RUI: Modification and characterization of polymer surfaces with applications in microfluidic neural circuit development

技术总结本研究在本科院校（RUI）的项目将解决如何某些氢卤烃溶剂可以用来激活聚合物表面显着提高气相沉积的贵金属薄膜，如Au和Pt的粘附力，这是技术上重要的传感器和互连在聚合物微器件的微制造的基本认识。该项目的工作将回答以下广泛的问题：通过在聚合物表面、有机溶剂和沉积金属之间形成刘易斯酸碱加合物，可以改善聚合物、溶剂和金属的相互作用范围？为了解决这个问题，一系列的实验和理论工具将被用来预测，设计和优化实验条件，导致聚合物表面，促进改善金属粘附。Au和Pt薄膜的成功粘附已被证明与聚（甲基丙烯酸甲酯）（PMMA）暴露于各种卤化溶剂。将探索与PMMA相比具有一系列相似主链和侧链化学性质的聚合物表面，以及具有不同化学组成但与PMMA相比可能表现出相似刘易斯碱性质的材料。将研究聚合物表面的图案化，以确定溶剂活化方法是否可以与软光刻技术结合使用，以产生与微流体设备兼容的图案化特征，该微流体设备可用于模拟聚合物微芯片上的神经回路开发和功能。材料特性将使用表面分析和显微镜技术的组合进行研究，包括X射线光电子能谱（XPS），原子力显微镜（AFM），衰减全反射红外光谱（ATR-FTIR）和光谱和成像技术，如光学和电子显微镜和光谱椭圆偏振法。非技术性总结本研究在本科院校（RUI）项目将研究金属薄膜在聚合物表面的粘附力，并应用于聚合物微器件。詹姆斯麦迪逊大学和弗吉尼亚大学的研究人员将在高度跨学科和协作的环境中培养本科研究生。该项目将涉及多达15名本科研究人员在该计划的持续时间的培训。学生将接触到聚合物薄膜，表面和界面的加工，改性和表征的材料科学问题。该计划资助的学生将参加与NSF本科生化学研究经验（REU）网站相关的活动，成为“学者社区”的一部分，每年夏天在JMU的化学，物理，工程和材料科学领域有多达60名其他暑期本科研究人员。他们将有更多的机会与生物学研究生进行交流，通过与JMU的本科生进行一个夏天的交流，反之亦然。最后，该计划将资助两名高中教师在研究环境中工作，学习如何将材料科学应用于中学化学或物理课程。总之，该计划有助于广泛影响未来科学家的管道，从高中到研究生水平，学生接受尖端聚合物材料科学主题的培训，并具有聚合物表面的生物应用。

TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) project will address developing a fundamental understanding of how certain hydrohalocarbon solvents can be used to activate polymeric surfaces to significantly improve the adhesion of vapor deposited noble metal thin films such as Au and Pt which are technologically important in the microfabrication of sensors and interconnects in polymer microdevices. Work on this project will answer the following broad question: Which range of polymers, solvents and metal interactions can be improved through the creation of a Lewis acid-base adduct between the polymer surface, the organic solvent, and the deposited metal? In order to address this question, a range of experimental and theoretical tools will be used to predict, design and optimize experimental conditions resulting in polymeric surfaces which promote improved metal adhesion. Successful adhesion of Au and Pt thin films have been demonstrated with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) exposed to a variety of halogenated solvents. Polymer surfaces with a range of similar backbone and side-chain chemistries compared to PMMA will be explored, as will materials that have a different chemical composition, but may exhibit similar Lewis base properties compared to PMMA. The patterning of polymer surfaces will be studied to determine if solvent activation methods can be used in conjunction with soft-lithographic techniques to produce patterned features compatible with microfluidic devices that can be used to simulate neural circuit development and function on a polymer microchip. Materials properties will be studied using a combination of surface analysis and microscopy techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and spectroscopic and imaging techniques such as optical and electron microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) project will study the adhesion of metal films onto polymeric surfaces with applications in polymer microdevices. Researchers at James Madison University and the University of Virginia will train undergraduate research students in a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. This project will involve the training of up to fifteen undergraduate researchers over the duration of the program. The students will be exposed to materials science issues of the processing, modification and characterization of polymer thin films, surfaces and interfaces. The students funded in this program will be expected to participate in activities related to the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site in chemistry at JMU to become part of a "community of scholars" with up to sixty other summer undergraduate researchers each summer in chemistry, physics, engineering and materials science at JMU. They will have further opportunities to interact with graduate researchers in biology through an exchange program with undergraduates from JMU going to UVa for one summer and visa versa. Finally, this program will fund two high school teachers to work in a research environment to learn how materials science can be applied to the secondary school chemistry or physics curriculum. In summary, this program helps serve to broadly impact the pipeline of future scientists from the high school through graduate level with students trained in cutting-edge polymer materials science topics with biological applications of polymer surfaces.