LEAPS-MPS: Molecular Engineering and Synergic Integration of Perovskite Nanomaterials with Thermoplastic Elastomers for Flexible Multifunctional Optical Materials

该奖项全部或部分由2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117-2）资助。非技术摘要软和可拉伸显示器、照明和其他光电设备是当今世界提高生活质量和生产力的关键组件，社会和行业。新的和更强大的设备的开发需要新的功能材料。半导体钙钛矿纳米材料是下一代光电器件中最有前途的材料之一。然而，它们的进一步应用受到其差的稳定性和加工性的限制。通过这个LEAPS-MPS项目，阿克伦大学的Weinan Xu教授提出通过设计由钙钛矿纳米材料和热塑性弹性体组成的柔软和可拉伸的混合材料来克服这些限制。 软共聚物基质保护钙钛矿纳米材料，同时控制它们的排列和组装，从而产生多功能，高稳定性和可拉伸的光学材料。该项目还将为下一代聚合物和材料科学家和工程师的教育做出贡献，并向公众推广STEM教育。 纳米材料和聚合物的教育计划将与当地学校和科学中心一起实施。纳米材料和聚合物在我们日常生活中的实践活动和演示将激发年轻一代对科学和工程的兴趣。半导体钙钛矿纳米材料在光电子学、能量转换、先进照明和显示器中具有很好的应用前景。但是，在实现其全部潜力之前，需要解决几个主要挑战，其中包括稳定性差和缺乏有效的纳米图案化方法。LEAPS-MPS奖项旨在通过以分子精确和协同的方式将钙钛矿纳米颗粒与嵌段共聚物热塑性弹性体相结合来应对这些挑战。钙钛矿纳米颗粒的表面化学和热塑性弹性体中聚合物嵌段的离子状态将被设计和定制，使得钙钛矿纳米颗粒和特定聚合物嵌段之间的高相容性和强优先相互作用将被实现。具有不同光学性质的两种或多种类型的钙钛矿纳米颗粒将基于它们与共聚物中的官能化聚合物嵌段的选择性亲和力而同时图案化。多功能，高稳定性和可拉伸的钙钛矿-共聚物复合材料将被创建并通过高分辨率显微镜，光谱学和多尺度模拟进行系统研究。该项目是跨学科的，它为材料化学、胶体科学、微加工和器件工程等不同领域的学生提供了培训机会。该奖项反映了NSF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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYSoft and stretchable displays, lighting, and other optoelectronic devices are critical components in today’s world to improve the quality and productivity of life, society, and industries. The development of new and more powerful devices requires new functional materials. Semiconducting perovskite nanomaterials are among the most promising ones to be used in next-generation optoelectronic devices. Their further application, however, is constrained by their poor stability and processability. With this LEAPS-MPS project, Professor Weinan Xu at the University of Akron proposes to overcome those limitations by designing soft and stretchable hybrid materials composed of perovskite nanomaterials and thermoplastic elastomers. The soft copolymer matrix protects the perovskite nanomaterials and at the same time controls their alignment and assembly, so that multifunctional, highly stable, and stretchable optical materials will be generated. This project will also contribute to the education of next-generation polymer and materials scientists and engineers and promote STEM education to the general public. Educational programs on nanomaterials and polymers will be implemented with local schools and science centers. The hands-on activities and demonstrations of nanomaterials and polymers in our daily life will stimulate younger generations’ interests in science and engineering. TECHNICAL SUMMARYSemiconducting perovskite nanomaterials have promising applications in optoelectronics, energy conversion, advanced lighting and displays. But several major challenges need to be addressed before their full potential can be achieved, which include poor stability and the lack of efficient nanopatterning methods. This LEAPS-MPS award aims to address those challenges by integrating perovskite nanoparticles with block copolymer thermoplastic elastomers in a molecularly precise and synergistic way. The surface chemistry of the perovskite nanoparticles and the ionic state of the polymer blocks in the thermoplastic elastomers will be designed and customized, so that high compatibility and strong preferential interactions between the perovskite nanoparticles and a particular polymer block will be achieved. Two or multiple types of perovskite nanoparticles with different optical properties will be simultaneously patterned based on their selective affinity with the functionalized polymer blocks in the copolymers. Multifunctional, highly stable, and stretchable perovskite-copolymer composite materials will be created and systematically investigated with high-resolution microscopies, spectroscopies, and multiscale simulation. This project is interdisciplinary, and it provides opportunities for training students in different areas of materials chemistry, colloidal science, microfabrication, and device engineering.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.