U.S.-Germany Cooperative Research: Structural Dynamics and Control of Non-Equilibrium Polymer Layers

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0217721TiltonThis award supports Robert Tilton and a student from Carnegie Mellon University in a collaboration with Per Claesson of the Department of Chemistry at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. The project will focus on manipulation of the molecular-level structure of adsorbed polymer layers on solid surfaces. The manipulation is achieved by introducing surfactants hat bind with varying affinities to different segments of the polymer as it adsorbs. Particular attention will be paid to non-equilibrium configurations in the adsorbed layers and to the dynamics of their transformations. The goal is to develop techniques to design long-lived metastable layer configurations that are optimized for technological applications. The collaboration combines the distinct, but highly complementary, approaches taken by the Swedish and US groups: the US side uses optical and spectroscopic methods to characterize composition and micro-environmental aspects of adsorbed layers and the Swedish side uses surface force measurement to characterize the structure and mechanics of the layers. A key aspect of the collaboration is the initiation of a graduate student exchange between the US and Swedish groups.