Collaborative Research: Self-Assembly in Ultrathin Films of Bent-Core Molecules: Experiment, Simulations, and Applications

合作研究：弯核分子超薄膜的自组装：实验、模拟和应用

• 批准号: 0907055
• 负责人: Elizabeth Mann
• 金额: $ 44.62万
• 依托单位: Kent State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-15 至 2015-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0907055&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Self; Assembly; Ultrathin

TECHNICAL SUMMARYSurface adsorption will be used to create bent-core layers on water via Langmuir techniques, as well as in free-standing films under water, with orientational order over centimeter ranges. These nanometer-thick ordered layers will be studied in situ, transferred to solid substrates (Langmuir/Blodgett and Langmuir/Schaeffer layers), and then used to align bulk bent-core mesophases. These systems will be analyzed with a multiscale approach, in which macroscopic and mesoscopic experiments are correlated with realistic molecular and mesoscopic simulations, where no one approach can cover the whole range of length scales. BLM-like films formed underwater will be stabilized by polymerization and tested as sensors for biological systems. The project will aim to understand the physics underlying these processes, and their sensitivity to small molecular changes and/or external stimuli. The knowledge gained will be used to optimize the self-organization of these molecules for diverse applications. The broader impacts of this project will include the enhanced ability to control surface properties which may lead to improved devices such as sensors, the training of students in a unique multidisciplinary environment, and the development of interdisciplinary teaching materials. NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThroughout both nature and technology, the sensitivity of materials to external stimuli plays critical roles. For example, biological systems make extensive use of this sensitivity in endo- and exocytosis, the processes by which cells take in or expel materials. This sensitivity also lies behind the success of liquid crystals in electro-optical devices and other applications. This transformative project will use a combined experimental/computational approach to investigate how the properties of bent-core, banana-shaped molecules, are changed by interaction with a surface, and how these changes can be exploited to produce ordered bent-core liquid crystal materials for device applications, such as biosensors and smart biomaterials. More complex, but synthetically controllable molecular structures allow a much broader range of surface properties. Collaborations with international leaders in bent-core synthesis, to implement necessary modifications of the molecular structure of these complex molecules, plays an essential role in this project. Students ranging from high school to graduate level will receive interdisciplinary education in physics, chemistry, and engineering and be exposed to industrial contacts through the unique environment of the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University.

技术摘要表面的吸附将用于通过Langmuir技术在水上以及在水下的独立电影中创建弯曲的层，并在厘米范围内具有定向顺序。这些纳米厚的有序层将进行原位研究，并转移到固体底物（Langmuir/Blodgett和Langmuir/Schaeffer层）中，然后用于使散装大量弯曲核核中介液对齐。这些系统将通过多尺度方法进行分析，其中宏观和介观实验与逼真的分子和介镜模拟相关，在该模拟中，没有人可以涵盖整个长度尺度的范围。在水下形成的BLM样膜将通过聚合稳定，并作为生物系统的传感器进行了测试。该项目将旨在了解这些过程的物理学以及它们对小分子变化和/或外部刺激的敏感性。获得的知识将用于优化这些分子在不同应用中的自组织。该项目的更广泛影响将包括控制表面特性的增强能力，这些能力可能会导致改进的设备，例如传感器，在独特的多学科环境中对学生的培训以及跨学科教材的发展。非技术性摘要自然和技术，材料对外部刺激的敏感性起着关键作用。例如，生物系统在内部和胞吞作用中广泛使用这种敏感性，即细胞所吸收或驱逐材料的过程。这种敏感性也在于电流设备和其他应用中液晶成功的背后。该变革性项目将使用一种组合的实验/计算方法来研究弯曲核，香蕉形分子的性能如何通过与表面的相互作用来更改，以及如何利用这些变化来生产有序的弯曲核心液晶材料，以用于生物传感器和智能生物材料。更复杂，但合成可控的分子结构允许表面特性范围更广泛。与国际领导者在弯曲核心合成中的合作，以实施这些复杂分子的分子结构的必要修改，在该项目中起着至关重要的作用。从高中到研究生一级的学生将接受物理，化学和工程学的跨学科教育，并通过肯特州立大学液晶学院的独特环境接触工业接触。