U.S.-France Cooperative Research: Main-Chain Polymer Liquid Crystals and Model Compounds with Conventional Thermoplastics and Ionomers

该奖项将支持马萨诸塞州洛厄尔大学的Rita B.Blumstein教授和法国格勒诺布尔国家研究中心的Ferdinand Volino博士在聚合物液晶(PLC)和可模拟PLC的传统热塑性塑料化合物领域的合作研究。将合成新型液晶聚合物和可用作PLC模型的化合物。并将利用核磁共振、中子和X射线散射在微观水平上研究它们的结构。它们的热力学和力学性质将在宏观水平上进行研究。这项研究将继续七年的合作努力，在聚合物研究的其他领域已经取得了重要成果。美国和法国的研究人员拥有互补的技能，格勒诺布尔实验室拥有美国首席研究员没有的设备。核磁共振和中子散射以及模型系统的微观性质的研究将在格勒诺布尔进行，宏观性质将在洛厄尔进行研究。一名来自美国的研究生也将在格勒诺布尔接受显微技术培训。该项目将增加我们对聚合物液晶系统的了解，并可能导致开发出具有更好的抗冲击性和透明度的新型液晶材料。

This award will support collaborative research between Professor Rita B. Blumstein, University of Lowell, Massachusetts, and Dr. Ferdinand Volino, Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Grenoble, France, in the area of polymer liquid crystals (PLC's) and compounds from conventional thermoplastics, which can model PLC's. Novel liquid-crystal polymers and compounds which can be used as models for them will be synthesized, and their structure will be studied at the microscopic level, using nuclear magnetic resonance and neutron and X-ray scattering. Their thermodynamic and mechanical properties will be studied at the macroscopic level. This research will continue a seven-year collaborative effort, which has yielded important results in other areas of polymer studies. The U.S. and French researchers have complementary skills, and the Grenoble laboratory possesses equipment not available otherwise to the U.S. principal investigator. NMR and neutron scattering, and investigation of the microscopic properties of the model systems, will be done at Grenoble; macroscopic properties will be investigated at Lowell. One graduate student from the U.S. will also be trained in the microscopic techniques at Grenoble. The project should increase our understanding of polymeric liquid crystal systems, and could result in the development of new liquid crystal materials with improved impact resistance and transparency.