Nanostructured Materials with Percolating Bottlebrush Copolymer Networks

聚合物膜在许多具有社会影响力的应用中发挥着至关重要的作用，例如水净化，锂离子电池和气体分离。拟议的研究计划将利用具有刷子状结构的合成大分子来构建一类具有三维网络的新型聚合物材料，这种材料可以用作聚合物膜，以帮助解决环境和能源相关应用中的各种挑战。新开发的合成方法将制备高度可调的分子构件，使聚合物材料具有纳米级的相互连接的空腔和通道，以有效地运输和分离各种分子和离子。所提出的研究活动将促进目前对分子形状、化学和相互作用对材料性质的影响的理解，并为实现聚合物材料的结构控制创造新的策略。拟议研究计划的科学方面将与更广泛的推广和教育举措相结合，旨在通过科学研讨会促进思想交流，改善研究生和本科生培训，并通过教师专业发展加强STEM教育。技术概述：本研究旨在利用瓶刷共聚物作为共价预组织纳米结构域，开发一类具有双连续网络结构域而无需自组装的新型纳米结构材料。新的化学物质将被编程到瓶刷结构中，以精确控制它们的交联和降解行为。纳米结构材料和具有渗透孔或通道的膜将由瓶刷共聚物网络制成。用散射方法分析瓶刷共聚物在浓溶液中的构象行为，用x射线散射和电子显微镜方法研究不同结构参数对网络形态的影响。将追求三个具体目标：(1)通过使用完全可降解的瓶刷多孔材料制造纳米多孔材料，(2)设计和制备用于储能应用的纳米结构离子导电膜，以及(3)通过使用快速交联的瓶刷网络互连器制造所有固态薄膜膜。该研究项目的成功成果将为纳米结构材料的可扩展制造提供一个强大的材料设计平台，这些材料具有与技术相关的外形因素和适用于增材制造工艺的渗透网络。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYPolymeric membranes play a vital role in a number of societally impactful applications, such as water purification, lithium ion batteries, and gas separations. The proposed research program will take advantage of synthetic macromolecules with a brush-like architecture to construct a new class of polymeric materials with three-dimensional networks that can serve as polymeric membranes to help address a variety of challenges in environmental and energy-related applications. Highly tunable molecular building blocks will be prepared by newly developed synthetic methods to endow the polymeric materials with nanoscopic interconnected cavities and channels for efficient transport and separation of various molecules and ions. The proposed research activities will advance the current understanding of the effect of molecular shape, chemistry and interactions on materials properties, and create new strategies for achieving structural control of polymeric materials. The scientific aspects of the proposed research program will be integrated with broader outreach and educational initiatives aimed at promoting exchange of ideas through a scientific symposium, improving graduate and undergraduate student training, and enhancing STEM education through teacher professional development.TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe research described in this proposal aims to develop a new class of nanostructured materials with bicontinuous network domains without the need for self-assembly by using bottlebrush copolymers as covalently pre-organized nanoscopic domains. New chemistries will be programmed into the bottlebrush architecture to exert precise control over their cross-linking and degradation behavior. Nanostructured materials and membranes with percolating pores or channels will be fabricated from bottlebrush copolymer networks. Conformational behavior of bottlebrush copolymers in concentrated solutions will be analyzed by scattering methods, and the effect of various structural parameters on network morphology will be investigated by x-ray scattering and electron microscopy methods. Three specific objectives will be pursued: (1) fabrication of nanoporous materials by using fully degradable bottlebrush porogens, (2) design and preparation of nanostructured ion conducting membranes for energy storage applications, and (3) all solid state fabrication of thin film membranes by using rapidly cross-linkable bottlebrush network interconnectors. The successful outcome of this research program will provide access to a robust materials design platform for scalable fabrication of nanostructured materials with percolating networks in technologically relevant form factors and suitable for additive manufacturing processes. .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.