Organoborane Polymers and Supramolecular Materials

在化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学(MSN)计划的支持下，纽瓦克罗格斯大学化学系的Frieder Jäkle教授将致力于将含硼聚合物作为新型超分子材料的构建块。硼化合物的缺电子特性使它们可以通过所谓的配位键与富含电子的化合物(如胺或膦)可逆地相互作用。这种化学键的可逆性对开发“智能”材料很有吸引力，因为键的形成可以通过改变温度、浓度和其他刺激来控制。Jäkle团队的目标是利用这种行为来生产可回收的聚合物材料，包括可以在显示技术、生物成像和传感器中使用的发光材料。该项目将有助于在高度跨学科的研究领域培训不同的本科生和研究生。计划中的材料化学推广计划将允许当地少数民族服务高中的学生体验大学研究并了解科技领域的职业机会，而暑期实习将提供实践研究经验。聚合物分析能力将支持在教学实验室对本科生的培训，并使其能够在附近的大学进行研究。在该奖项下，Jäkle团队将探索用硼烷路易斯酸和Lewis酸碱对装饰的聚合物的合成和性质，以此作为增加功能和实现新应用的手段。在一个方向上，研究以具有有趣的光物理、电子和刺激响应特性的聚合物Lewis对为目标，通过类似于点击的方式将Lewis碱性pi-共轭发色团连接到聚合物Lewis酸上。含有多个Lewis碱基的生色团有望形成具有光活性动态交联性的超分子聚合物网络(SPN)。将空间受阻的硼烷刘易斯酸和刘易斯碱基结合在一起的聚合物，即所谓的受挫刘易斯对，将在小分子的活化中进行研究。此外，将利用与罗格斯大学、州立大学和波士顿学院的其他研究小组的合作努力，目标是从根本上产生新型含硼聚合物和杂化纳米材料。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。

With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Frieder Jäkle of the Department of Chemistry at Rutgers University-Newark will pursue boron-containing polymers as building blocks for new supramolecular materials. The electron-deficient character of boron compounds allows them to reversibly interact with electron-rich compounds such as amines or phosphines through so-called dative bonding. The reversibility of this dative bonding is appealing for developing ‘smart’ materials because the bond formation can be controlled through changes in temperature, concentration, and other stimuli. The Jäkle group aims to exploit this behavior to generate recyclable polymeric materials, including light-emitting materials that could find use in display technologies, bioimaging, and as sensors. The project will contribute to the training of a diverse body of undergraduate and graduate students in a highly interdisciplinary field of research. Planned materials chemistry outreach programs will allow students from local minority-serving high schools to experience University research and learn about career opportunities in the science and technology fields, while summer internships will provide hands-on research experiences. Polymer analysis capabilities will support the training of undergraduate students in teaching laboratories and enable research at nearby universities.Under this award, the Jäkle group will explore the synthesis and properties of polymers that are decorated with borane Lewis acids and Lewis acid-base pairs as means to add functionality and enable new applications. In one direction, the research targets polymeric Lewis pairs with interesting photophysical, electronic, and stimuli-responsive characteristics by ‘click’-like attachment of Lewis basic pi-conjugated chromophores to polymeric Lewis acids. Chromophores that contain multiple Lewis base groups are expected to lead to supramolecular polymer networks (SPNs) that feature photo-active dynamic crosslinks. Polymers that combine sterically hindered borane Lewis acid and Lewis base groups, so-called ‘frustrated’ Lewis pairs, will be studied in the activation of small molecules. In addition, collaborative efforts with other research groups at Rutgers, The State University and Boston College will be leveraged with the goal of generating fundamentally new classes of boron-containing polymers and hybrid nanomaterials.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.