Segmented metallized electrospun fibers with high flexibility and electrical conductivity

这项提议的主题是制备部分金属化的电纺纤维的二维和三维支架。部分金属化将通过沿纤维长轴分割纤维来实现。纤维表面将交替地显示在金属和聚合物表面上，这导致了分段结构。这将增强纤维的柔韧性，但仍有足够的接触以确保金属化部分之间的接触，以确保支架的导电性。由此产生的结构将代表新类型的电极，这些电极显示出高的金属导电性和机械灵活性。当然，这种类型的电极将有许多应用，这些应用将在本提案的最后工作方案中进行探讨。实现这种新型电极的关键是两个里程碑：1.采用逐层涂覆的方法制备分段离子改性纤维；2.采用不同方法对分段纤维进行金属化。对于项目的这两个关键部分，我们都做了出色的准备工作，并与Yoon教授(韩国大学)团队建立了良好的合作伙伴关系。我们将一起探索不同的金属化方法，并详细研究这一过程，以便从根本上了解这一有望实现微尺度功能聚合物/金属杂化结构的方法。我们的合作伙伴Yoon教授将探索将部分金属化的支架用作分解水和净水的电极，这是Yoon集团的一项专门知识。

The topic of this proposal is the preparation of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional scaffolds of electrospun fibers which are partially metallized. The partial metallization will be achieved by segmentation of the fibers along the fiber long axis. The fiber surface will display in alternating metal and polymer surfaces which results in segmented structures. This will lead to enhanced flexibility of the fibers but still sufficient contacts for perclation between the metallized parts to assure electrical conductivity of the scaffold. The resulting structures will represent new types of electrodes which show high metallic conductivity in combination with mechanical flexibility. Surely, this type of electrodes would find numerous applications which will be probed in the final working package of this proposal. Key for achievement of this new type of electrodes are 2 milestones: 1. The preparation of segmented ionically modified fibers by layer-by-layer coating and 2. The metallization of the segmented fibers by different methods. For both of these crucial parts of the project we have excellent prework and an excellent cooperation partner with the group of Prof. Yoon (Korea University). We will probe together different methods of metallization and investigate the process in detail in order to gain a fundamental understanding of this promising approach to microscaled functional polymer/metal hybrid structures. It should not remain unmentioned that our cooperation partner, Prof. Yoon, will probe the partially metallized scaffolds as electrodes in water splitting and water purification which is a special expertise of the Yoon group.