Materials Research Group - Structure, Dynamics & Transitionsof Liquid Crystal Polymers

该奖项是对凯斯西储大学材料研究小组的续签(授予液晶聚合物的结构、动力学和转变方面的研究)。该小组研究的主要目标是了解从气动柱状六方相和含有这些相的共聚物生成包含完全延伸链的晶体结构的物理和化学要求。研究的重点是具有可控分子结构的聚合物的合成，预测这些聚合物具有柱状相的气动结构，重点是主链聚酯和聚醚，其中不对称的介元通过柔性间隔物连接。这项工作还包括合成具有圆柱形构象的超分子自组装聚合物，基于包含不同介晶态和玻璃态链段的嵌段共聚物，制备和表征微相分离的超分子组件。这些聚合物的结构和动力学由X射线和中子散射、静态和动态光散射、荧光能量转移光谱和核磁共振光谱确定。电、磁、光和介电性能也正在确定中。在实验工作的同时，还对中间相的分子组装、动力学、相变、流变学和其他物理性质进行了理论分析。

This award is for the renewal of the Materials Research Group at Case Western Reserve University (Grant of structure, dynamics, and transitions of liquid crystalline polymers. The primary goal of the research by the group is to understand the physical and chemical requirements for generation of crystalline structures containing fully extended chains from neumatic columnar hexagonal phases and copolymers containing these phases. The research emphasis is on synthesis of polymers, having controlled molecular structure, which are predicted to have neumatic of columnar phases, with focus on main chain polyesters and polyethers in which asymmetric mesogens are linked by flexible spacers. The work also includes synthesis of supramolecular self- assembling polymers designed to have cylindrical conformations, preparation and characterization of micro-phase-separated supramolecular assemblies, based on block co-polymers that contain different mesomorphic and glassy segments. The structure and dynamics of these polymers is being determined by x-ray and neutron scattering, static and dynamic light scattering, fluorescence energy transfer spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The electronic, magnetic, optical, and dielectric properties are also being determined. Theoretical analyses of the molecular assembly, dynamics, phase transitions, rheology and other physical properties of the mesophases is also being done in parallel with the experimental effort.