POLYMER STRUCTURES BASED ON FIBERS OR FILMS FOR FUNCTIONAL APPLICATIONS

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The performance of polymer films and fibers is the result of the microstructure that is imparted to the material as a result of complex interactions between the resin and the thermo-mechanical history that it experiences during and after processing. This is particularly important in the case of semi-crystalline polymers, where the microstructure is a mix of crystallinity, orientation and morphological characteristics. Our previous program focussed on the development specific films structures for the generation of hydrophilic porous membranes and to produce functional fibrous structures with conductive properties. With the help of my most recent discovery grant, I supervised two PhD students, one finished his degree and the other one is pursuing his project. With the help from the present application, it is intended to continue the work on the development of functional porous membranes from both films and fibers structures as well as their extension to other applications such as piezoelectric and antibacterial. This will be performed using a cast film process followed by stretching and functionalization as well as the electrospinning process. Specifically, three projects will be pursued or conducted: 1) development of conductive electrospun nanostructures based on graphene and PANI for sensing applications; 2) functionalized electrospun structures for biomedical applications and 3) functionalization of PP porous membranes for enhanced separation operations in polar or bioactive media.