Covalent and supramolecular polymer chemistry of carbon nanotubes

这个项目将涉及一种叫做碳纳米管的新型材料表面的聚合物化学基础研究。这些新材料完全由碳组成，具有极高的机械强度（重量仅为钢的一小部分，强度却是钢的五倍），并且可以表现为金属导体或半导体，这取决于它们碳原子的排列方式。然而，由于所生产的纳米管是完全不溶的，因此很难将它们与其他材料（即聚合物）混合以制造功能复合材料。本提案的目的是研究混合结构，其中碳纳米管与定义明确的聚合物相连接，能够赋予整个材料的溶解度，可加工性和功能。这项工作将涉及共价键的形成以及聚合物与碳纳米管的非共价键（超分子）相互作用。这两种功能化方法都很重要，因为前者可以在组件之间形成强键，后者可以防止在纳米管结构中引入缺陷，从而保持纳米管的导电性和强度特性。我们将利用我们最近开发的几种纳米管功能化方法来生产能够与其他纳米级结构（量子点）形成更大配合物的杂化材料，以及与共轭聚合物的均匀共混物。这项工作的最终目标是将纳米管整合到传感、电子转移和发光器件的功能组件中。

This project will involve the fundamental investigation of polymer chemistry on the surface of a new class of materials called carbon nanotubes. These new materials are entirely composed of carbon, exhibit extremely high mechanical strength (five times stronger than steel at a fraction of the weight), and can behave as either metallic conductors or semiconductors, depending on the way their carbon atoms are arranged. However, as produced nanotubes are completely insoluble, making it difficult to manipulate and mix them with other materials (i.e., polymers) to make functional composites. The aim of this proposal is to investigate hybrid structures where carbon nanotubes are linked to well-defined polymers capable of imparting solubility, processability, and function to the overall material. This work will involve the formation of covalent bonds as well as non-covalent (supramolecular) interactions of polymers with carbon nanotubes. Both methods of functionalization are important because, while the former allows strong bonds to be formed between the components, the latter prevents the introduction of defects within the nanotube structure, allowing preservation of nanotube conductivity and strength properties. We will exploit several of our recently developed methods for nanotube functionalization to produce hybrid materials capable of forming larger complexes with other nano-scale structures (quantum dots) as well as homogeneous blends with conjugated polymers. The eventual goal of this work will be to incorporate nanotubes within functional components of sensory, electron transfer, and light emitting devices.