Manufacturing of Nanofibrillated Soft Dendritic Particles Using Turbulent Liquid Shear

由于其分形的性质，与规则形状的纳米颗粒相比，纳米原纤化的树枝状聚合物颗粒具有极大的比表面积。这些颗粒表现出高度粘合或“粘连”的行为。它们的功能用途是涂料、凝胶、纺织品、非织造布、个人护理、农业和生物医药产品。该奖项介绍了一种新的纳米制造方法，将工业和消费产品中使用的多种聚合物转化为这种新型纳米材料。高效制造纳米原纤化聚合物粒子的工艺的引入可能会对美国大中型公司生产的大量大容量和高价值产品的制造产生革命性影响。这种制造先进聚合物纳米材料的能力的引入，极大地影响了国家的繁荣、健康和安全。新的纳米制造工艺包括湍流液体剪切，并且简单、高效和可扩展。该项目对湍流液体剪切作用下纳米纤维聚合物材料形成的复杂机理有了深入的了解，并为其大规模连续生产提供了科学依据。该项目也是研究生和本科生进行纳米制造和创新培训的基础。它在一个结合了创新科学、制造技术和工业合作的令人兴奋的环境中培养学生的创业精神和软技能。相关的动手实验为视觉上令人印象深刻的本科生项目提供了基础，并使许多科学推广活动成为可能。在剪切下通过聚合物沉淀制备树枝状颗粒的新工艺简单而通用。然而，它带来了许多根本性的科学挑战。多相聚合物沉淀过程的复杂性需要系统的实验和表征，并通过建模来支持。全面的研究计划包括两个相辅相成的推进。第一个推力有助于理解聚合物在湍流液体中沉淀导致树枝状颗粒形成的物理机制。该团队阐明了界面传质、溶剂-溶剂和溶剂-聚合物相互作用、聚合物沉淀速率和湍流液体剪切速率对沉淀纳米纤维颗粒形态的影响。第二个推力将这些基本见解应用于设计和测试高效和可扩展的纳米制造工艺。这项研究和工艺建模使目前树枝状纳米纤维颗粒的可控可伸缩制造成为可能，并有可能在未来制造许多其他聚合物纳米材料，包括纳米片、纳米带和纳米棒。总体而言，基于液体的剪切纳米制造可以成为高效制造具有非凡性能的聚合物纳米材料的平台技术。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Due to their fractal nature, nanofibrillated dendritic polymer particles have enormously increased surface area compared to regularly shaped nanoparticles. These particles exhibit high adhesive or "sticking" behavior. Their functional uses are in coatings, gels, textiles, nonwovens, personal care, agricultural and biomedical products. This award introduces a new nanomanufacturing method, where a multitude of polymers used in industrial and consumer products are converted into this novel nanomaterial. The introduction of processes for efficient manufacturing of nanofibrillated polymer particles could have a transformative impact on the fabrication of numerous high-volume and high-value products made by large and mid-sized U.S. companies. The introduction of such a capability to manufacture advanced polymer nanomaterials greatly impacts the nation's prosperity, health and security. The novel nanomanufacturing process involves turbulent liquid shear and is simple, efficient, and scalable. This project develops fundamental understanding of the complex mechanisms of nanofibrillar polymer materials formation under turbulent liquid shear and provides the scientific basis for their large-scale continuous manufacturing. The project also serves as grounds for nanofabrication and innovation training of graduate and undergraduate students. It fosters student entrepreneurship and soft skills in an exciting environment combining innovative science, manufacturing technology and industrial collaborations. Related hands-on experiments provide the basis for visually impressive undergraduate projects and enable numerous science outreach activities.The new process for making of dendritic particles by polymer precipitation under shear is simple and versatile. However, it poses many fundamental scientific challenges. The complexity of the process of multiphasic polymer precipitation requires systematic experimentation and characterization, supported through modeling. The comprehensive research plan includes two complementary thrusts. The first thrust generates understanding of the physical mechanisms by which polymer precipitation in turbulent liquid flow leads to the formation of the dendritic particles. The team elucidates the role of interfacial mass transport, solvent-solvent and solvent-polymer interactions, polymer precipitation rates, and turbulent liquid shear rates on the morphology of the precipitated nanofibrillated particles. The second thrust applies these fundamental insights to design and test efficient and scalable nanomanufacturing processes. The research and process modelling enable controlled scalable fabrication of dendritic nanofibrillar particles at present, and potentially of numerous other polymeric nanomaterials, including nanosheets, nanoribbons and nanorods, in the future. Overall, the liquid-based shear nanomanufacturing can become a platform technology for efficient manufacturing of polymeric nanomaterials with extraordinary properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.