CAREER: Relating Micellar Structure to Aggregate Properties in Polymerization of Wormlike Micelles

Carnegie-MellonLynnm Walkeri有三个职业目标：开发一个积极的研究项目，旨在回答有关复杂流体动力学以及这些动力学对宏观现象的影响的基本问题；在卡内基梅隆大学的化学工程课程中开发强大的复杂流体流变学和聚合物加工组件，以及在当地行业与本科生和研究生课程之间建立紧密的联系，努力让学生接触聚合物加工和复杂流体行业所面临的问题类型。卡内基梅隆大学通过其各种跨学科的研究和教育项目，为我提供了一个发展这些研究和教育目标的最佳环境。我为复杂流体工程中心(CFE)研究中心和胶体、聚合物和表面(CPS)教育项目提供流变学专业知识。在这项建议中，我的研究小组目前在胶束动力学方面的工作令人兴奋地扩展到蠕虫状表面活性剂组件的聚合。反离子在蠕虫状胶束(或表面活性剂聚集体)表面的聚合为溶液中各向异性纳米粒子的形成提供了一种新的途径。这些圆柱形粒子的半径为几纳米，长度从几纳米到数百纳米不等。这些聚电解质-表面活性剂聚集体的两亲性使它们能够将疏水化合物溶解到水介质中。这一特性对于洗涤剂、药物输送、分离和水净化的应用至关重要。这些各向异性粒子的长度所产生的新特征是，它们有可能作为流变剂，被交联以形成两亲性凝胶，并在浓缩时形成液晶或更高级的相。如果不能通过反应控制纳米颗粒的形态，这些潜在的应用都不可能实现。推动这项研究的假设是，反离子组成可以用来控制蠕虫状胶束溶液的结构，控制可以通过反离子的聚合来生成新型的高纵横比聚合物-表面活性剂聚集体。其目的是定量了解蠕虫状胶束体系的反离子组成与聚合聚集体的性质之间的关系。这项研究的次要目标是调查使用这种机制控制聚电解质结构和离子共聚物组成的可行性，并开发一系列用于胶体和结构研究的新型带电、各向异性纳米粒子。卡内基梅隆大学显然致力于在教育方面的卓越，我努力继续这一趋势。在所有课程中，我强调基本原理在现代工程问题中的应用，并让学生接触进入化学工程领域所需的计算工具。一个明确的教育目标是利用我在复杂流体流变学和聚合物加工方面的背景来填补课程中的空白。我正在通过本科生实验模块、高级课程开发和本科生研究将聚合物加工和流变学纳入课程。我通过实验室模块的工业链接，以及在我自己的实验室里，通过工业驱动的本科生研究项目，让本科生接触到工业聚合物加工。

ABSTRACTCTS-0092967Carnegie-MellonLynnm WalkerI have three career goals; to develop an active research program aimed at answering fundamental questions about the dynamics of complex fluids and the influence of those dynamics on macroscopic phenomena, to develop a strong complex fluid rheology and polymer processing component in the chemical engineering curriculum at Carnegie Mellon, and to develop strong links between local industry and the undergraduate and graduate programs in an effort to expose students to the types of problems faced by the polymer processing and complex fluids industries. Carnegie Mellon provides an optimal environment for me to develop these research and education goals through its variety ofinterdisciplinary research and education programs. I provide the rheology expertise to the Center for Complex Fluid Engineering (CFE) research center and Colloids, Polymers and Surfaces (CPS) education program.In this proposal, an exciting extension of current work on micelle dynamics in my research group to the polymerization of wormlike surfactant assemblies is outlined. The polymerization of counterions condensed on the surface of wormlike micelles (or surfactant aggregates) offers a novel approach to the formation of anisotropic nano-particles in solution. These cylindrical particles have radii of a few nanometers and lengths ranging from a few to hundreds of nanometers. The amphiphilic nature of these polyelectrolyte-surfactant aggregates allows them to solubilize hydrophobic compounds into aqueous media. This property is vital for applications in detergency, drug delivery, separations and water purification. The novel feature arising from the length of these anisotropic particles is that they have the potential to act as rheological modifiers, be cross-linked to form amphiphilic gels and to form liquid crystalline or higher order phases when concentrated. None of these potential applications can be realized without the ability to control the morphology of the nanoparticles through reaction. The hypothesis that drives the proposed research is that that counterion composition can be used to control the structure of wormlike micelle solutions and that control can be utilized to generate novel high aspect ratio polymer-surfactant aggregates through polymerization of counterions. The goal is a quantitative understanding of the relationship between counterion composition of wormlike micelle systems and properties of the polymerized aggregates. Secondary goals of the research are investigations of the feasibility of controlling polyelectrolyte structure and ionomeric copolymer composition using this mechanism and the development of a series of novel charged, anisotropic nanoparticles for colloidal and structural studies.Carnegie Mellon is clearly committed to excellence in education and I strive to continue that trend. In all courses, I stress the application of fundamentals to modern engineering problems and expose students to the computational tools necessary to enter into the chemical engineering field. A specific educational goal is to utilize my background in complex fluid rheology and polymer processing to fill that gap in the curriculum. I am incorporating polymer processing and rheology into the curriculum through undergraduate laboratory modules, development of advanced courses and undergraduate research . I am exposing undergraduate chemical engineering students to industrial polymer processing through industrial links for the laboratory modules and, in my own laboratory, through industry-driven undergraduate research projects.