Mechanism and Mechanics in Supramolecular Polymers

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With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor Stephen L. Craig of Duke University. This research will experimentally characterize the molecular dynamic contributions to the mechanical properties of supramolecular polymers at interfaces and in macroscopic materials in the vicinity of phase transitions. The research will exploit a simple but powerful set of molecular tools in which the dynamic response of interactions can be tuned within a set of materials that are effectively identical in structure. The control over kinetics will be used first to study the dynamic contributions to bulk mechanical properties in supramolecular network sols and gels. Second, kinetic control will also provide a tool by which the contributions of crosslinks to the properties of grafted polymer brush thin films will be systematically studied. These studies will have long-term implications for the molecular design of new, environmentally responsive surfaces and materials.Broader Impacts. The scientific broader impacts of the proposed work arises from the potential to control responsive material properties in a quantitative and rational way. In particular, these studies might lead to the ability to engineer smart surface coatings, as small as only several nm in thickness, that completely change the mechanical interactions between a surface and its surroundings. Further broader impacts arise from the inclusion of mentored female high school students and minority undergraduates in the research program who would participate directly in the experimental work and its theoretical interpretation. These research activities will improve the long-term interest and success in the sciences for these students and, as a result, will help to further the diversity of the pool of domestic scientists.