NER: Engineering Stable Nanoscale Conducting / Insulating Polymer Interfaces: Combinatorial Exploratory Research

由于范德华相互作用，薄膜在100纳米以下的厚度会变得不稳定。这个问题在导电聚合物和半导体聚合物中尤为严重，因为它们的哈梅克常数很大。VDW不稳定性会导致脱湿，在纳米级薄膜加工中必须避免。然而，在这些系统中防止VDW不稳定的可靠方法尚未出现。未能开发出控制不稳定性的策略，严重限制了导电聚合物薄膜在纳米尺度上的应用。为了解决这一关键限制，本研究将探索一种稳定纳米级导电/绝缘膜双层的创新方法。研究计划及意义。纳米级导电聚合物器件需要导电/绝缘界面的多层结。由于Hamaker常数失配，这些连接处很可能发生VDW不稳定。本研究将开发一种探索性方法来防止聚合物双层导体/绝缘体界面上的VDW不稳定性。由于缺乏对纳米级导电聚合物润湿稳定性的研究和理论，导致该项目具有探索性和高风险的性质。在测试假设所需的许多样品中保持一致的底物化学性质的实验难度增加了风险。为了克服实验效率的限制，将采用高通量测量方法进行双层稳定性的可行性研究。具体目标：1)将确定防止VDW不稳定性所需的参数，用于模型双层薄膜系统：聚（3-十一烷基噻吩）（PUBT) /聚苯乙烯（PS）； 2）稳定性测量将与Hamaker常数模型进行比较，以确定其在预测纳米级双层稳定性方面的有效性。该提案工作将首次系统测量绝缘体/半导体和绝缘体/导体薄膜双层的VDW稳定性。这一探索将设置重要的限制，并证明在器件架构中结合纳米级导体/绝缘体结的可行性。教育计划及意义。PI的教育目标是增加乔治亚理工学院表面和胶体科学教学过程的内容、广度和包容性。为了满足这些需求，这项研究将补充PI的继续教育重点：*开发表面和胶体科学化学工程研究生课程*为本科工程课程提供互联网表面讲座示例*积极招募当地社区、少数民族、以及工程研究领域代表性不足的学生。

Thin films can become unstable at thicknesses below 100 nm, due to attractive van der Waals (VDW) interactions. This problem is particularly severe in conducting and semiconducting polymers, which have large Hamaker constants. VDW instability results in dewetting and must be avoided in nanoscale film processing. Yet, robust methods for preventing VDW instability in these systems have not emerged. A failure to develop strategies to control instability places severe limits on the use of conducting polymer thinfilms at nanoscale dimensions. To address this critical limitation, this research will explore an innovative method to stabilize nanoscale conducting / insulating film bilayers.Research Plan and Significance. Nanoscale conducting polymer devices require multilayered junctions of conducting / insulating interfaces. VDW instability is likely to occur at these junctions due to Hamaker constant mismatch. This research will develop an exploratory method to prevent VDW instability at polymer bilayer conductor / insulator interfaces.The lack of previous research and theory on nanoscale conductive polymer wetting stability leads to the exploratory, high-risk nature of this project. The risk is increased by the experimental difficulty in maintaining consistent substrate chemistry over the many samples needed to test hypotheses. To overcome this limitation in experimental efficiency, a high-throughput measurement method will be used for feasibility studies of bilayer stability.Specific Aims: 1) The parameters required to prevent VDW instability will be determined for a model bilayer thin film system: poly(3-undecybithiophene) (PUBT) / polystyrene (PS), and 2) Stability measurements will be compared to a Hamaker constant model to ascertain its effectiveness in predicting stability of nanoscale bilayers.Outcomes. The proposal work will provide the first systematic measurements of VDW stability of insulator/semiconductor and insulator/conductor thin film bilayers. This exploration will set important limitations and demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating nanoscale conductor / insulator junctions in device architectures.Educational Plan and Significance. The educational goal of the PI is to increase the content, breadth, and inclusiveness of the instructional process for surface and colloid science at Georgia Tech. To meet these needs this research will supplement the PI's continuing educational thrusts:* Development of a graduate course in surface and colloid science chemical engineering* Internet-available surface lecture examples for undergraduate engineering courses* Active recruitment of the local community, minority, and underrepresented students in engineering research.