CAREER: Development of "Smart" Structural Nanocomposites Based on Interfacial Coupling and Local Field Enhancement

该学院早期职业发展（Career）研究基金计划提供资金，通过利用纳米级界面日益重要的作用，研究聚合物纳米复合材料的机电响应。本研究将探讨偶极基团和离子基团在稳定纳米包裹体分散、决定其取向和影响其在宿主聚合物中的渗透网络中的作用。纳米复合材料介观结构的控制将通过偶极子的存在和浓度、纳米包裹体的性质和聚合物的形态来完成。此外，纳米包裹体和聚合物官能团之间的相互作用将被调整以产生诱导极化或永久极化，从而导致电学、机械、光学和热性能之间的耦合。通过探索纳米复合材料中产生的现象响应，将理论理解与微观结构和传感/驱动特性联系起来。该职业规划的教育部分有两个主要项目，将正在进行的研究与以学生为中心的课程和基于建构主义教学法的指导项目联系起来。第一个项目涉及课程修订和设计的本科课程和研究生课程分别。第二个项目“SMARTGirls”是一个多层次的指导项目，旨在鼓励贫困农村地区的高中女生从事科学和工程方面的职业。该基金的中心任务是将实验技术和理论方法结合起来，深入了解在精心选择的纳米复合材料系统中包裹体-包裹体、包裹体-基质和包裹体-电场的相互作用。预期的好处是，对纳米包裹体和聚合物之间的界面相互作用的基本理解将构成聚合物纳米复合材料功能性能优化的重大飞跃。具有多种功能的结构材料具有广泛的技术影响。该研究计划旨在进一步了解这些类型的材料，并推进我们对纳米内含物/聚合物相互作用的理解，以控制自我传感和驱动，同时保持轻质，强度和耐用性。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) research grant proposes to provide funding to investigate the electromechanical responses in polymer nanocomposites by exploiting the increasingly dominant role of interfaces at the nanoscale. The proposed research will explore the role of dipolar and ionic groups in stabilizing dispersion of nanoinclusions, dictating their orientation and affecting their percolation network in the host polymer. Control of the nanocomposite mesostructure will be accomplished through the presence and concentration of dipoles, nature of nanoinclusions, and morphology of the polymer. Further, the interaction between nanoinclusions and the polymeric functional groups will be tuned to generate either an induced or a permanent polarization, resulting in coupling between electrical, mechanical, optical and thermal properties. A theoretical understanding will be developed to relate the microstructure to structural and sensing/actuation properties by exploring the resulting phenomenological responses in the nanocomposites. The educational component of this CAREER plan has two main projects that link the on-going research with student-centered curriculum and mentoring projects based on a constructivist pedagogy. The first project involves curriculum revision and design of an undergraduate course and a graduate course, respectively. The second project "SMARTGirls" is a multilayered mentoring program to encourage high school girls from underprivileged rural areas to pursue careers in science and engineering. The central task of the grant combines experimental techniques and theoretical approaches to gain insight on inclusion-inclusion, inclusion-matrix, and inclusion-electric field interactions in judiciously selected nanocomposite systems. The expected benefit is that a fundamental understanding of interfacial interactions between nanoinclusions and polymers would constitute a major leap toward the development of polymer nanocomposites optimized for a functional performance. Structural materials with multiple functionalities have broad technological impact. This research plan aims to further the fundamental knowledge of these types of materials and advance our understanding of nanoinclusions/polymer interaction to control self-sensing and actuation while maintaining lightweight, strength and durability.