Tailored Interfaces with Amphiphilic Polymers

这是明尼苏达大学、普林斯顿大学和阿拉巴马大学三方合作的提议，他们在合成化学和材料科学方面拥有不同但相互促进的专业知识，以获得两亲性聚合物分散剂的界面物理化学所需的信息。具体方法是研究分子量、化学结构、聚合物结构和其他可能用于定制两亲性聚合物分散剂的因素的系统变化对决定胶体分散体宏观性质的相互作用的直接影响。研究两亲嵌段共聚物吸附层分子特征的系统变化对两亲嵌段共聚物宏观层间相互作用力的影响。具有明确分子量和结构的聚合物分子将通过阴离子聚合合成，并以嵌段分子量、组成和结构为特征。将直接测量吸附层之间的力。利用自洽场理论对测量的相互作用剖面进行理论建模。随着相互作用的测量和定性建模的确定，宏观分散特性的响应可以直接与分散剂的分子特性相关联。

This proposal is for a three-way collaboration between U. Minnesota, Princeton, and U. of Alabama, with different but mutually enhancing expertise in synthetic chemistry and materials science, to obtain needed information on the interfacial physical chemistry of amphophilic polymer dispersants. The specific approach is to study the direct effects of systematic variations os molecular weight, chemical structure, polymer architecture, and other factors which might possibly be used for tailoring amphophilic polymer dispersants, on the interactions that determine the macroscopic properties of colloidal dispersions. Effects of systematic variation of molecular characteristics of adsorbed layers of amphophilic block copolymers on the interaction forces between two such macroscopic layers will be studied. Polymers molecules with well-defined molecular weights and architectures will be synthesized by anionic polymerization and characterized with respect to block molecular weights, compositions, and architectures. Direct measurement of forces between adsorbed layers will be made. Theoretic modelling of the measured interaction profiles using self-consistent field theory will be carried out. With the measured and qualitatively modelled interactions having been determined, the response of macroscopic dispersion properties can be related in a direct way to molecular characteristics of the dispersion agents.