AME Seminar: Robert Y. Wang
Thursday, November 4, 2021 at 4:00 P.M.
Robert Y. Wang
Associate Professor
School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy
Arizona State University
"Heterogenous Liquid Metal Composites for Thermal Interface Materials"
AME Lecture Hall, Room S202
If joining by Zoom: 873 0364 5198
Abstract: Gallium-based liquid metals present an exciting opportunity for thermal interfaces materials because they are simultaneously thermally conductive due to their metallic nature and mechanically soft due to their liquid nature. However, these advantages come with associated challenges such as liquid metal reactivity/corrosivity, liquid metal pump out during thermal cycling, and a large phase space for structure-property-processing relationships. In this seminar, I present my group’s work on preserving and enhancing these advantages of liquid metals while also addressing their shortcomings. This includes methods to improve the thermal conductivity of liquid metals themselves as well as methods to use liquid metals to improve thermal transport in composite grease materials. Next, I show that an often ignored, but very crucial aspect, of working with liquid metal is the role of oxide formation during processing. This thin layer of liquid metal oxide spontaneously forms at the liquid metal-air interface and leads to a rich diversity of physical behaviors and capabilities. While this surface oxide frequently serves as an impediment to thermal transport, it can also be used to create diverse materials structures such as liquid metal foams and liquid metal emulsions.
Bio: Robert Wang is an associate professor in mechanical engineering and also serves on the graduate faculty for chemical engineering and materials science at Arizona State University. He obtained his B.S. degree at the University of California, Los Angeles and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of California, Berkeley. Afterward, he studied as a postdoctoral fellow at the Molecular Foundry in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research focuses on thermal management, thermal energy storage, thermal interface materials, thermochemical processes, thermoelectricity, colloidal nanocrystals, and nanocomposites. His work has been recognized by a Young Investigator Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.