CAREER: Thermomechanical Property Control of Confined Conjugated Polymeric Thin Films

职业：限域共轭聚合物薄膜的热机械性能控制

• 批准号: 2047689
• 负责人: Xiaodan Gu
• 金额: $ 59.35万
• 依托单位: University of Southern Mississippi
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-05-01 至 2026-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2047689&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Thermomechanical; Property; Control; Confined

This project is jointly funded by the Polymers Program in the Division of Materials Research and by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYUnderstanding the dynamics of electronically active polymeric materials is crucial for the development of next-generation foldable and deformable electronic devices. It is also envisioned that in the near future implantable electronic devices could provide unique interfaces between the human body and emerging electronics, thus restoring lost human function, such as hearing, vision, and bodily movement. However, there are no established design roles to understand, control, and predict the softness and pliability of such new electronically active materials. This project aims to address this challenge by developing fundamental new knowledge on the dynamics of polymer macromolecules and thus provide a pathway to make ultra-soft electronics that can enable the next generation of soft electronic devices for future wearables and implants. The researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi will develop, test, and validate new electronically active polymers using special instrumentation and develop new models to predict and control their softness. The research will include development of design rules to achieve tunable control of the electronic and mechanical properties of semiconducting polymers by measuring, understanding, and manipulating their mechanical properties and molecular entanglement behavior.In addition to research involvement of graduate and undergraduate students, the educational effort of the project would implement an integrated and curiosity-driven virtual and in-person education platform on polymeric and optoelectronic materials to local K-12 students, including school districts comprising a majority of underrepresented students. Broader impacts will also include a focused Southern U.S. X-ray/neutron scattering workshop to bring new scientific techniques to the local scientific community.TECHNICAL SUMMARY Organic semiconductors based on conjugated polymers exhibit unique optoelectronic properties and have been widely applied in a broad range of applications for efficient lighting, health care, energy harvesting, and storage. Despite promising advances in their optoelectrical properties, the ability to predict and control thermomechanical properties is lagging behind. Thus, the overall goal of this project is to develop new design rules to achieve tunable control of the electronic and mechanical properties of conjugated polymers by measuring, understanding, and manipulating their glass transition temperature as well as their molecular entanglement behavior. Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi will target the following goals: 1) accurately determine the glass transition temperature for conjugated polymers and its influence on the mechanical properties in both device-relevant thin-film confined states and bulk state; 2) illustrate the design rules for engineering highly entangled polymer chains to understand the role entangled semi-rigid chains have on final fracture behavior of free-standing thin films under confinement; and 3) understand the deformation mechanism of semi-rigid conjugated polymers using multimodal in-situ spectroscopy and scattering techniques, and thus guide the design of future deformable electronics. The fundamental knowledge gained through this project will lead to precise control of the thermomechanical properties of conjugated polymers, thus contributing to the development of future soft robotics, implantable health care, and robust energy harvesting devices..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.

该项目由材料研究部聚合物计划和刺激竞争研究既定计划 (EPSCoR) 联合资助。非技术摘要了解电子活性聚合物材料的动力学对于下一代可折叠和折叠电子产品的开发至关重要可变形的电子设备。人们还预计，在不久的将来，植入式电子设备可以在人体和新兴电子产品之间提供独特的接口，从而恢复失去的人类功能，例如听力、视觉和身体运动。 然而，目前还没有既定的设计角色来理解、控制和预测此类新型电子活性材料的柔软度和柔韧性。该项目旨在通过开发有关聚合物大分子动力学的基础新知识来应对这一挑战，从而提供一种制造超软电子产品的途径，从而为未来的可穿戴设备和植入物提供下一代软电子设备。 南密西西比大学的研究人员将使用特殊仪器开发、测试和验证新型电子活性聚合物，并开发新模型来预测和控制其柔软度。 该研究将包括开发设计规则，通过测量、理解和操纵半导体聚合物的机械性能和分子缠结行为来实现半导体聚合物电子和机械性能的可调控制。除了研究生和本科生的研究参与外，教育工作该项目的主要内容是为当地 K-12 学生（包括大多数学生人数不足的学区）实施一个关于聚合物和光电材料的综合且好奇心驱动的虚拟和面对面教育平台。更广泛的影响还将包括重点关注美国南部 X 射线/中子散射研讨会，为当地科学界带来新的科学技术。 技术摘要 基于共轭聚合物的有机半导体表现出独特的光电特性，并已广泛应用于广泛的应用领域用于高效照明、医疗保健、能量收集和存储。尽管其光电特性取得了有希望的进步，但预测和控制热机械特性的能力仍然落后。因此，该项目的总体目标是开发新的设计规则，通过测量、理解和操纵共轭聚合物的玻璃化转变温度及其分子缠结行为来实现对共轭聚合物的电子和机械性能的可调控制。南密西西比大学的研究人员将致力于实现以下目标：1）准确确定共轭聚合物的玻璃化转变温度及其对器件相关薄膜约束态和本体态机械性能的影响； 2) 说明工程高度缠结聚合物链的设计规则，以了解缠结半刚性链对约束下自支撑薄膜最终断裂行为的作用； 3）利用多模态原位光谱和散射技术了解半刚性共轭聚合物的变形机制，从而指导未来可变形电子器件的设计。 通过该项目获得的基础知识将有助于精确控制共轭聚合物的热机械性能，从而有助于未来软机器人、植入式医疗保健和强大的能量收集设备的发展。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并已被通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

项目成果

Backbone flexibility on conjugated polymer's crystallization behavior and thin film mechanical stability

• DOI: 10.1002/pol.20210462
• 发表时间: 2021-09
• 期刊: Journal of Polymer Science
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Zhiyuan Qian;Luke A. Galuska;Guorong Ma;W. McNutt;Song Zhang;Jianguo Mei;X. Gu

Achieving High Performance Stretchable Conjugated Polymers via Donor Structure Engineering

通过供体结构工程实现高性能可拉伸共轭聚合物

• DOI: 10.1002/marc.202300169
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Macromolecular Rapid Communications
• 影响因子: 4.6
• 作者: Wu, Ning;Huang, Gang;Huang, Hua;Wang, Yunfei;Gu, Xiaodan;Wang, Xiaohong;Qiu, Longzhen
• 通讯作者: Qiu, Longzhen

Bioadhesive polymer semiconductors and transistors for intimate biointerfaces

• DOI: 10.1126/science.adg8758
• 发表时间: 2023-08-11
• 期刊: SCIENCE
• 影响因子: 56.9
• 作者: Li, Nan;Li, Yang;Wang, Sihong
• 通讯作者: Wang, Sihong

Molecular Origin of Strain‐Induced Chain Alignment in PDPP‐Based Semiconducting Polymeric Thin Films

• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202100161
• 发表时间: 2021-03
• 期刊: Advanced Functional Materials
• 影响因子: 19
• 作者: Song Zhang;Amirhadi Alesadi;Gage T. Mason;Kai‐Lin Chen;Guillaume Freychet;Luke A. Galuska;Yu‐Hsuan Cheng;P. B. J. St. Onge;Michael U. Ocheje;Guorong Ma;Zhiyuan Qian;Sujata Dhakal;Zachary Ahmad;Cheng Wang;Yu‐Cheng Chiu;S. Rondeau‐Gagné;W. Xia;X. Gu

Highly Deformable Rigid Glassy Conjugated Polymeric Thin Films

• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202306576
• 发表时间: 2023-08
• 期刊: Advanced Functional Materials
• 影响因子: 19
• 作者: Yunfei Wang;Song Zhang;Guillaume Freychet;Zhaofan Li;Kai‐Lin Chen;Chih-Ting Liu;Zhiqiang Cao;Y. Chiu;W. Xia;X. Gu