Gel-Processing as a Route to High Performance Oriented Electronic and Optical Polymer Materials: Design and Synthesis on the Supramolecular Length Scale

该奖项是为了更新以前在加州大学-圣巴巴拉的材料研究小组资助（DMR 8703399）下支持的研究。该小组的研究重点是利用凝胶加工技术在超分子长度尺度上设计和合成多功能、高性能的电子和光学聚合物共混物。这些凝胶的形态正在确定使用X射线衍射，光学，扫描和电子显微镜，机械和电气测量，光谱，发光和光诱导吸收。正在研究的聚合物包括超高分子量聚乙烯、聚乙烯醇、聚丙烯腈、未共混的共轭聚合物体系和相分离的高度取向的聚合物共混物，如聚苯胺/聚（对苯撑二甲酰胺）。材料被加工成纤维、薄膜和导电泡沫，并注意控制形态、相稳定性和亚稳分解。该研究是多学科的，结合了凝聚态物理，合成化学，理论和聚合物科学。该补助金提供了理想的机制，培养学生合成，加工和表征聚合物，与所有用于研究聚合物的科学方法和方法的相互作用。

This award is for the renewal of research previously supported under a Materials Research Group grant (DMR 8703399) at the University of California - Santa Barbara. The research of the group focuses on the design and synthesis on the supermolecular length scale of multi-functional, high performance electronic and optical polymer blends using gel processing. The morphology of these gels is being determined using x-ray diffraction, optical, scanning, and electron microscopy, mechanical, and electrical measurements, optical spectroscopy, luminescence, and photo-induced absorption. Polymers being investigated include ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylonitrile, unblended conjugated polymer systems, and phase-segregated highly oriented polymer blends such as polyaniline/poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide). Materials are being processed into fibers, thin films, and conducting foams taking care to control the morphology, phase stability, and spinodal decomposition. The research is multi-disciplinary, combining condensed matter physics, synthetic chemistry, theory, and polymer science. This grant provides the ideal mechanism to train students to synthesize, process and characterize polymers, with the interaction of all of the scientific approaches and methods used to study polymers.