Theory of nanostructured soft matter

纳米结构软物质理论

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-04685
• 负责人: Shi, AnChang
• 金额: $ 2.48万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=763089
• 关键词: Theory; nanostructured; soft; matter

Understanding the emergence, stability and property of structured matter is an endeavor in science and engineering covering topics ranging from the formation of crystals in hard condensed matter to the self-organization of living organisms in biological systems. The proposed research program contributes to this endeavor by developing new concepts, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies for the study of nanostructured soft matter self-assembled from macromolecules such as polymers and colloidal particles. The study will use block copolymers as a primary model system. Block copolymers, obtained by linking two or more chemically distinct blocks together, are intrinsically frustrated due to the competition between the inter-block repulsion and the chain connectivity. Similar frustration occurs in surfactants with hydrophilic and hydrophobic components and colloidal particles with short-range attractive and long-range repulsive interactions. The frustration drives block copolymers to self-assemble into nanodomains of various shapes, loosely classified as lamellae, cylinders and spheres. The packing of these domains leads to the formation of various ordered phases. The ability of block copolymers to form various well-ordered nanostructures provides a powerful platform to study the emergence, stability, and property of soft matter with desirable morphologies. The hierarchically nanostructured polymeric materials could have many useful applications, including periodically ordered soft materials for photonic crystals, nanosized vesicles for drug delivery, and sub-nanometer patterns for next-generation lithography. The formation of hierarchically nanostructured soft matter involves a number of components with diverse physical attributes such as molecular size, and shape rigidity, and chirality. The interactions between these components are complex including van der Waals force, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. I will develop new theoretical frameworks to treat these diverse attributes consistently and apply the theory to study the self-assembly of soft matter systems containing polymeric and non-polymeric components. The proposed research activities are designed to elucidate principles governing the emergence and stability of nanostructured soft matter. (1) I plan to study the phase behavior of polymeric systems such as block copolymer blends and disperse block copolymers, focusing on stabilizing novel complex phases via mixing of different polymers; (2) I plan to study the emergence of complex spherical packing phases in non-polymeric soft matter systems such as dendrimers and colloidal particles, focusing on understanding universal phase behavior of soft matter; (3) I plan to study the transition pathways connecting different ordered phases, focusing on understanding mechanisms of the nucleation and growth of nanostructured soft matter.

了解结构物质的出现，稳定性和性质是科学和工程领域的一项奋进，涵盖了从硬凝聚态物质中晶体的形成到生物系统中活生物体的自组织等主题。拟议的研究计划有助于这奋进，通过开发新的概念，理论框架和方法的研究纳米结构的软物质自组装的大分子，如聚合物和胶体颗粒。该研究将使用嵌段共聚物作为主要模型系统。通过将两个或更多个化学上不同的嵌段连接在一起而获得的嵌段共聚物由于嵌段间排斥和链连接性之间的竞争而本质上受到阻碍。类似的挫折发生在具有亲水和疏水组分的表面活性剂和具有短程吸引和长程排斥相互作用的胶体颗粒中。阻挫驱动嵌段共聚物自组装成各种形状的纳米结构域，粗略地分类为薄片、圆柱体和球体。这些畴的堆积导致了各种有序相的形成。嵌段共聚物形成各种有序纳米结构的能力为研究具有所需形貌的软物质的出现、稳定性和性质提供了一个强有力的平台。这种分级纳米结构的聚合物材料可以有许多有用的应用，包括用于光子晶体的周期性有序软材料，用于药物递送的纳米囊泡，以及用于下一代光刻的亚纳米图案。 分层纳米结构软物质的形成涉及许多具有不同物理属性的组分，例如分子大小、形状刚度和手性。这些组分之间的相互作用是复杂的，包括货车范德华力，氢键和静电相互作用。我将开发新的理论框架来处理这些不同的属性一致，并应用该理论来研究含有聚合物和非聚合物组分的软物质系统的自组装。拟议的研究活动旨在阐明纳米结构软物质的出现和稳定性的原则。(1)我计划研究聚合物体系的相行为，如嵌段共聚物共混物和分散嵌段共聚物，重点是通过不同聚合物的混合来稳定新型复杂相;（2）我计划研究非聚合物软物质体系中复杂球形堆积相的出现，如树枝状聚合物和胶体颗粒，重点是理解软物质的普遍相行为;（3）研究连接不同有序相的过渡路径，重点是理解纳米结构软物质的成核和生长机制。