GOALI: Advancing Thermal Field-Flow Fractionation for Complex Polymers and Colloids

该项目得到了化学部化学测量和成像计划的支持。科罗拉多矿业学院(CSM)的Kim Williams教授正在开发热场流动分馏(ThFFF)，作为分离和表征复杂聚合物和胶体的通用平台。液体中的热扩散为分离和分析塑料和其他超大分子的混合物提供了一种新的方法。该项目使用NSF学术联系机会资助机制(GOALI)来促进威廉姆斯博士的实验室和陶氏化学公司之间的合作。学术/产业合作是将分离科学的专业知识结合起来的模式，这可能会导致对产品性能的洞察。威廉姆斯教授开发的一个外展项目将科学和发现带给有学习障碍(诵读困难)的学生，并介绍CSM STEM教师教育项目的未来教师。学生们对这些聚合物和胶体活动的质地和视觉性质非常熟悉，因此，在落基山夏令营为阅读障碍青年开展了外展活动。这些低成本和安全的动手实验向科罗拉多矿业学院STEM教师教育项目的学生介绍。这项工作的更广泛影响包括通过设计更好的(更环保的)产品带来的技术好处，以及在工业和学术环境中接受培训的学生和科学家的教育好处。超高相对分子质量或超大聚合物和胶体表面表征是分析方面的挑战。对于这些材料，目前还不存在确定分子量分布的可靠方法。这项工作的目标是开发和测试超大(100 nm或103 kDa)聚合物的热场流动分馏(ThFFF)。研究人员确定了为胶体热扩散提供额外控制的实验方法，并展示了它们在表面成分/电荷分离和分析中的用途。他们还提出了一种工作粒子热泳理论。威廉姆斯教授开发的一个外展项目将科学和发现带给有学习障碍(诵读困难)的学生，并介绍CSM STEM教师教育项目的未来教师。这项工作的更广泛影响包括通过设计更好的(更环保的)产品、在工业和学术环境中接受培训的学生和科学家以及更有经验的未来STEM教师带来的潜在社会效益。这项工作产生的创新分析方法可能会影响与聚合物和胶体(天然、生物和合成)相关的科学和技术。CSM和Dow科学家之间的密切合作通过学生接触行业来提高研究影响力并培养下一代劳动力。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。

This project is supported by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging program of the Chemistry Division. Professor Kim Williams of the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) is developing thermal field-flow fractionation (ThFFF) as a versatile platform for separating and characterizing complex polymers and colloids. Thermal diffusion in liquids presents a novel way of separating and analyzing mixtures of plastics and other very large molecules. This project uses the NSF Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) mechanism to for a collaboration between Dr. Williams' lab and Dow Chemical Company. The academic/industrial collaboration serves as a model for combining expertise in separation science, that may lead to insights about product performance. An outreach program developed by Professor Williams brings science and discovery to students with learning disabilities (dyslexia) and introduces future teachers in the STEM Teacher Education program at CSM. Students relate well to the textural and visual nature of these polymer and colloid activities and thus, outreach activities are carried out at the Rocky Mountain Camp for Dyslexic Youths. These low cost and safe hands-on experiments introduce to students in the STEM Teacher Education program at the Colorado School of Mines. The broader impacts of this work include technical benefits through better designed (more environmentally friendly) products, and educational benefits for the students and scientists who are trained in an industrial and academic setting.Ultrahigh molecular weight or ultralarge polymers and colloid surface characterizations are analytical challenges. Reliable methods for determining molecular weight distributions do not currently exist for these materials. The objectives for this work are to develop and test thermal field-flow fractionation (ThFFF) for ultralarge (100 nm or 103 kDa) polymers. The researchers determine experimental approaches that provide additional control of thermal diffusion of colloids and demonstrate their use for surface composition/charge separations and analyses. They also identify a working particle thermophoresis theory. An outreach program developed by Professor Williams brings science and discovery to students with learning disabilities (dyslexia) and introduces future teachers in the STEM Teacher Education program at CSM. The broader impacts of this work include potential societal benefits through better designed (more environmentally friendly) products, students and scientists who are trained in an industrial and academic setting, and more experienced future STEM teachers. Innovative analytical methods that result from this work may impact science and technologies associated with polymers and colloids (natural, biological, and synthetic). The close collaboration between CSM and Dow scientists improves research impact and develops the next generation work force through students' exposure to 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.