CAREER: Harnessing the Interplay of Morphology, Viscoelasticity, and Surface-Active Agents to Modulate Soft Wetting

了解液体在软表面上的润湿行为对于设计具有增强适应性和可持续性的功能表面具有重要的科学意义。该奖项的目的是研究聚合物基材的微观纹理和柔软度如何协同影响各种液体的润湿行为，包括简单液体和含有表面活性剂的液体。一系列的研究将使用不同的微观纹理和不同的柔软度的纹理表面和多孔基板，以揭示控制液体和软纹理表面之间的相互作用的关键因素。一系列的教育活动与拟议的项目相结合，为大学预科，本科和研究生提供跨学科的学习经验。建议的科学教材套公众参与活动包括制作“软质表面的魔力”科学教材套，让幼儿园至12年级的学生参与有趣的科学实验，并为科学教师提供培训机会。相对于硬质表面的润湿性，有关调节软质表面润湿性的基本机制的探讨则少得多。有一个缺乏了解的形态，粘弹性和表面活性剂之间的相互作用如何调节软润湿。该奖项的总体目标是通过缩小这些知识差距来促进对软润湿现象的基本理解。这一目标将通过进行跨学科研究来实现：（1）定义表征软质纹理表面润湿行为的结构-性质-性能关系，（2）揭示软质多孔基底中液体吸液、液滴吸收和润湿阻力的控制机制，以及（3）探索表面活性剂如何改变润湿脊和软润湿行为。该项目的研究结果将产生原创和变革性的知识，这有可能为发现软材料的新功能铺平道路。通过（1）本科生和研究生教育和研究，（2）大学预科教育，（3）更广泛的社区教育和外展，将涉及各种活动的综合教育计划编织到拟议的研究中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Understanding the wetting behavior of liquids on soft surfaces is of significant scientific importance toward the design of functional surfaces with enhanced adaptability and sustainability for environmental and healthcare applications. The goal of this award is to investigate how micro-texture and softness of polymeric substrates synergistically affect wetting behavior of various liquids, including both simple liquids and liquids containing surfactants. A series of studies will be performed using textured surfaces and porous substrates with different micro-textures and different softness to uncover key factors governing the interactions between liquids and soft textured surfaces. A host of educational activities are integrated with the proposed project to provide interdisciplinary learning experiences to pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate students. The proposed science kit-based public engagement activity, which involves development of the “Magic of Soft Surfaces” science kit, will engage K-12 students in fun science experiments, and provide training opportunities to the science teachers.In contrast to the well-established knowledge of wetting on rigid surfaces, the fundamental mechanisms regulating soft wetting are much less explored. There is a lack of understanding of how the interplay between morphology, viscoelasticity, and surface-active agents regulates soft wetting. The overarching goal of this award is to advance the fundamental understanding of soft wetting phenomena by closing these knowledge gaps. This goal will be achieved by performing interdisciplinary research to: (1) define the structure-property-performance relationships characterizing wetting behaviors of soft textured surfaces, (2) unveil the governing mechanisms of liquid imbibition, droplet absorption, and wetting resistance in soft porous substrates, and (3) probe how surface-active agents alter wetting ridge and soft wetting behavior. The findings of this project will result in original and transformative knowledge, which has the potential to pave the way for discovering novel functionalities of soft materials. An integrated education plan that involves various activities is woven into the proposed research through (1) undergraduate and graduate education and research, (2) pre-college education, and (3) broader community education and outreach.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.