Collaborative Research: Structure-Mechanics Relationships for Ultra-thin Block Copolymer Films

合作研究：超薄嵌段共聚物薄膜的结构-力学关系

• 批准号: 1904525
• 负责人: Alfred Crosby
• 金额: $ 18.38万
• 依托单位: University of Massachusetts Amherst
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-07-01 至 2022-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1904525&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Structure; Mechanics; Relationships

PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis collaborative project brings together scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Pennsylvania to gain new understanding of how mechanical properties, like stiffness and strength, change when a polymeric material is made into a film with thickness near the size of an individual molecule. Ultra-thin films, such as the ones studied in this project, are desired to help decrease energy consumption in processes like filtration, as well as in semiconductor manufacturing. However, current materials are unable to provide sufficient strength in these applications. New experimental methods will be combined with molecular simulations to understand how structures in the polymer thin films affect their properties in these highly confined states. Beyond the broad impact related to the development of new fundamental science and materials-design guidelines that will decrease materials waste and increase energy efficiency, this project will provide new opportunities for educating Ph.D. students, undergraduate students, and high-school students through rich, collaborative research experiences involving both experiments and simulations.PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis collaborative project will provide new fundamental data and knowledge on the role of block copolymer domain structure in controlling the full mechanical response of ultra-thin polymer films, where film thickness is comparable to or smaller than the domain structure size scale. The proposed approach unites the strengths of advanced simulations and novel experimental methods to test new hypotheses based on the role of position within a confined material on segmental mobility and inter-chain entanglements, and the consequential impact on mechanical properties. Experimentally, a recent mechanical measurement method, called The Uniaxial Tensile Tester for Ultra-Thin films (TUTTUT), will be used to quantify the mechanics of ultra-thin block copolymer films. The experiments will integrate with simulations that use coarse-grained models to predict the molecular response of polymer films, and the simulations will provide a local picture of the changes in the entanglement network and local dynamics as a function of position away from the interfaces in the block copolymer films. Through these efforts, the co-PIs will support the education, training, and inspiration of the next generation of materials scientists and engineers, with a focus toward increased participation of women and traditionally under-represented minorities.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.

第1部分：非技术摘要这项合作项目将马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特大学和宾夕法尼亚大学的科学家汇集在一起​​，以对机械性能（如僵硬和力量）的方式有了新的了解，当聚合物材料构成薄膜中的机械性能如何变化，这些材料的厚度接近单个分子的大小。 希望薄膜（例如该项目中研究的膜）可以帮助减少过滤等过程中的能源消耗，以及在半导体制造中。 但是，当前的材料无法在这些应用中提供足够的强度。 新的实验方法将与分子模拟相结合，以了解聚合物薄膜中的结构如何影响其在这些高度狭窄状态的特性。 除了与新的基本科学和材料设计指南的开发相关的广泛影响，这些指南将减少材料浪费并提高能源效率，该项目将为教育博士学位提供新的机会。学生，本科生和高中生通过涉及实验和模拟的丰富协作研究经验。第2部分：技术摘要将提供有关块共聚物结构在控制超纯聚合物层的全部机械响应的块共聚物结构的作用的新基本数据和知识，而薄膜厚度与膜厚度的全部机械响应相比，与较小的结构量表相比，较小的型号。所提出的方法将高级模拟和新型实验方法的优势结合在一起，以基于在受限材料中的位置对节段迁移率和链间纠缠中的位置的作用以及对机械性能的结果影响。在实验上，一种最新的机械测量方法，称为超薄膜的单轴拉伸测试仪（Tuttut），将用于量化超薄块共聚物膜的机制。实验将与使用粗粒模型预测聚合物膜的分子响应的模拟集成，模拟将提供近乎纠缠网络和局部动力学变化的局部图像，这是远离块共聚物膜中界面的位置的函数。通过这些努力，Co-PIS将支持下一代材料科学家和工程师的教育，培训和灵感，重点是增加妇女的参与，传统上代表不足的少数群体。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛的影响来评估的支持，并被认为是值得的。