EAPSI: Elucidating the Role of Ionic Aggregate Structure on Polymer Dynamics for Charge Transport Applications

全球和美国的能源消耗每年都在增加，因此，人们致力于改进下一代能源解决方案，以跟上需求并提高效率。目前，含酸和含离子聚合物引起了人们的浓厚兴趣，因为这类聚合物可以使下一代电池、薄膜电容器和燃料电池中的质子交换膜成为可能。这个项目的目标是从根本上了解离子运动和聚合物动力学之间的耦合，在一个模型含离子聚合物系统中。要优化离子传输动力学，这是这些应用中至关重要的性能瓶颈，必须了解这种耦合的性质。日本北海道大学的野崎龙介博士的S实验室在复杂液体物理方面的特殊专业知识和仪器能力将是研究此类聚合物动力学的关键。有选择地运输带电物种的能力。介电弛豫谱(DRS)将被用来研究一系列同系酸共聚物在金属盐如锂的中和下的各种松弛。DRS将测量离子传导和聚合物运动的时间尺度上的弛豫。这项技术将与最近合成的一类在合成过程中具有高水平分子控制的酸性共聚物相结合，以探索聚合物与离子之间的运动耦合。这些精确的共聚物和离聚体提供了前所未有的分子控制，可以产生定义明确的形态，从而促进对结构-性能关系的更好理解。具体地说，将研究离散和渗流离子聚集体形态之间的差异，目的是加速相对于聚合物动力学的离子运动。该NSF EAPSI奖是与日本科学促进会合作资助的。

Global and US energy consumption increases every year and consequently substantial research efforts have been devoted to improving next-generation energy solutions to keep up with demand and improve efficiency. Currently, there is intense interest in acid-containing and ion-containing polymers as this class of polymers could enable the next generation of batteries, thin film capacitors, and proton exchange membranes in fuel cells. The goal of this project is to gain fundamental understanding of the coupling between ion motion and polymer dynamics in a model ion-containing polymer system. To optimize the ion transport kinetics, a performance bottleneck in these critically important to applications, one must understand the nature of this coupling. The specific expertise in the physics of complex liquids and instrumental capabilities of Dr. Ryusuke Nozaki?s lab at Hokkaido University in Japan will be essential to investigate dynamics in this class of polymers.Interest in ionomers and other polymers with acid, ionic and polar groups is fueled by these polymers? ability to selectively transport charged species. Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) will be used to investigate the various relaxations in a series of homologous acid copolymers neutralized with metal salts such as lithium. DRS will measure relaxations on the timescales of ion conduction and polymer motion. This technique will be combined with a recently synthesized category of acid copolymers with high levels of molecular control during synthesis to probe the coupling of motion between polymer and ion. These precise copolymers and ionomers provide unprecedented molecular control that produces well-defined morphologies and thereby facilitate the improved understanding of structure-property relationships. Specifically, the differences between discrete and percolated ionic aggregate morphologies will be investigated with the goal of accelerating ion motion relative to polymer dynamics. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.