GOALI: Understanding the Role of Interfacial Structure in Controlling Oil-Resistant Properties of Elastomeric Rubbers

阿里-AkronMohsen Yeganeh大学和Dennis Peiffer-ExxonMobil研究与工程公司的Dhinojwala：了解界面结构在控制弹性橡胶耐油性能中的作用“这项研究的目的是研究两种重要的商业弹性体，EXXPRO和丁腈橡胶，与油和水的表面相互作用。EXXPRO和丁腈橡胶分别以溴化甲基苯乙烯和聚丙烯腈(PAN)为基础。仅在美国，以PAN和EXXPRO为基础的共聚物的产量就达到10亿磅/年。这些物质的耐油性和良好的耐候性本质上取决于了解这些聚合物与疏水和亲水液体(油和水)的相互作用。PI建议使用表面敏感的红外-可见和频率产生光谱(SFG)来研究聚合物/液体界面的分子结构。丁腈橡胶中PAN的含量和EXXPRO中溴化甲基苯乙烯的含量将发生系统的变化，并将在空气、水和正构烷烃界面上研究这些极性取代对表面结构的影响。选择性的氚聚合物和液体将被用来独立研究聚合物和水(或烷烃)基团在界面上的取向。这些信息将有助于对界面结构与其耐油和耐候性之间的关系有一个基本的了解。这项研究的重点是将这种新的表面表征技术应用于同时包含疏水和亲水基团的工业上重要的共聚物。亲水和疏水链段也是用于生物医学应用、涂料和表面活性添加剂的共聚物的主要成分。这项研究也将有助于理解这些系统。广泛的影响：聚合物与液体的表面相互作用在许多工业和生物医学应用中是重要的。丙烯腈纤维或汽油管道中的丙烯腈与水或油的相互作用对于理解这些应用背后的机理非常重要。这项工作将提供聚合物分子和聚合物/液体界面上疏水或亲水液体的结构的直接测量。这些信息将对埃克森美孚和其他涉及设计经常暴露在水或其他流体中的聚合物的行业非常重要。这项研究的长期目标是帮助科学家利用偏新世化学设计工程共聚物，以产生更好的耐油和耐水性能。这项研究还将为生物材料应用的生物相容(生物隐形)聚合物的开发提供重要的见解。该项目还将为博士后和研究生提供有价值的培训，因为他们在工业实验室中进行合作。

Dhinojwala, Ali - University of AkronMohsen Yeganeh and Dennis Peiffer - ExxonMobil Research and Engineering "GOALI: Understanding the Role of Interfacial Structure in Controlling Oil-ResistantProperties of Elastomeric Rubbers"The objective of this research is to study the surface interaction of two important commercial elastomers, EXXPRO and nitrile rubbers, with oil and water. EXXPRO and nitrile rubbers are based on brominated methylstyrene and polyacrylonitrile (PAN), respectively. In the U.S. alone, the production of copolymers based on PAN and EXXPRO is 1 billion lbs./year. The oil-resistance and good weatherability properties of these substances are inherently dependent on understanding the interaction of these polymers with hydrophobic and hydrophilic liquids (oil and water). The PIs propose to study the molecular structure at polymer/liquid interface using a surface-sensitive infrared-visible sum frequency generation spectroscopy (SFG). The content of PAN in nitrile rubber and brominated methylstyrene in EXXPRO will be varied systematically, and the influence of these polar substitutions on the surface structure will be studied at air, water, and n-alkane interfaces. Selectively deuterated polymers and liquids will be used to independently study the orientation of both the polymer and water (or alkanes) groups at the interface. This information will allow development of a fundamental understanding of the relationship between the structures at the interface and their oil-resistant and weatheribility properties. The research focuses on applying this new surface characterization technique on industrially important copolymers that contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments are also the main ingredients of copolymers for biomedical applications, coatings and surface-active additives. This study will help in understanding these systems as well.Broader Impact: The surface interaction of polymers with liquids is important in many industrial and biomedical applications. The interaction of acrylonitrile in acrylic fibers or gasoline pipelines with water or oil is important in understanding the mechanism behind these applications. This work will provide a direct measurement of the structure of both the polymer molecules and hydrophobic or hydrophilic liquids at the polymer/liquid interfaces. This information will be important to ExxonMobil and other industries involved in designing polymers that are often exposed to water or other fluids. The long- term goal of this research is to aid scientists in designing engineered copolymers using mettalocene chemistry to produce better oil and water resistant properties. This study will also provide important insight into the development of biocompatible (bio-invisible) polymers for biomaterial applications.The project will also provide valuable training to the post-doctoral and graduate students because of their collaboration in an industrial laboratory.