3D Printed Chromophoric Sensors

Eight chromophoric indicators are incorporated into Sylgard 184 to develop sensors that are fabricated either by traditional methods such as casting or by more advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing. The sensors exhibit specific color changes when exposed to acidic species, basic species, or elevated temperatures. Additionally, material properties are investigated to assess the chemical structure, Shore A Hardness, and thermal stability. Comparisons between the casted and 3D printed sensors show that the sensing devices fabricated with the advanced manufacturing technique are more efficient because the color changes are more easily detected

The Nevada State Undergraduate Research Journal - Volume 2

The Nevada State Undergraduate Research Journal (NSURJ) is here to encourage, recognize, and celebrate undergraduate research in every field by being an outlet for those students who go above and beyond their required studies to increase the human capacity for knowledge. Nevada is seeing a rise in students taking the initiative to conduct research and analyze the world around them and as such Nevada needs a research journal that caters to undergraduate research in a professional manner that sets a high standard and upholds the integrity of the highest journals

The Nevada State Undergraduate Research Journal - Volume 1

NSURJ was established by the ASUN in recent years to provide an opportunity for all current undergraduate students in the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) and Sierra Nevada College (SNC) to submit to an interdisciplinary undergraduate research journal

Development of Antimicrobial PLA Composites for Fused Filament Fabrication

In addition to possessing the desirable properties of being a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer fabricated from renewable resources, poly (lactic acid) (PLA) has useful mechanical and thermal attributes that has enabled it to be one of the most widely-used plastics for medicine, manufacturing, and agriculture. Yet, PLA composites have not been heavily explored for use in 3D-printing applications, and the range of feasible materials for the technology is limited, which inhibits its potential growth and industry adoption. In this study, tunable, multifunctional antimicrobial PLA composite filaments for 3D-printing have been fabricated and tested via chemical, thermal, mechanical, and antimicrobial experiments. Thermally stable antimicrobial ceramics, ZnO and TiO2, were used as fillers up to 30 wt%, and poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) was used as a plasticizer to tune the physical material properties. Results demonstrate that the PLA composite filaments exhibit the thermal phase behaviors and thermal stability suitable for 3D-printing. Additionally, PEG can be used to tune the mechanical properties while not affecting the antimicrobial efficacy that ZnO and TiO2 imbue

Long-Term Thermal Aging of Modified Sylgard 184 Formulations

Primarily used as an encapsulant and soft adhesive, Sylgard 184 is an engineered, high-performance silicone polymer that has applications spanning microfluidics, microelectromechanical systems, mechanobiology, and protecting electronic and non-electronic devices and equipment. Despite its ubiquity, there are improvements to be considered, namely, decreasing its gel point at room temperature, understanding volatile gas products upon aging, and determining how material properties change over its lifespan. In this work, these aspects were investigated by incorporating well-defined compounds (the Ashby–Karstedt catalyst and tetrakis (dimethylsiloxy) silane) into Sylgard 184 to make modified formulations. As a result of these additions, the curing time at room temperature was accelerated, which allowed for Sylgard 184 to be useful within a much shorter time frame. Additionally, long-term thermal accelerated aging was performed on Sylgard 184 and its modifications in order to create predictive lifetime models for its volatile gas generation and material properties

Chemical Design Process for Production of 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid via a Hydroxymethylfurfural Pathway

The topic of this senior design project was provided by Micromidas Inc. (Sacramento, CA) and was completed under the advisement of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. The problem statement – proposed by Micromidas’ CEO and Head of Engineering – requested that the team design a chemical process to produce a chemical precursor to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), an important chemical used in the production of plastics. The intermediate precursor was to be derived from fructose – a sustainable feed obtainable from biomass – and was selected by the team to be hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). The chemical process designed was based off methods from scientific literature, scaled up using chemical engineering techniques, and analyzed using CHEMCAD simulation software. Both a base case process and alternative case process were developed and an economic comparison was performed