Scalable Fabrication of Smart Polymer Surfaces Using Nanoimprint Lithography

该基金支持研究一种新的制造方法，用于制造能够在纳米尺度上改变形状的智能聚合物表面和纳米结构。所提出的方法将纳米压印光刻（NIL）的纳米制造能力与网络聚合物的刺激响应“形状记忆”效应相结合。将开发一个实验平台来精确地确定与纳米级形状变化相关的几何形状和能量，这反过来将使系统地检查NIL参数（如温度、压力和处理时间）如何影响纳米级形状记忆效应。一系列具有系统变化的化学和物理性质的体形状记忆聚合物将被研究其作为拟议的新型智能表面和纳米结构的适用性。此外，将探索这种新的制造方法在光学和生物材料领域的独特应用。如果成功，该研究结果将推进我们目前对聚合物纳米级形状记忆效应的理解，并揭示聚合物在接近网络结构的长度尺度上的熵弹性（或橡胶弹性）。该研究还将提供一种低成本制造智能聚合物表面和纳米结构的新方法，而不需要复杂的化学反应，并建立结构-加工-性能关系，以便将该方法用于可扩展制造。这项研究还将加强研究生的专业发展，促进科学和工程学科的多样性，并丰富K-12的外展，重点是新兴的聚合物基纳米制造技术。

This grant supports research on a novel fabrication methodology for creating smart polymer surfaces and nanostructures that are capable of changing shapes at nanoscale. The proposed methodology combines the nanofabrication capability of nanoimprint lithography (NIL) with the stimuli-responsive 'shape memory' effect of network polymers. An experimental platform will be developed to precisely determine the geometry and the energy associated with the nanoscale shape change, which, in turn, will enable systematic examinations of how the NIL parameters such as temperature, pressure and processing time influence the nanoscale shape memory effect. A range of bulk shape memory polymers with systematically-varying chemical and physical properties will be studied for their applicability as the proposed new class of smart surfaces and nanostructures. In addition, unique applications enabled by this new fabrication methodology in areas of optics and biomaterials will be explored. If successful, the results of the research will advance our current understanding of nanoscale shape memory effect of polymers, and shed light on the entropic (or rubber) elasticity of polymers at length scale approaching the network structures. The research will also provide a new methodology for fabricating smart polymer surfaces and nanostructures at low cost and without the need for complex chemistry, and establish the structure-processing-property relationships needed for using this methodology for scalable manufacturing. This research will also enhance the professional development of graduate students, promote diversity in science and engineering disciplines, and enrich K-12 outreach, with a focus on emerging polymer-based nanofabrication technologies.