Strategies towards one pot synthesis of 3D core-shell superstructures classified as mechanically strong aerogels

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This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professor Nicholas Leventis at the University of Missouri-Rolla to simplify processing of polymer crosslinked aerogels by deconvoluting the crosslinking chemistry from the gelation chemistry. The surface of the skeletal nanoparticles will be decorated with bi-dentate free radical initiators rendering the free-radical crosslinking chemistry independent of the gelation chemistry, so that all reagents will be included together from the beginning, shortening the length of the whole process. In a second aim, the surface of the silica nanoparticles will be decorated with strained olefins (e.g., norbornene) and Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) will be used to crosslink particles together with norbornene, norbornadiene or dicyclopentadiene, which will be included in the sol. Crosslinking of these types will be relevant not only to engineering plastics (e.g., polyimides and polycarbonates), but also to biocompatible (e.g., polyvinylpyrrolidone) and biodegradable (e.g., soybean oil) polymers for possible medical and disposable applications. All materials will be prepared by systematically varying all preparation parameters using a statistical Design-of-Experiments approach, and will be characterized exhaustively by chemical and physical methods. Mechanical characterization, modeling and simulations will be conducted by Professor Hongbing Lu at the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of Oklahoma State University via a no-cost collaboration. This project will create an interdisciplinary intellectual environment for the education of graduate and undergraduate students in materials chemistry. Both PIs have worked with undergraduate minority and female students and actively participate in programs such as OURE (Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience) designed to increase the participation of women and minorities in sciences and engineering. Since the project addresses immediate needs for strong lightweight materials, short-term benefits are envisioned through commercialization of the technology, and through applications in the National Defense, Homeland Security, and the Space Program.