(email: dmeng@mtu.edu)

 

Laboratory: Multi-Scale Energy Systems Laboratory (MuSES lab) (USA)

             Department of Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics

             Michigan Technological University

Address: 815 R. L. Smith Building

             1400 Townsend Drive

             Houghton, MI 49931, USA

 Tel: 906-4873551


Abstract

MuSES lab is working on EPD-based scalable nanomanufacturing for energy storage and conversion. Nanomaterials are found to significantly benefit many types of energy storage and conversion devices by providing huge surface reaction area, short diffusion paths, as well as excellent mechanical, electrical and electrochemical properties. However, it has been realized that the exciting performance of nanomaterials demonstrated in lab-scale experiments can lose its edge if the morphology cannot be well controlled and economically scaled up for macroscopic devices. To confront such challenges, we are develop a room-temperature, scalable process to deposit vertically-aligned nanoforests of 1D nanoparticles (e.g., carbon nanotubes and MnO2 nanorods) on large, flexible conductive surfaces in a continuous roll-to-roll-printing manner. The deposition process, named high-voltage electrophoretic deposition (HVEPD), has been enabled by three key elements: polarization by high voltage for alignment, low dispersion concentration of the nanoparticles to avoid aggregation, and simultaneous formation of a holding layer by electrodeposition. The process also shows the capability to tune surface wettability, especially stable, conductive, superhydrophobic surfaces without any polymer coating.

Dennis Desheng Meng is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics of Michigan Tech. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2005 along with the Outstanding Ph.D. Award. After he joined Michigan Tech in August 2007, Dr. Meng started the Multi-Scale Energy Systems Laboratory (MuSES lab) to work on various research projects related to micro- and nanotechnology for energy and sustainability, such as EPD-based scalable nanomanufacturing for energy storage and conversion, microfluidic fabrication of self-healing materials and self-adaptive thermal management for the batteries of electric vehicles

 

Selected publications

 

  • S. Santhanagopalan, F. Teng, and D. D. Meng, "High-Voltage Electrophoretic Deposition for Vertically Aligned Forests of One-Dimensional Nanoparticles," Langmuir, vol. 27, pp. 561-569, 2011.
  • S. Santhanagopalan, A. Balram, E. Lucas, F. Marcano, and D. D. Meng, "High Voltage Electrophoretic Deposition of Aligned Nanoforests for Scalable Nanomanufacturing of Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices," Key Engineering Materials, 2012 (in press).
  • X. Geng, P. Patel, A. Narain, and D. D. Meng, "A Self-Adaptive Thermal Switch Array for Rapid Temperature Stabilization under Various Thermal Power Inputs," J. Micromech. Microeng., vol. 21, pp. 085018, 2011 (highlighted by "IOPselect" and "JMM highlight 2011"）