Solid state NMR of fluorine containing materials

我的研究主要是开发固态核磁共振(SS核磁共振)方法来研究含氟材料的结构和分子运动。最终目标是将莱斯布里奇大学建立为一个广泛的含氟材料表征中心。结构和动态实验以及模拟工具的保存库将不断扩大，以应对新兴的氟技术带来的新挑战。感兴趣的材料包括有机和无机氟聚合物、高活性无机氟化合物、包合物、生物大分子和制药，其中大多数样品材料将通过当地和国际合作者网络获得。将继续寻求与工业和学术研究人员的合作，为他们提供宝贵的表征能力和专业知识，从而帮助创新开发新技术。具有特殊商业价值的氟聚合物被用于聚合物电解质膜燃料电池(PEMFC)的膜，这对直接醇燃料电池的开发至关重要。乙醇被提议作为氢的替代能源载体，这意味着一种“乙醇经济”。从生物来源获得乙醇要容易得多，但从催化角度来看，乙醇存在一个挑战。成功将带来相当大的好处，因为整合到目前全球不断扩大的生物乙醇生产中，提高了可持续的、非化石燃料能源经济的前景。由于PEMFC膜是最终目标，开发了一种方法来评估分子水平上的哪些聚合物属性对高效运行至关重要。我们还将寻求对燃料在长期影响聚合物物理特性变化从而影响效率方面所起的作用的见解。该项目涉及与法国蒙彼利埃的一名合成聚合物化学家和苏格兰圣安德鲁斯大学的两名材料科学家的合作。

My research is primarily concerned with developing solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SSNMR) methods to study the structure of, and molecular motion in, materials that contain fluorine. The ultimate objective is to establish the University of Lethbridge as a center for characterization of a wide range of fluorine containing materials.  The repertoire of structural and dynamic experiments, as well as simulations tools, will be continually expanded to meet new challenges posed by emerging fluorine technologies. Materials of interest include organic and inorganic fluoropolymers, highly reactive inorganic fluorides, inclusion compounds, biological macromolecules, and pharmaceuticals, where most sample materials will be sourced through a network of local and international collaborators. Collaborations will be continually sought with industrial and academic researchers to provide them with valuable characterization capabilities and expertise thereby aiding innovation in the development of new technologies.Fluoropolymers of particular commercial interest are used in membranes of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), which are essential in the development of Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells.  Ethanol is proposed as an alternative energy vector to hydrogen, suggesting an 'Ethanol Economy'.  Ethanol is much easier to obtain from biological sources, however posses a challenge from a catalysis perspective. Success would bring considerable benefit from ease of integration into the currently globally-expanding bio-ethanol production, raising the prospect of a sustainable, non-fossil fuel energy economy.The development of a methodology to assess which polymer properties, at the molecular level, are crucial to the efficient operation as PEMFC membrane is the ultimate objective.  Insights will also be sought into the role of the fuel in affecting changes, over the long term, in the polymer's physical characteristics, and hence efficiency.  This program involves collaborations with a synthetic polymer chemist in Montpellier, France, and two material scientists at University of St. Andrews, Scotland.