Models of Autonomic Self-Healing of Reversible Networks

位于查佩尔山的北卡罗来纳州大学的迈克尔·鲁宾斯坦获得了理论与计算化学项目的一项奖项，该项目旨在为自主自愈聚合物材料的主要类别：具有可逆关联和解离的网络开发自愈过程的理论。这些聚合物的自愈能力源于在断裂表面处产生的解离基团的高非平衡浓度，其在“等待”时间期间非常缓慢地衰减，同时材料的两个断裂部分保持彼此分离。该项目的目标之一是确定哪些分子参数，如聚合度，每条链的缔合基团数，结合强度使断裂面上游离基团的剩余量维持最长的等待时间。愈合材料，预期通过延长广泛应用中使用的聚合物组件的工作寿命和安全性而具有重大的技术影响。这项研究的结果被纳入M. Rubinstein和R. H.科尔比。 自我修复材料的例子正在用于设计更新的“放大”展览在莫尔黑德天文馆和科学中心，以及讲座由PI高中学生在“科学光谱”和“科学在边缘”系列在麻省理工学院。

Michael Rubinstein of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is supported by an award from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program to develop a theory of the self-healing process for the major class of autonomic self-healing polymeric material: networks with reversible associations and dissociations. The self-healing ability of these polymers originates in high non-equilibrium concentration of dissociated groups created at the fractured surfaces that decays very slowly during a "waiting" time while two broken parts of the material are kept separated from each other. One of the objectives of the project is to determine which molecular parameters, such as degree of polymerization, number of associating groups per chain, and the strength of associations maintain the high excess of dissociated groups at the fractured surfaces for the longest period of waiting time.The research contributes to the development of synthetic self-healing materials which are expected to have major technological impact by extending the working life and safety of polymeric components used in a broad range of applications. Results of this research are incorporated into new problem sets and supplementary materials for the "Polymer Physics" textbook by M. Rubinstein and R. H. Colby. Examples of self-healing materials are being used in the design of the updated "Zoom In" exhibit at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center as well as in lectures by the PI to high school students at the "Science Spectrum" and "Science at the Edge" series at UNC.