Collaborative Research: Revealing the Interactions and Dynamics in Framework-Polymer Composite Materials

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Non-technical abstractWith the support of the Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program in the Division of Materials Research, Professor Seth Cohen of the University of California, San Diego, and Professor Klaus Schmidt-Rohr of Brandeis University are studying the intersection of polymer and porous solid materials. Advanced materials are essential to nearly every aspect of modern life, including transportation, infrastructure, information technology, health, national defense, and many others. Combining two disparate materials, such as relatively soft polymers (e.g., plastics) and hard solids (e.g., ceramics, clays, etc.), can be advantageous for making new composites combining the best properties of both materials. However, because of their different chemical compositions, thoroughly combining such materials is often difficult to achieve. In this effort, a series of highly advanced experimental and simulation techniques are used to elucidate the interactions of polymers with a class of solids known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Insights into the interface and interactions between polymers and MOFs will enable their more effective combination for making hybrid materials with intriguing and unprecedented properties. In addition to these studies, this program supports undergraduate students from across the University of California system to travel to Washington, DC, where they can participate in internships at the interface of public policy and science through the Science Policy Internship Program (SPIP).Technical abstractCombining organic polymers and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has proven an important area of research for the development of hybrid, composite materials that possess favorable properties of both components. However, little is known about how these two disparate materials interact at the molecular scale. This effort explores the interactions between soft, organic polymers and hard, inorganic MOFs using a combination of synthesis, spectroscopy, advanced imaging, and simulations. State-of-the-art solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, coupled with scanning- and transmission-electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) as well as advanced computational methods, are used to examine the interactions of polymers with MOFs in three types of composites: mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs), MOF brush polymers, and polymer-derived MOFs (a.k.a. polyMOFs). Ultimately, the findings from these studies will be among the most detailed investigations of MOF–polymer interfaces and will be essential to guiding the development of these hybrid materials toward technological applications.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.