Inorganic/Organic Hybrids with Controlled Topology and Composition

以前在国家科学基金会支持下进行的研究(DMR-9871450)导致了明确定义的有机/无机杂化材料，例如与聚(二甲基硅氧烷)的嵌段和接枝共聚物，含有均聚物和嵌段共聚物的POSS，以及固定在弯曲和平面上的明确定义的有机聚合物。这些材料是通过受控自由基聚合(CRP)过程制备的，主要使用原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)。虽然已经报道了将有机聚合物整合到无机基质中的各种方法，但普遍整合定义明确的(Co)聚合物的稳健方法是非常可取的。ATRP的多功能性是制备杂化材料的一个显著优势，因为可以对无机基质进行简单的官能化处理，以便将定义明确的(共)聚合物引入这些材料。这种方法的潜力对参与合成聚合物、胶体、纳米复合材料和平板表面改性的研究人员来说意义深远。主要的策略是将定义明确的有机均聚物和嵌段共聚物共价结合到无机底物(即聚合物、颗粒、表面)上，从而实现有机和无机组分之间的精确界面控制。特别是，不同组成和摩尔质量的嵌段共聚物将使用CRP技术与无机底物结合。通过利用不相容嵌段共聚物在无机材料上的自组装特性，将制备出结构日益复杂的杂化纳米复合材料。

Previous research conducted under NSF support (DMR-9871450) resulted in well-defined organic/inorganic hybrid materials such as block and graft copolymers with poly(dimethylsiloxane), POSS containing homopolymers and block copolymers, and well-defined organic polymers tethered to curved and flat surfaces. These materials were prepared by controlled radical polymerization (CRP) processes, primarily using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP).%%%While various methods to incorporate organic polymers to inorganic substrates have been reported, robust methods to universally incorporate well-defined (co)polymers are highly desirable. The versatility of ATRP is a significant advantage to prepare hybrids, as facile functionalization of inorganic substrates can be performed to enable introduction of well-defined (co)polymers to these materials. The potential of such an approach is far reaching to researchers involved in synthesis of polymers, colloids, nanocomposites and modification of flat surfaces. The primary strategy is to covalently bond well-defined organic homopolymer and block copolymers to inorganic substrates (i.e., polymers, particles, surfaces) enabling precise interfacial control between organic and inorganic components. In particular, block copolymers of varying composition and molar mass will be combined with inorganic substrates using CRP techniques. Hybrid nanocomposites of increasing structural complexity will be prepared by utilizing the self-assembly properties of incompatible block copolymers attached to inorganic materials.