SusChEM: Design and Evaluation of Soybean Oil Based Adhesives for Aqueous Environments

非技术性：粘合剂广泛用于多种应用中，并且几乎总是由石油基起始材料制成，这是一种消耗性资源。因此，用广泛可用的可持续材料（如大豆油）取代这些资源来合成粘合剂是国家的需求。在医学中，粘合剂是一个关键的组成部分，并在一些情况下，如在心脏手术，医用粘合剂是必要的。然而，人造粘合剂在手术或潮湿环境中应用时，其性能往往不是最佳的。大自然提供了在潮湿和恶劣条件下工作的粘合剂的壮观例子。贻贝能够分泌基于蛋白质的粘合剂，使它们能够粘在水下的船只和码头上。PI已开发出一种粘合剂，该粘合剂由易得且可持续的大豆油制成，在潮湿条件下对表面具有上级粘合性。该奖项旨在更好地了解这种大豆油基粘合剂在潮湿条件下具有强粘合力的化学过程。PI将系统地修改这些粘合剂的化学成分，并检查粘合的性质。这些研究将使粘合剂的设计，在具有挑战性的环境中，这是可行的。该奖项使研究生能够获得在其领域前沿的技术和方法方面的专业知识。此外，该奖项还将为本科生和高中生提供研究机会。技术：贻贝和沙堡蠕虫分泌的粘合剂因其在海水和大风等恶劣条件下发挥作用的能力而令人印象深刻。合成聚合物在模仿这种在潮湿环境中发挥作用的能力方面远远不够。该奖项旨在更好地了解在潮湿环境下实现粘合的界面相互作用。PI设计了一个模块化聚酯平台，可以将各种官能团并入设计的聚酯中。用于合成粘合剂聚酯的主要单体来自大豆油-一种广泛可用的可持续资源。所设计的聚酯将含有源自大豆油的长链侧基，这将提供疏水特性以能够排除水。此外，对基底的粘附将由邻苯二酚单元提供。内聚强度将由在光照射时交联的香豆素单元提供。它还将含有各种官能团，如羟基和胺基，这些官能团将影响粘附力。这些官能团的贡献将通过探测衬底界面的技术来检查。和频光谱，软接触力学（JKR）和固态NMR将提供深入了解的过程，占这些聚酯在潮湿环境中的粘合力的改善。通过该奖项培训的学生将获得聚合物合成的专业知识，使用尖端表面表征技术进行聚合物表征，并有机会与团队合作，带来互补的技能。

Non-technical: Adhesives are extensively used in several applications and are almost always made from petroleum based starting materials, which is a depleting resource. Therefore replacing these resources with widely available and sustainable materials such as soybean oil for the synthesis of adhesives is a national need. In medicine, adhesives are a critical component, and in several instances such as in a cardiac surgery, medical adhesives are a necessity. However, the performance of human-made adhesives is often less than optimal when it is applied in surgical or wet environments. Nature provides spectacular examples of adhesives that work extraordinarily in wet and harsh conditions. Mussels are able to secrete protein based adhesives that enable them to stick to boats and docks underwater. The PIs have developed an adhesive that is made from readily available and sustainable soybean oil which demonstrates superior adhesion to surfaces in wet conditions. This award is aimed at providing a better understanding of the chemical processes that are responsible for strong adhesion of this soybean oil based adhesive in wet conditions. The PIs will systematically modify the chemical composition of these adhesives and examine the nature of the adhesion. Such studies will enable design of adhesives that perform in challenging environments and which are translationally viable. The award enables graduate students to gain expertise in techniques and methodologies that are at the cutting edge of their field. In addition, the award will provide research opportunities for undergraduate and high school students.Technical: Adhesives such as those secreted by mussels and sandcastle worms are impressive for their ability to function in harsh conditions such as sea water and high winds. Synthetic polymers fall far short in their ability to mimic this ability to perform in wet environments. This award is aimed at gaining a better understanding of the interactions at the interface that enable adhesion under wet environments. The PIs have designed a modular polyester platform that enables the incorporation of various functional groups into the designed polyester. The major monomer for the synthesis of the adhesive polyester is derived from soybean oil - a widely available and sustainable resource. The designed polyester will contain long-chain pendant groups derived from soybean oil, which will provide the hydrophobic character to enable exclusion of water. In addition, the adhesion to a substrate will be provided by catechol units. Cohesive strength will be provided by coumarin units that crosslink upon photoirradiation. It will also contain various functional groups such as hydroxyl and amine groups that will affect the adhesion. The contribution of these functional groups will be examined by techniques that probe the substrate interface. Sum-frequency spectroscopy, soft contact mechanics (JKR) and solid state NMR will provide insight into the processes that account for the improved adhesion of these polyesters in wet environments. Students trained through this award will gain expertise in polymer synthesis, polymer characterization using cutting edge surface characterization techniques, and the opportunity to work collaboratively on teams that bring complementary skills.