Application of Dynamic Spectroscopic Methods to the Rheo-Optical Characterization of Polymers

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The intellectual merit of this work is three-fold: 1) it will provide molecular information on structural reorientation and reorganization in polymers on a time scale not previously available from any other characterization technique; 2) it will advance our understanding of the fundamental molecular mechanism of polymer elastic and inelastic deformation and fracture; and, 3) it will provide a correlation between polymer chemical architecture and deformation properties that can be used as a template for engineering materials with enhanced properties. In addition, the knowledge from this study will be transferable to other "soft" materials areas including bio-inspired and bio-derived materials, many of which are used in cell scaffold and tissue engineering applications. The broader impact of the proposed research activities extends to the students and postdoctoral fellows that will be trained to use state-of-the-art spectroscopic instruments to obtain time-resolved information on film drawing and fracture that will lead to an understanding of the physics associated with polymer deformation. From a more practical perspective, the use of most films in commercial processes from microelectronics to food packaging involves film orientation to produce improved mechanical and electronic properties. An understanding of the correlation between structure development, processing history and properties would provide a template by which "value" can be added to commodity materials through advanced processing techniques, an impact that would be pervasive across many industrial sectors.