Scanning probe microscopy of polymer surface nanostructures

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The Walker team will study how polymer molecules interact with surfaces. In this research, how strongly the molecules adhere, how the molecules adapt their shapes to surfaces, and the electrical connections between them, will be examined. Proteins and synthetic polymers will be probed using instruments that measure and apply mechanical and electrical forces. Walker is a leading developer of techniques for single molecule adhesion mechanics and high resolution chemical imaging. Understanding how polymer molecules organize themselves at surfaces will enable the design of new materials that can serve in adhesives, photovoltaic devices, medical implants, sensors, chemical separations technologies, and memory storage devices. For example, advanced polymers are the glue in the composites of aircraft wings, coatings in car bumpers, and advanced fabrics. These adhesive interfaces are often quite thin, to better control the mechanical and electrical forces between the joined surfaces. Useful properties like toughness, electrical and thermal conductivity, photosensitivity and biocompatibility are expected to depend on the extended shapes and conformations of the polymer molecules. Designing, observing, and improving the properties created by the polymers requires new measurement tools that have sensitivity great enough to examine individual molecules, and Walker's group will develop such tools. Walker has an outstanding record for training highly qualified personnel, and in this project graduate and undergraduate students will learn to design and apply advanced polymer materials, and help meet the national need for a skilled work force that innovates high technology.