Translocation and diffusion of polyelectrolytes and electronic conduction in polyelectrolyte systems

非技术：当分散在盐溶液中的一定数量的带电离子以链状方式连接在一起时，系统显示出诱人的特性，并对反应的化学进行了额外的调整。这些材料的应用实例包括尿布中水的超吸水性、利用合成平台定向输送大分子(如基因)、通过纳米流体设备引导带电大分子的传输，以及由水基溶液配制的聚电解质膜的高电子传导性。尽管带电聚合物在当今材料世界中具有很高的重要性，但人们对它的基本理解是有限的。困难来自于几个长程作用力同时作用于分子，以便每个分子都能感觉到系统中几乎所有其他分子的存在。首席研究员建议将精心选择的模型系统的实验、计算机建模和先进的理论方法相结合，以解决聚电解质系统的几个相互关联的传输特性。该项目在对具有广泛技术相关性和用途的先进材料的基本科学理解方面产生了社会影响。技术：结合单分子电泳学、光散射、流变学、统计力学、场论和几种模拟技术，提出了聚电解质体系中聚电解质动力学、聚电解质凝胶动力学和导电的新理论的实验和发展。我们将研究几种聚电解质传输现象。具体而言，该项目涉及(A)合成支化聚电解质的转移，(B)聚电解质凝胶的动力学和聚电解质在聚电解质凝胶中的扩散，以及(C)聚电解质体系中的电子传导。该项目的目的是建立一种新的不同结构聚电解质的分离技术，并发现聚电解质体系中聚电解质输运和电子输运的新概念模型。这项研究的结果将对许多应用领域产生影响，如高吸水性产品、分离科学、分离技术的分子筛、药物输送平台、有机光伏器件、有机发光二极管、射频识别标签和抗静电涂料。这一研究领域的研究生培训是拟议活动的主要教育组成部分。

NON-TECHNICAL:When certain numbers of charged ions, dispersed in a salty solution, are connected together in a chain-like fashion, the system exhibits tantalizing properties with additional tuning of chemistry of reactions. Examples of use of these materials include super-absorbancy of water in diapers, targeted delivery of large macromolecules such as genes using synthetic platforms, guided transport of charged macromolecules through nano-fluidic devices, and high electronic conductivity of polyelectrolyte films formulated from water-based solutions. Despite the high importance of charged polymers in today's materials world, fundamental understanding is limited. The difficulty arises from several long-range forces acting on the molecules simultaneously so that each molecule feels the presence of almost every other molecule in the system. The Principal Investigator proposes to bring a combination of experiments on carefully chosen model systems, computer modeling, and advanced theoretical methods to address several interrelated transport properties of polyelectrolyte systems. The project offers societal impact in terms of fundamental scientific understanding of advanced materials of broad technological relevance and use. One of the major components of the proposed research is to train the next generation of scientific leaders in this area so as to meet the growing global challenges and societal needs.TECHNICAL:Experiments and development of new theories are proposed for polyelectrolyte dynamics, polyelectrolyte gel dynamics, and electrical conduction in polyelectrolyte systems, by combining single molecule electrophoresis, light scattering, rheology, statistical mechanics, field theory, and several simulation techniques. Several polyelectrolyte transport phenomena will be studied. Specifically, the project addresses (a) translocation of synthetic branched polyelectrolytes, (b) polyelectrolyte gel dynamics and diffusion of polyelectrolytes in polyelectrolyte gels, and (c) electronic conduction in polyelectrolyte systems. This project is aimed at building a new separation technique for polyelectrolytes with different architectures, and discovering new conceptual models for polyelectrolyte transport and electron transport in polyelectrolyte systems. The results of this research will have impact in numerous applied areas such as super-water absorbent goods, separation science, molecular sieves for separation techniques, drug delivery platforms, organic photovoltaic devices, organic light-emitting diodes, radio frequency identification tags, and antistatic coatings. Training of graduate students in this research area is the primary educational component of the proposed activity.