CAREER: Laser-Induced Graphene with On-Demand Morphology and Chemistry Control for Scalable Flexible Device Manufacturing

这个教师早期职业发展（CAREER）奖旨在通过两个具体目标来改变灵活的设备制造和促进服务不足社区的教育：（1）为了克服当前直接在柔性聚合物上制造功能性三维石墨烯的挑战和限制，以及（2）利用虚拟现实（VR）加强美国STEM教育和先进制造业培训，以在资源有限的环境中实现可扩展的劳动力发展。预计2020年柔性电子产品市场将超过410亿美元，预计未来十年将翻一番。因此，从该项目中获得的科学见解将与许多快速增长的行业直接相关。特别是，生物传感器是这种新兴制造方法很有可能被破坏的应用领域，并构成了柔性电子市场的三大领域之一。柔性电池和可拉伸电子产品也将快速增长，这两者都可以通过激光诱导石墨烯进行转化。美国的竞争力将取决于科学研究，以开发新的制造方法，以确保未来的柔性电子产品在国内的制造基地。创建教育模块的基于VR的方法是一种可扩展的方法，将对全国服务不足的社区的教育产生积极影响。 在这个项目中创建的模块将在网上提供，并可以重新用于学校，社区中心和/或学院的其他培训计划，特别是随着COVID-19对面对面活动的限制，最近远程学习计划的兴起。该项目的科学目标是测试中心研究假设，即将聚合物化学与时空通量映射和真实的结合起来，激光诱导纳米碳（LINC）过程中的时间声发射独特地能够控制分子工程聚酰亚胺中的热化学转变，以形成具有定制化学、可调形态和空间变化性质的sp2杂化碳。因此，研究目标是（1）直接在柔性聚酰亚胺上图案化功能梯度多孔石墨烯电极，具有形态和导电性的时空控制，（2）利用实时声发射测量和机器学习来建立对LINC的分层纳米尺度到介观尺度形态形成的动力学的基本理解，（3）通过聚酰胺酸前体的分子工程制造具有空间变化化学性质的掺杂石墨烯微电极，以及（4）通过印刷光引发剂在一个步骤中在聚合物膜的顶侧和底侧上产生小型化石墨烯图案的复杂3D结构。教育目标是（1）针对服务不足社区的初中和高中学生创建基于VR的沉浸式外展研讨会;（2）构建一套VR模块，以补充PI实验室现有的公共图尔斯之旅，作为PI学校代表性不足的学生招聘的一部分;（3）在PI学校的暑期研究体验计划中，将联合收割机与动手实验相结合，对高中生进行科学培训，以及（4）利用VR提高本科生和研究生课程实验室的教学效果。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 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award aims at transforming flexible device manufacturing and promoting education in underserved communities through two specific goals: (1) to overcome current challenges and limitations in fabricating functional three-dimensional graphene directly on flexible polymers, and (2) to leverage virtual reality (VR) for enhancing American STEM education and advanced manufacturing training for scalable workforce development in resource-limited environments. The flexible electronics market was estimated to exceed $41 billion in 2020 and is expected to approximately double in the next decade. Hence, the scientific insights gained from this project will be immediately relevant to a number of fast-growing industries. In particular, biosensors is the application area with a high potential to be disrupted by this emerging fabrication approach and constitutes one of the three largest sectors of the flexile electronics market. Rapid growth is also projected for flexible batteries and stretchable electronics, both of which can also be transformed by laser-induced graphene. American competitiveness will depend on scientific studies to develop new manufacturing approaches to ensure that the future of flexible electronics within the domestic manufacturing base. The VR-based approach to create educational modules is a scalable approach that will positively impact education in underserved neighborhoods nation-wide. The modules created in this project will be available online and can be repurposed for other training programs at schools, community centers, and/or colleges, especially with the recent rise of remote learning programs spurred by COVID-19-imposed restrictions on in-person activities.The scientific goal of this project is to test the central research hypothesis that combining polymer chemistry with spatiotemporal mapping of fluence and real-time acoustic emissions during laser-induced nanocarbon (LINC) uniquely enables controlling the thermochemical transitions in molecularly engineered polyimides to form sp2-hybridized carbon with tailored chemistry, tunable morphology, and spatially varying properties. Accordingly, the research objectives are (1) to pattern functionally graded porous graphene electrodes directly on flexible polyimides with spatiotemporal control of morphology and conductivity, (2) to leverage real-time acoustic emission measurements and machine learning for establishing a fundamental understanding of the dynamics underlying the formation of hierarchical nanoscale-to-mesoscale morphology of LINC, (3) to fabricate doped graphene microelectrodes with spatially varying chemistry via molecular engineering of polyamic acid precursors, and (4) to create complex 3D architectures of miniaturized graphene patterns on both top and bottom sides of a polymer film in one-step via printing of optical initiators. The education objectives are (1) to create VR-based immersive outreach workshops targeting middle- and high-school students from underserved neighborhoods; (2) to build a set of VR modules to supplement existing public tours of the PI’s lab as part of underrepresented student recruitment at the PI’s school; (3) to combine VR with hands-on experimentation for science training of high school students during a summer research experience program in the PI’s school, and (4) to leverage VR for enhancing teaching effectiveness in lab sessions for both undergraduate and graduate courses.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.