Collaborative Research: Controlling the Synthesis of Conjugated Polymers through Fundamental Studies of Mechanisms, Methods, and the Direct Correlation to Polymer Properties

在这个由化学学部大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的合作项目中，乔治亚大学的Jason Locklin博士和北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的Wei You博士旨在建立新的化学方法，以精确控制共轭单体聚合的序列、分子量和分散性。需要这些进步来改善结构/性质关系，这对于开发用于各种技术重要应用的有机聚合物至关重要，包括光伏和柔性电子产品。这个合作项目促进了研究生和本科生水平的多学科教育和研究经验。预计研究生将花时间在彼此的实验室中获得个人研究小组无法获得的专业知识，而来自科学和工程领域代表性不足群体的本科生将通过积极招募参与该项目。因此，参与者不仅可以学习新科学和开发关键技术，还可以建立合作者和联系人网络，并学习在跨学科环境中工作的重要技能。此外，该合作项目还向K-12学校提供公共服务，定期到教室进行聚合物和纳米技术的讲座，并通过基于工具包的科学模块进行实践活动。该合作团队的目标是：(1)通过对小分子竞争反应和动力学同位素效应的催化机制的基本理解，开发广泛适用的方法，通过在溶液中控制链生长聚合来合成共轭聚合物；(2)评估器件配置中的材料，以确定高精度合成的聚合物与传统方法制备的聚合物的结构/性质关系。在这些研究的结论中，该合作团队预计已经建立了一种合理有效的方法来为选定的新单体制备链生长催化剂，并更好地了解了有机电子器件中结构/性质关系及其与器件性能的相关性。这种多机构合作整合了合成和表征新型有机分子和聚合物、薄膜表征以及聚合物太阳能电池器件制造和表征方面的必要专业知识和资源。更好地理解金属介导的交叉耦合反应的催化循环，更精确地控制器件几何结构中的界面层，将对有机电子学的其他相关领域产生重大影响，如晶体管、发光二极管和燃料电池。

In this collaborative project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Dr. Jason Locklin of University of Georgia and Dr. Wei You of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill aim to establish new chemical approaches that allow for precise control of sequence, molecular weight, and dispersity in the polymerization of conjugated monomers. These advances are needed to allow for improved structure/property relationships, which are critical for the development of organic polymers for various technologically significant applications including photovoltaics and flexible electronics. This collaborative project promotes multidisciplinary education and research experience at the graduate and undergraduate levels. It is anticipated that graduate students spend time in each other's laboratories acquiring expertise unavailable in the individual research groups, and undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in science and engineering participate in this project through active recruitment. Consequently, participants not only learn new science and develop key technologies, but also build networks of collaborators and contacts and learn important skills for working in interdisciplinary environments. Furthermore, this collaborative project features public outreach to K-12 schools with regular classroom visits to deliver talks on polymers and nanotechnology along with hands-on activities via kit-based science modules.This collaborative team aims (1) to develop broadly applicable methods to the synthesis of conjugated polymers via controlled chain-growth polymerization in solution, facilitated by a fundamental understanding of the catalytic mechanism using small molecule competition reactions and the kinetic isotope effect, and (2) to evaluate materials in device configurations to determine structure/property relationships of polymers synthesized with high precision versus those prepared with conventional methods. At the conclusion of these studies, this collaborative team anticipates having established a rational and effective method for preparing chain-growth catalysts for selected new monomers and gained a better understanding between structure/property relationships and their correlation to device performance in organic electronic devices. This multi-institutional collaboration integrates the necessary expertise and resources in synthesis and characterization of novel organic molecules and polymers, thin film characterization, and in polymer solar cell device fabrication and characterization. A better understanding of the catalytic cycle with metal-mediated cross coupling reactions and more precise control of an interfacial layer in device geometries will have significant impact on other related fields of organic electronics, such as transistors, light emitting diodes, and fuel cells.