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

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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.