Mechanical Properties and Their Time-Temperature Dependence in Fabricated Polymeric Nanostructures

这项研究的重点是确定塑料的硬度和强度，当它们被制成塑料分子本身大小的结构时，塑料分子的直径只有几十纳米。这项研究还将确定温度和时间如何改变这些机械性能。以前进行这些测量的努力并不准确和可靠。为什么需要测量这些特性？这是因为用于制成品的结构需要坚固耐用。但当这些结构非常小的时候呢？纳米大小？预计它们的特性将与大型结构的特性大不相同。合作者能够进行这些测量，是因为他们开发了新技术。技术是基于极小的物质元素吗？纳米技术？人们有望改善医疗保健、减少污染、在不使用产生温室气体的燃料的情况下生产能源，以及加快计算机速度等。但很快，廉价可靠地生产坚固、稳定的纳米设备的方法将成为关键障碍。这项研究中的新测量技术将需要使新兴的纳米技术成为可能。加州大学欧文分校和国家标准与技术研究所的合作者有大量的行业分支机构，他们将通过研讨会和研讨会了解这项研究的结果。从研究中学到的新知识将被纳入加州大学欧文分校现有的本科生和研究生课程，并将直接和迅速地使许多学生受益。

The research focuses on the determination of stiffness and strength of plastics when they are made into structures the size of the plastic molecules themselves, which are just a few tens of nanometers in diameter. The research will also determine how temperature and time change these mechanical properties. Previous efforts to make these measurements have not been done with accuracy and reliability. Why do these properties need to be measured? That's because structures that are used in manufactured products need to be strong and durable. But when these structures are extremely small ? nanometer-sized ? their properties are expected to be quite different from those of large structures. The collaborators can make these measurements because of new techniques that they have developed.Technology based on extremely small material elements ? nanotechnology ? hold promise of improving healthcare, reducing pollution, producing energy without using fuels that produce green house gases, and speed up computers, etc. But soon methods to produce robust, stable nanometer-sized devices cheaply and reliably will become critical barriers. The new measurement techniques in this research will be needed to enable emerging forms of nanotechnology. The collaborators, at the University of California, Irvine, and at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, have a large number of industrial affiliates which will learn about the results of this research through workshops and seminars. New knowledge learned from the research will be incorporated into existing undergraduate and graduate courses at UC Irvine and will directly and quickly benefit many students.