Structure-property relationships in novel conjugated mixed conductors

非技术描述：具有离子和电子传输能力的软材料在电子学和生物学之间的界面上有很大的应用价值。事实上，生物学的工作原理是穿梭离子，而电子系统的工作原理是移动电子。混合导体既可以传输离子，也可以传输电子，可以充当生物信号和电子设备之间的转换器。这些材料的潜在应用包括生物传感器、神经探针和药物输送系统。在本项目中，研究了具有混合导电特性的新型塑料材料。特别是，这些材料的结构与它们传输离子和电子的能力有关。使用X射线和电子束的先进材料表征技术被用来分析这些塑料的结构，直到分子水平，以确定是什么限制了它们的性能。最终，这些洞察力使设计和合成更高性能的材料成为可能。该项目产生的科学进步被纳入本科生和研究生的课堂。教育外展是通过招收本科生在暑假期间加入该项目来完成的，重点是通过工程多样性计划招募人才。斯坦福大学的艺术科学项目是一个额外的项目，旨在通过与康托博物馆的互动来拓宽本科生的体验，旨在研究艺术品的物质性。最后，研究项目的跨学科性质为参与研究的研究生提供了广泛的教育培训，这极大地促进了学生进入生物技术行业的工作。技术描述：表现出混合离子和电子传导的聚合物具有将离子通量(生物学语言)转化为电流的能力，这可以通过传统电子学来操纵。该项目的目标是了解一类新的聚合物混合导体的微观结构如何影响离子渗透和电子载流子传输。特别研究了结晶织构、结晶度和微晶的介观结构对微晶生长的影响。采用先进的X射线衍射技术和扫描纳米束显微技术对其微观结构进行了分析。微结构与性能有关，用电化学方法进行了表征。最终目标是确定材料设计规则，这将通过研究潜在的高性能材料来证实。工程科学和医学科学的融合正在给医疗保健带来革命性的变化。表现出混合导电的软材料可以发挥作用，因为它们具有出色的电学性能和较低的模数。新的高性能材料是在这一领域发挥重要作用的理想位置。最后，该项目培养具有跨学科视野的学生，为进入这个新兴行业做好准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical description: Soft materials that have the ability to transport both ions and electrons are of great interest for use at the interface between electronics and biology. Indeed, biology works by shuttling ions while electronic systems work by moving electrons. Mixed conductors, that transport both ions and electrons, can act as translators between biological signals and electronic devices. Potential applications of these materials include biosensors, neural probes, and drug delivery systems. In this project, new plastic materials exhibiting mixed conduction are studied. In particular, the structure of these materials is correlated with their ability to transport ions and electrons. Advanced materials characterization techniques using X-rays and electron beams are used to analyze the structure of these plastics down to the molecular level, in order to determine what limits their performance. Ultimately, these insights allow to design and synthesize higher performance materials. Scientific advances resulting from the project are incorporated in undergraduate and graduate classes. The educational outreach is completed by enrolling undergraduate students to join the project during the Summer Quarter, with a focus on recruiting through the Engineering Diversity Program. An additional program, the Art + Science program at Stanford is leveraged to broaden the undergraduate experience through interactions with the Cantor Museum aimed at studying the materiality of art objects. Finally, the interdisciplinary nature of the research project provides a broad educational training to the graduate student involved in it, which greatly facilitates the student's insertion in the biotech industry workforce.Technical description: Polymers that exhibit mixed ionic and electronic conduction have the ability to transduce ionic fluxes, the language of biology, into electrical currents, which can be manipulated by conventional electronics. The goal of the project is to understand how ion penetration and electronic carrier transport are affected by the microstructure of a new family of polymeric mixed conductors. In particular, the effect of crystalline texture, degree of crystallinity and mesoscopic organization of the crystallites is studied. Advanced X-ray diffraction techniques and a new scanning nanobeam microscopy technique are used to analyze the microstructure. The microstructure is correlated to performance, as characterized using electrochemical methods. The ultimate goal is to determine materials design rules, which will be confirm by studying potentially high-performing materials. Healthcare is being revolutionized by the confluence of engineering and medical sciences. Soft materials that exhibit mixed conduction have a role to play because of their outstanding electrical properties combined with a low modulus. New high-performance materials are ideally placed to play an important role in this space. Finally, the project trains a student with an interdisciplinary outlook, ready to enter this nascent industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.