Multifunctional Spacecraft Coatings via Nanostructuring of Materials in Controlled Porosity Medium

The goal of the proposed research is to develop an advanced technology for producing lightweight, robust multifunctional spacecraft coatings with both sensing and surface protection capabilities in a single technological process. This research addresses the critical need for innovative technologies that enable the nanoscale structure control in advanced materials for space applications. The state-of-the-art technologies to produce high-quality aerospace materials are predominantly based on top-down approaches and offer a very limited structure control when characteristic microstructure dimensions approach 100nm. This proposal seeks to explore a novel approach for the synthesis of advanced materials with the atomic-scale control over the size of periodic features on the sub-30 nm scale. The key innovative aspect of this research is the development of a technique for the confined growth of spatially separated nanostructures in a porous host template. This template, an array of cylindrical pores, will be fabricated via biologically inspired hierarchical self-assembly of organic surfactant molecules in the presence of inorganic charged species. Layers of nanostructured functional materials will be sequentially grown inside the pores to form a periodic sensor array on the bottom and nanostructured protective coatings on the top of the coating. The proposed technique is general and can be applied to various types of aerospace structures from nanoelectronics to selective frame reinforcement.