine. The surface of the material will be modified by depositing a biocompatible coating using an electrochemical method. In the second stage, the student will be introduced to the basic methods of characterizing the structure, microstructure, porosity and basic properties of the prepared materials. The student will investigate the X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, stereology, scanning electron microscopy and corrosion resistance and analyze the results.
The dynamic progress in the field of liquid crystal displays continues to generate great interest in new mesogenic compounds. Thermotropic liquid crystals characterized by high order and a wide temperature range of mesophase occurrence are used in liquid crystal displays based on various switching principles. The most popular TN (Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal displays use compounds with positive dielectric anisotropy. Liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy are used to build displays working in the VA (Vertical Alignment mode). The optical and electrical properties of liquid crystal displays strongly depend on the molecular orientation of the liquid crystal, hence the exact determination of the order is extremely important from the point of view of applications. Information about the long-range ordering parameter was obtained on the basis of the anisotropy of absorption and light emission by the dopant molecules dissolved in the liquid crystal (“guest-host” effect). Doping of liquid crystals with non-mesogenic molecules exhibiting anisotropic absorption and fluorescent properties not only increases the functionality of such materials, but also creates additional research opportunities.
The aim of the exercise is to familiarize students with electro-optical, dielectic and spectroscopic methods in the study of liquid crystals. The exercise will include measurements of quantities important for the application of liquid crystals in LCD, such as: spontaneous polarization, switching time, and the influence of an electric field on the orientation of liquid crystal molecules. Samples of liquid crystal substances in the so-called electro-optical cells placed under a polarizing microscope equipped with a temperature control table with the possibility of connecting an electric field.
As part of the workshop, students will become familiar with the method of dielectric and infrared spectroscopy. Dielectric spectra will be measured as a function of temperature and frequency for a selected liquid crystal substance. The influence of the base field (constant electric field) on the relaxation processes occurring in the liquid crystal phases will also be investigated.
Students learn about the variety of liquid crystal phases, the method of preparing samples for measuring their properties and the basic measurements of the anisotropic properties of liquid crystals (dielectric permittivity, birefringence and IR absorbance).
The aim of the workshop will be to produce and characterize a selected high-entropy alloy.
A modern group of engineering materials known in the literature since 2004 are High Entropy Alloys (HEAs). By definition, HEAs are alloys with at least five elements in equilibrium atomic concentrations. For non-atomically equilibrium alloys, the element concentration should be within 5-35 atomic % range. High-entropy alloys exhibit excellent mechanical properties.
The research part of the workshop will include the preparation of selected chemical composition of the alloy, making the molding and obtaining the finished alloy by arc melting methods. The next stage of the workshop will be the analysis of the microstructure of the obtained material using the methods of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The final stage will be determination of the alloy mechanical properties by microhardness measurements.
Methods of material characterization
- X-ray methods of material analysis,
- magnetic methods of testing materials.
During the workshop, the student will select a material for the presented medical application (targeted design of medical materials), perform an analysis of basic physicochemical properties (chemical composition analysis, morphology imaging, strength analysis), prepare a report with a discussion of the obtained results.