MRI:Development of an Instrument for Synthesis of Polymer Thin Films by Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition with Capability of in Situ Structural Characterization

几十年来，高分子涂料一直是人类生活的一部分。随着我们的发展，涂料将需要功能最小，安全和环保。为了应对这些挑战，我们需要了解任何沉积过程背后的基本原理，以便利用它来开发新的涂层并改进现有的涂层。正是这一理念，推动了这款具有所有独特功能的乐器的概念。曼哈顿学院主要是一所本科院校，强调提供全面的教育。因此，该项目的一个核心目标是将仪器作为一种工具，向学生传授沉积过程背后的科学和工程概念，培训他们，让他们有机会与教授和科学家一起进行前沿研究项目，并将他们置于发现之路，以便他们为解决未来的技术问题做好准备。该项目的另一个关键目标是利用该工具为广大公众提供有意义的推广机会。具体来说，我们的目标是教育布朗克斯和周边社区的家长和学校教师关于仪器的操作和应用，以便他们可以将其作为一个平台，激励更多的学生在STEM领域从事职业。本项目的重点是在曼哈顿学院开发一种仪器，通过化学气相沉积（iCVD）技术研究聚合物薄膜在衬底上的应用。该仪器将包含以下目前在现成的iCVD仪器中不具备的新功能：a)在沉积过程中通过红外光谱对聚合物薄膜进行原位表征，通过在腔室的阶段中嵌入衰减全反射（ATR）晶体；b)通过热引发和光引发聚合物沉积，通过在沉积腔室内提供照明槽；c)使用载气进料单体；这将是扩大iCVD技术商业应用规模的重要一步d)从真空到正压的各种压力下的聚合物沉积，这将使迄今为止超出该技术范围的单体聚合成为可能。最后，将对仪器进行设计，以便与气体分析仪结合使用，研究材料的低温光催化性能。拟议的仪器将能够同时支持各种跨学科研究项目，这将使其成为曼哈顿学院等主要本科机构的研究基础设施的宝贵补充。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Polymeric coatings have been part of the fabric of human life for decades. As we move forward, the coatings will need to be functional yet minimal, safe and environmentally responsible. To meet these challenges, we need to understand the fundamental principles behind any deposition process so that it could be harnessed to develop new coatings and to improve upon existing ones. It is this idea that is the driving force behind the conception of the instrument with all its unique capabilities. Manhattan College is a primarily undergraduate institution with an emphasis on providing a well-rounded education. Therefore, a core objective of the project will be to use the instrument as a vehicle to its students the scientific and engineering concepts underlying the deposition process, to train them and give them the opportunity to work with professors and scientists on cutting-edge research projects, and to put them on the path of discovery so that they may be prepared to solve technological problems of the future. Another key objective of the project is to leverage the instrument to create meaningful opportunities for outreach to the public at large. Specifically, our goal is to educate parents and school teachers from the Bronx and surrounding communities about the operation and applications of the instrument so that they may use it as a platform to inspire greater numbers of students to pursue careers in STEM fields. This project focuses on the development of an instrument at Manhattan College to study the application of polymer thin films on substrates by the technique of initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD). The instrument will contain the following novel capabilities that are not currently available in an off-the-shelf iCVD instrument a) in situ characterization of the polymer films by infrared spectroscopy during the deposition process, by embedding an Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) crystal in the stage of the chamber b) polymer deposition by thermal as well as photo-initiation, by providing a slot for illumination inside the deposition chamber c) feeding monomers using a carrier gas, which would be an important step in the scale-up of the iCVD technique for commercial applications d) polymer deposition under a wide range of pressures, from vacuum to positive pressure, which would enable polymerization of monomers that have thus far been outside the scope of the technique. Finally, the instrument will be designed so as to be used in conjunction with a gas analyzer to study low-temperature, photocatalytic properties of materials. The proposed instrument would be capable of simultaneously supporting a variety of interdisciplinary research projects, which would make it a valuable addition to the research infrastructure of a primarily undergraduate institution like Manhattan College.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.