Metal Redox Control of Polymer Properties

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This Research award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports work by Professors Tara Y. Meyer, William W. Clark, David H. Waldeck, and Lisa M. Weiland, at the University of Pittsburgh to carry out fundamental/basic studies on the discovery of electroplastic elastomeric materials whose bulk properties can be changed by the application of electrical energy. Despite the ability of the scientific community to create synthetic materials with mechanical properties that range from elastically flexible to stronger than steel, few materials exist that possess the ability to morph reversibly from one state to another and none use electrical energy to achieve the transformation. To address this need, composite materials comprising scaffold, polyelectrolyte and redox active metal centers are being prepared and studied. The long term impact, both economic and technological, of the development of this class of materials could be significant. The current paradigm of choosing materials with mechanical properties that match the need of the application could be supplanted in some cases with the idea of adjusting the mechanical properties of the material to match the application. Moreover, new applications that depend on the morphing ability of the composite could be envisioned: adaptive manipulators for robots, custom fitted safety or medical equipment, and universal adapters for mating surfaces and fittings. Additionally, this project also represents an outstanding training opportunity for students because of the rich combination of basic science and applied engineering that is inherent in the research. The collaborative research environment is designed to prepare these students for post-graduate jobs that involve the translation of fundamental science into practical technology. The interdisciplinary investigative team which is diverse in both discipline (two chemists and two mechanical engineers) and gender (two women and two men) has expanded further to include high school students, undergraduates and graduate students in the research with particular efforts aimed at underrepresented groups.