GCR: Life Cycle Management of Materials: Sustainable Biomass to Designer Polymer Systems

这份不断增长的融合研究计划描述了基础的、高影响力的研究，这些研究可以加强对使用生物质生产设计型聚合物系统所面临的主要挑战的理解，并提供解决方案。拟议的努力是独特的，因为他们通过融合多个学科来解决先进材料生命周期管理的物理科学、工程、地球科学和毒理学影响，这些学科包括：生态水文学、催化科学(实验-合成和生物以及计算)、聚合物化学、高分子科学、生物分子工程以及动物和食品科学，以催生一个围绕材料生命周期管理的新的主导学科。为了能够开发出可持续的生物基材料产生的可行途径，该团队将探索以下基础科学主题：(I)分解生物质的合成(催化)方法；(2)对聚合物前体选择性地和“可编程地”并入官能团的酶法途径；(3)软性材料中的结构/性质关系，将原料和解聚途径与聚合物性质联系起来；(4)产生多组分互穿网络的加工规程；(5)测定结构/活性关系的方法，以预测适用于生物基材料的[宏观]分子毒性；(6)通过溶解有机碳化学和树干流量分析非侵入性地评估树木/植物中木质素成分的途径。通过对这些主题的研究，研究团队计划建立一个基本的和可翻译的路线图，将环境因素和生物多样性到催化到高分子材料化学和聚合物设计/表征/加工到分子毒性联系起来。该项目由不断增长的融合研究计划、既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)和工程总监共同资助。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 Growing Convergence Research proposal describes fundamental, high-impact studies that can enhance understanding of, and provide solutions to, the major challenges associated with the use of biomass toward generating designer polymer systems. The proposed efforts are unique as they address the physical science, engineering, geoscience, and toxicology impacts of advanced materials life cycle management through the convergence of multiple disciplines, including: ecohydrology, catalytic science (experimental - synthetic and biological, and computational), polymer chemistry, macromolecular science, biomolecular engineering, and animal and food science, to spawn a new overarching discipline around Materials Life Cycle Management.To enable the development of viable routes to sustainable biobased materials generation, the team will explore the following basic science topics: (i) synthetic (catalytic) approaches to the deconstruction of biomass; (ii) enzymatic routes to the selective and 'programmable' incorporation of functional groups to polymer precursors; (iii) structure/property relationships in soft materials, linking feedstock and depolymerization routes to polymer properties; (iv) processing protocols to generate multi-component interpenetrating networks (IPNs); (v) assays to determine structure/activity relationships that predict [macro]molecular toxicity applicable to biobased materials; and, (vi) routes to non-invasively assess lignin composition in trees/plants through dissolved organic carbon chemistry and stemflow analysis. By working on these topics, the research team plans to establish a fundamental and translatable roadmap that links environmental factors and biodiversity -to- catalysis -to- macromolecular materials chemistry and polymer design/characterization/processing -to- molecular toxicity.This project is jointly funded by the Growing Convergence Research program , the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and Engineering Directorate.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.