DMREF: Analysis and Optimization of Polymer Networks for Emerging Applications

在该项目中，来自麻省理工学院的杰里米·约翰逊和布拉德利·奥尔森将开发动态聚合物网络的合成和表征方法，该项目由化学部的设计材料革命性和工程计划资助。该研究项目涉及实验工作和计算研究之间的紧密结合，以开发一种对聚合物网络中的缺陷进行定量分析的技术。具有动态交联性和同位素标记的新型聚合物网络材料将被合成，其缺陷含量将被表征为合成条件的函数。将发展新的理论和计算方法来分析网络结构，并与实验结果相关联。该项目的更广泛影响包括：更好地了解聚合物网络材料的结构，在跨学科科学方面培训研究生和本科生，通过建立实验和理论小组之间的强大合作来加强研究基础设施，以及针对中学生开发关于聚合物凝胶的动手教学模块。水凝胶是长链分子网络，可以在水中吸收高达99%的重量，是许多消费品和生物医学技术的重要材料。网络结构缺陷是限制水凝胶材料性能的关键因素。这一研究项目旨在制定实验和理论策略，以确定和统计网络中的缺陷数量。这些信息将使水凝胶的制备具有更少的缺陷和更好的性能，并可能导致用于生物医学技术和净水膜的新型材料，以及许多应用。

In this project funded by the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future program of the Chemistry Division, Jeremiah Johnson and Bradley Olsen from Massachusetts Institute of Technology will develop methods for the synthesis and characterization of dynamic polymer networks. The research project involves a closely integrated collaboration between experimental work and computational studies to develop a technique for the quantitative analysis of defects in polymer networks. Novel polymer network materials with dynamic crosslinks and isotopic labeling will be synthesized and their defect contents will be characterized as a function of the synthetic conditions. New theoretical and computational methods will be developed for the analysis of network structure and correlated with the experimental results. The broader impacts of the project involve the potential technological benefits of better understanding the structure of polymer network materials, training graduate and undergraduate students in interdisciplinary science, enhancing research infrastructure through the establishment of strong collaborations between experiment and theory groups, and developing hands-on teaching modules on polymer gels aimed at middle school students.Hydrogels are networks of long chain molecules that can absorb up to 99% of their weight in water, and they are important materials for a number of consumer products and biomedical technologies. Structural defects in the network are key contributors to limitations on the performance of hydrogel materials. This research project seeks to develop experimental and theoretical strategies for identifying and counting the number of defects in the networks. Such information will permit the preparation of hydrogels with fewer defects and superior properties and could lead to novel materials for biomedical technologies and water purification membranes, amongst many applications.