Self-Assembly of Block Copolymer Materials

该奖项支持首席研究员在嵌段共聚物系统模式形成领域的研究计划。嵌段共聚物是由两种或两种以上不同聚合物结合而成的分子结构。不同块之间的不相容导致了纳米尺度上的各种模式和组织，这反过来又导致了许多不同的材料性质。本项目建立和研究嵌段共聚物组装成各种微观结构的理论模型。这将反过来导致将聚合物的分子特性与更大规模的机械和形态行为联系起来的公式的发展，这将允许预测和工程由图案共聚物相和聚集体形成的新材料。这种方法在纳米级制造和生物技术方面有许多应用，包括纳米光刻、光子学、电子存储系统、分子大小的机器、受控药物输送和合成生物结构。在六边形和层状几何结构的降维模型计算的背景下，研究了本体共聚物相的缺陷演化和取向顺序。外部场的影响也将纳入这个模型缩减框架。共聚物聚集体，如胶束和囊泡将研究使用分析技术的稳定性和分岔，以及大规模的数值模拟。两亲性双分子层和非均相膜的模型也将在类似的框架中构建和分析。该项目将广泛影响实验研究和制造工艺设计，并为研究生和博士后研究人员提供教育机会。

This award supports the research program of the Principal Investigator in the area of pattern formation in block copolymer systems. Block copolymers are molecular structures formed by bonding together two or more different polymers. Incompatibilities between different blocks lead to a variety of patterns and organization on nanoscopic scales, which in turn leads to a number of different material properties. This project builds and studies theoretical models for the assembly of block copolymers into a variety of microscopic architectures. This will lead in turn to the development of formulas that connect molecular properties of polymers to mechanical and morphological behaviors at a larger scale, which will allow prediction and engineering of new materials formed from patterned copolymer phases and aggregates. There are a number of nanoscale fabrication and biotechnological applications of this approach, including nanolithography, photonics, electronic storage systems, molecular-sized machines, controlled drug delivery, and synthetic biological structures.Defect evolution of bulk copolymer phases and orientational ordering is studied in the context of computations performed with reduced dimensional models for hexagonal and lamellar geometries. The effects of external fields will also be incorporated into this model-reduction framework. Copolymer aggregates such as micelles and vesicles will be studied using analytic techniques for stability and bifurcation, as well as large scale numerical simulation. Models for amphiphilic bilayers and heterogeneous membranes will also be constructed and analyzed in a similar framework. The project will broadly impact experimental investigations and the design of manufacturing processes, as well as provide educational opportunities for graduate and postdoctoral researchers.