Materials World Network: The Subtle Balance Between Rigidity and Swelling in Functional Nanoporous Polymers

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助的。这个材料世界网络项目整合并最大限度地利用了来自美国的两个研究小组和来自英国的三个研究小组相互关联但不同的专业领域，以在全球环境中培训本科生和研究生现代实验方法、状态方程模型开发和分子模拟。这些研究小组包括来自美国宾夕法尼亚州立大学的研究人员，以及英国曼彻斯特大学和卡迪夫大学的三个不同的小组。该项目的最终目的是通过实验和计算程序发展对纳米多孔聚合物基材料的结构-性质关系的基本理解，以用于利用其表面化学的应用，其范围可以从催化、传感器、气体存储到分离，从而产生足够的知识基础来开发具有纳米和宏观尺度可控性能的聚合物基多孔材料。这项研究依赖于研究团队的专业知识，该研究团队包括：a)纳米颗粒的合成和表征，包括微孔结构的X射线表征和不同分子被吸附时微孔环境的演化；B)在分子和宏观尺度上模拟流体/聚合物的性质，以了解它们的结构、形态和性质。这种专业知识的结合使我们能够产生知识和诀窍来开发适当的结构-性质关系，使我们能够利用NPs的刚性/柔软性和膨胀性来开发新技术。在这个项目的过程中，学生们通过与PI的密切互动，定期参加小组会议，以及与其他小组的讨论，接受了重要的培训。学生从与国际专家的全球合作研究中受益，这是对他们在国内机构接受的理论、模拟和/或实验方面的强化培训的补充。该奖项由数学和物理科学委员会材料研究部(聚合物计划和特殊计划办公室)资助。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This Materials World Network project integrates and maximizes the interrelated, but distinct, areas of expertise of two research groups from the United States and three research groups from the United Kingdom to train undergraduate and graduate students in modern methods of experimentation, equation-of-state model development, and molecular simulation in a global environment. These research groups include researchers from Penn State in the U.S., and three different groups at the University of Manchester and Cardiff University in the U.K. The ultimate aim of this project is to develop fundamental understanding of structure-property relationships for nanoporous polymer-based materials trough experimental and computational procedures for use in applications that exploit their surface chemistry, that can range from catalysis, sensors and gas storage to separations, and hence to generate a sufficient knowledge base to develop polymer-based porous materials with controlled properties at the nano and macroscopic scales.This research relies on the expertise of the research team that consists of: a) synthesis and characterization of NPs, including X-ray characterization of the microporous structure and evolution of the microporous environment when different molecules are adsorbed; b) modeling fluid/polymeric properties at molecular and macroscopic scales, to understand their structure, morphology, and properties. This combination of expertise allows us to generate the knowledge and know-how to develop appropriate structure-property relations that enables us to exploit the rigidity/softness relation and swelling properties of NPs to develop new technologies. Students are receiving significant training during the course of this program through close interactions with the PIs, regular attendance at group meetings, and discussions with other groups. Students are benefitting from the interaction and immersion in a global collaborative research with international experts that complement the intensive training in theory, simulation, and/or experiment that they receive at their home institutions.This award is funded by the Division of Materials Research in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (Polymers program and the Office of Special Programs).