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

了解液体在柔软表面上的润湿行为对于设计具有更强的适应性和可持续性的环境和医疗保健应用的功能表面具有重要的科学意义。该奖项的目的是调查聚合物基材的微结构和柔软性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。使用具有不同微观纹理和不同柔软度的纹理表面和多孔衬底进行一系列研究，以揭示控制液体和柔软纹理表面之间相互作用的关键因素。许多教育活动与拟议的项目相结合，为大学预科、本科生和研究生提供跨学科的学习体验。这项以科学工具包为本的公众参与活动，包括开发“软性表面的魔力”科学工具包，将吸引K-12学生进行有趣的科学实验，并为科学教师提供培训机会。与已有的硬质表面润湿知识相比，对软性润湿的基本机制的探讨要少得多。对于形态、粘弹性和表面活性物质之间的相互作用如何调节软润湿，人们缺乏了解。该奖项的首要目标是通过缩小这些知识差距，促进对软润湿现象的基本理解。这一目标将通过跨学科的研究来实现：(1)确定表征软质结构表面润湿行为的结构-性能-性能关系；(2)揭示软孔衬底中液体渗吸、液滴吸收和润湿阻力的控制机制；(3)探索表面活性剂如何改变润湿脊和软润湿行为。该项目的发现将产生原创性和变革性的知识，这有可能为发现软材料的新功能铺平道路。通过(1)本科和研究生教育和研究、(2)大学前教育和(3)更广泛的社区教育和外展，一个涉及各种活动的综合教育计划被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优势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.