DMREF: Analysis and Optimization of Polymer Networks for Emerging Applications

聚合物在我们的世界中无处不在。 许多应用需要使用重量轻但机械强度高的材料。 为此，聚合物网络是通过将单个聚合物纤维互连而制成的。 为了能够制造具有更少缺陷和上级性能的网络材料，马萨诸塞州理工学院的约翰逊教授和奥尔森教授寻求开发用于制备新的聚合物网络并在分子水平上理解其结构的实验和理论策略。 该项目旨在获得重要的基础知识，以指导下一代生物医学应用材料的设计，光收集和膜技术。 该项目的更广泛的影响涉及通过实验和理论之间的强有力的合作，研究生和本科生的跨学科研究培训。该研究团队还为中学生开发了聚合物凝胶的实践教学模块。该项目中有三个互补的研究组成部分，由NSF化学部和材料研究部共同资助。 第一部分的目的是发展实验技术，定量分析聚合物网络中的缺陷。 第二部分旨在了解网络拓扑结构和单体进料速率之间的关系，并开发新的理论和计算方法来预测网络拓扑结构与加工条件的关系。最后的目标集中在开发一种新的方法来控制网络拓扑结构使用光。

Polymers are ubiquitous in our world. Many applications require the use of materials with lightweight, but high mechanical strength. For this purpose, polymer networks are made by interconnecting the individual polymer fibers. To enable the fabrication of network materials with fewer defects and superior properties, Professors Johnson and Olsen of Massachusetts Institute of Technology seek to develop experimental and theoretical strategies for preparing new polymer networks and understanding their structures at the molecular level. The project aims to gain important fundamental knowledge for guiding the design of next-generation materials for biomedical applications, light harvesting, and membrane technology. The broader impacts of the project involve interdisciplinary research training of graduate and undergraduate students through a strong collaboration between experiment and theory. The research team also develops hands-on teaching modules on polymer gels for middle school students.There are three complementary research components in this project that are co-funded by the NSF Division of Chemistry and the Division of Materials Research. The first part aims to develop experimental techniques for quantitative analysis of defects in polymer networks. The second part seeks to understand the relationship between network topology and monomer feed rate and to develop new theoretical and computational methods to predict how network topology relates to processing conditions. The final aim focuses on the development of a new method for controlling network topology using light.