ERI: Reconfigurable Highly-Ordered Microlayers Between Liquid Interfaces

ERI：液体界面之间的可重构高度有序微层

• 批准号: 2301605
• 负责人: Zahra Niroobakhsh
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: University of Missouri-Kansas City
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-06-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2301605&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERI; Reconfigurable; Highly; Ordered; Microlayers

Creating semi-solid structures between water-oil interfaces is critical in many fields, including drug delivery, tissue bio-mimicking, and energy applications. Amphiphiles, comprising water-loving and water-hating parts, could be used to construct organized microlayers between liquid-liquid interfaces. The interfacial microlayer in such systems forms instantaneously at the interface yet continues to grow gradually, making it challenging to create a well-controlled thickness at the interface. The current award aims to address this challenge by investigating and understanding the underlying mechanisms that control interface growth and dynamics experimentally. The interdisciplinary nature of this award will provide opportunities to develop undergraduate and graduate curriculum, design educational outreach activities for the general public, and expose high school students with STEM subjects.Stabilizing oil-water interfaces to create hierarchical functional structures between fluidic interfaces has been a significant area of study in various material sciences and engineering fields. However, stabilizing and structuring fluidic interfaces by surfactant self-assembly has not been extensively explored. Creating a smart complex is advantageous and unique compared to the other relevant systems and can revolutionize many fields. First, surfactants are inexpensive and commercially available; thus, no special and time-consuming synthesis is needed. Furthermore, no other “all-liquid systems” can create meso-architectural morphologies, such as lamellar or hexagonal, except surfactant self-assembled systems. This award aims to investigate an aqueous surfactant system with oil cosurfactant to 1) identify spontaneous emulsification mechanism and control its kinetics rate; 2) control the microlayer growth and tune its viscoelasticity; 3) to integrate associative components to create reconfigurable interfaces, and 4) enhance the accessibility of STEM education for local underprivileged high school students. To accomplish these goals, experimental methods including interfacial tension measurement, shear and dilatational rheology, and microscopies will be utilized.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.

在许多领域，包括药物递送，组织生物模仿和能源应用，在水上界面之间建立半固定结构至关重要。完成热爱水和讨厌水的两极分子可用于在液态液体界面之间构建有组织的微层。此类系统中的界面微层层在界面处立即形成，但仍在逐渐增长，这使得在界面上创建一个良好的控制厚度是挑战。当前的奖项旨在通过研究和了解实验控制界面增长和动态的潜在机制来应对这一挑战。该奖项的跨学科性质将提供机会，为公众开发本科生和研究生流行，设计教育外展活动，并使高中生具有STEM主题。使油水界面稳定以在流体界面之间建立层次功能结构，在各种材料科学和工程学领域都有重要的研究领域。但是，通过自组装的基础稳定和结构液体界面尚未广泛探索。与其他相关系统相比，创建智能复合物是有利的，并且可以彻底改变许多领域。首先，表面活性剂价格便宜且可商购。因此，不需要特殊且耗时的综合。此外，除了基本的自组装系统外，没有其他其他“全液体系统”可以创建中构建形态（例如层状或六角形）。该奖项旨在调查使用石油固定活性剂的水性表面活性剂系统1）确定赞助的乳化机制并控制其动力学率； 2）控制微层的生长并调整其粘弹性； 3）整合关联组件以创建可重新配置的接口，以及4）增强对当地贫困高中生STEM教育的可访问性。为了实现这些目标，将利用包括界面张力测量，剪切和扩张性流变学以及显微镜在内的实验方法。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准通过评估来评估的。