LEAPS-MPS: Molecular Engineering and Synergic Integration of Perovskite Nanomaterials with Thermoplastic Elastomers for Flexible Multifunctional Optical Materials

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This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYSoft and stretchable displays, lighting, and other optoelectronic devices are critical components in today’s world to improve the quality and productivity of life, society, and industries. The development of new and more powerful devices requires new functional materials. Semiconducting perovskite nanomaterials are among the most promising ones to be used in next-generation optoelectronic devices. Their further application, however, is constrained by their poor stability and processability. With this LEAPS-MPS project, Professor Weinan Xu at the University of Akron proposes to overcome those limitations by designing soft and stretchable hybrid materials composed of perovskite nanomaterials and thermoplastic elastomers. The soft copolymer matrix protects the perovskite nanomaterials and at the same time controls their alignment and assembly, so that multifunctional, highly stable, and stretchable optical materials will be generated. This project will also contribute to the education of next-generation polymer and materials scientists and engineers and promote STEM education to the general public. Educational programs on nanomaterials and polymers will be implemented with local schools and science centers. The hands-on activities and demonstrations of nanomaterials and polymers in our daily life will stimulate younger generations’ interests in science and engineering. TECHNICAL SUMMARYSemiconducting perovskite nanomaterials have promising applications in optoelectronics, energy conversion, advanced lighting and displays. But several major challenges need to be addressed before their full potential can be achieved, which include poor stability and the lack of efficient nanopatterning methods. This LEAPS-MPS award aims to address those challenges by integrating perovskite nanoparticles with block copolymer thermoplastic elastomers in a molecularly precise and synergistic way. The surface chemistry of the perovskite nanoparticles and the ionic state of the polymer blocks in the thermoplastic elastomers will be designed and customized, so that high compatibility and strong preferential interactions between the perovskite nanoparticles and a particular polymer block will be achieved. Two or multiple types of perovskite nanoparticles with different optical properties will be simultaneously patterned based on their selective affinity with the functionalized polymer blocks in the copolymers. Multifunctional, highly stable, and stretchable perovskite-copolymer composite materials will be created and systematically investigated with high-resolution microscopies, spectroscopies, and multiscale simulation. This project is interdisciplinary, and it provides opportunities for training students in different areas of materials chemistry, colloidal science, microfabrication, and device engineering.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.