New Hydrogen Bonding Modules for Supramolecular Polymer Chemistry

在这个由化学系的大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，伊利诺伊大学的Steven齐默尔曼将使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包，并开发通用的方法来官能化具有这样的单元的聚合物和表面。 将评估粘合促进剂在宏观、微观和纳米级水平上将两个表面粘合在一起的能力，以及吸引力的可逆性和自愈性质。 更广泛的影响包括培训本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员，通过将女研究人员纳入该项目来扩大参与，并继续在伊利诺伊大学化学系建立一个统一资源管理的夏桥方案。 这项工作将提高我们对聚合物胶粘剂和复合材料的基本理解。 粘合剂和复合材料以无数方式改善了人类生活，例如，后者被发现在广泛的高性能产品中，如飞机，Hummvees和航天飞机。 对于更先进的材料，包括可逆胶，以及具有更大强度和抗分层性的复合材料，存在显著的需求。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.