Functional Assemblies of Block Copolymers and Polymer-Stabilized Nanoparticles

嵌段共聚物和聚合物稳定的纳米粒子的功能组装

• 批准号: 262008-2013
• 负责人: Moffitt, Matthew
• 金额: $ 3.21万
• 依托单位: University of Victoria
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=632874
• 关键词: Functional; Assemblies; Block; Copolymers; Polymer

The need for advanced materials for photonics, signal processing, biological imaging, and sensing has spurred a growing field of research into tuning material properties at the nano-scale. Block copolymers are synthetic molecules with a remarkable tendency to self-organize into complex colloidal structures of various morphologies, including micelles and vesicles. Metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles are exciting candidates as building blocks for a diverse range of nanostructured materials, due to unique optical and electronic properties that can be tuned as a function of size. For applications in devices and advanced materials, controlling the assembly of nanoparticles and block copolymers in polymeric and nanocomposite materials is a critical challenge. My research program focuses on developing new methods for hierarchical organization of block copolymers and metal and semiconductor nanoparticles in polymer systems, both in thin films and colloids. Our strategy for nanoparticle assembly utilizes hybrid building blocks consisting of nanoparticles encapsulated inside stable polymeric micelles. We use the polymeric brush layer surrounding each nanoparticle to harness various spontaneous structure-forming processes, resulting in controlled nanoparticle self-assembly on multiple length scales. These bottom-up processes can also be coupled to top-down methodologies such as microcontact printing and microfluidics, in order to exercise external handles on size, structure, and complexity. We also seek to understand the collective optical properties of the resulting polymer-nanoparticle assemblies, and how these properties relate to structure on various length scales. Through the combined development of structure control and determination of structure-property relations in polymer-nanoparticle materials, we will establish methodologies for tuning function toward various applications, including photonic circuit elements, chemical and temperature sensors, and multifunctional drug-delivery vehicles.

对用于光子学、信号处理、生物成像和传感的先进材料的需求促使越来越多的研究领域在纳米尺度上调整材料的性质。嵌段共聚物是一种人工合成的分子，具有自组织成各种形态的复杂胶体结构的显著倾向，包括胶束和囊泡。金属和半导体纳米粒子是各种纳米结构材料的构建块，由于其独特的光学和电学性质，可以随着尺寸的变化而调整，因此是令人兴奋的候选粒子。对于器件和先进材料的应用，控制纳米粒子和嵌段共聚物在聚合物和纳米复合材料中的组装是一个关键的挑战。我的研究计划专注于开发新的方法，在聚合物系统中分层组织嵌段共聚物和金属和半导体纳米颗粒，包括薄膜和胶体。我们的纳米颗粒组装策略利用由包裹在稳定聚合物胶束中的纳米颗粒组成的混合构建块。我们使用每个纳米颗粒周围的聚合物刷层来利用各种自发的结构形成过程，导致在多个长度尺度上可控的纳米颗粒自组装。这些自下而上的过程也可以与诸如微接触印刷和微流体等自上而下的方法相结合，以便对尺寸、结构和复杂性进行外部处理。我们还试图了解得到的聚合物-纳米颗粒组件的集体光学性质，以及这些性质如何与不同长度尺度上的结构相关。通过聚合物-纳米颗粒材料的结构控制和结构-性能关系测定的联合开发，我们将建立针对各种应用的功能调节方法，包括光子电路元件、化学和温度传感器以及多功能药物输送载体。