New Hydrogen Bonding Modules for Supramolecular Polymer Chemistry

在这个由化学部门的大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，伊利诺伊大学的Steven Zimmerman将利用超分子聚合物化学的工具创建一个实用的纳米级粘附促进剂系统。该方法是进一步扩展多个氢键单元的工具箱，并开发具有这些单元的聚合物和表面功能化的一般方法。粘附促进剂在宏观、微观和纳米水平上将两个表面粘附在一起的能力将被评估，以及吸引力的可逆性和自愈性。更广泛的影响包括培养本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员，通过将女性研究人员纳入该项目扩大参与范围，并继续为伊利诺伊大学化学系的urm建立一个夏季桥梁项目。这项工作将增强我们对高分子胶粘剂和复合材料的基本认识。粘合剂和复合材料在无数方面改善了人类的生活，例如，后者被广泛应用于飞机、悍马和航天飞机等高性能产品中。需要更先进的材料，包括可逆胶和具有更高强度和抗分层性的复合材料。例如，复合材料的断裂是导致哥伦比亚号航天飞机灾难的原因。这些研究的结果可能会对工程粘合剂的重要应用产生许多重要的长期影响，包括汽车，包装和航空航天工业。

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Steven Zimmerman of the University of Illinois will create a practical system of nanoscale adhesion promoters using the tools of supramolecular polymer chemistry. The approach is to further expand the toolkit of multiple hydrogen bonding units, and to develop general methods to functionalize polymers and surfaces with such units. The ability of the adhesion promoters to adhere two surfaces together at the macro-, micro- and nanoscopic levels will be assessed as will the reversibility and self-healing nature of the attraction. The broader impacts involve training undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, broadening participation through the inclusion of women researchers on the project, and continuing to build a summer bridge program for URMs at the University of Illinois, Department of Chemistry. This work will enhance our fundamental understanding about polymer adhesives and composite materials. Adhesives and composite materials have improved human life in innumerable ways, for example, the latter being found in a broad range of high performance products such as aircraft, Hummvees, and the Space Shuttle. There is a significant need for more advanced materials, including reversible glues, and composites with greater strength and resistance to delamination. For example, the fracturing of a composite material is what precipitated the Shuttle Columbia disaster. The results of these studies could have many important long term impacts on applications in which engineering adhesives are important, including automotive, packaging, and aerospace industries.