Collaborative Proposal: How to Gel Oil (or Water) in an Immiscible Oil-Water Mixture: A Systematic Study of Phase-Selective Gelation

合作提案：如何在不混溶的油水混合物中胶凝油（或水）：相选择性胶凝的系统研究

• 批准号: 2226547
• 负责人: Srinivasa Raghavan
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 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: 2023-02-01 至 2026-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2226547&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Proposal; How; Gel; Oil

Everyone knows that oil and water do not mix. This award will study how one of these liquids can be selectively converted into a gel – a process that is termed phase-selective gelation. To induce such gelation, molecules will be synthesized that will find their way into either the oil or the water layer and then undergo ‘self-assembly’ there. Self-assembly implies that the molecules will spontaneously join and form structures – in this case, long fibers – with nanoscale sizes. In turn, the nanofibers will entangle with each other and thus convert the liquid into a paste-like material (with the consistency of ketchup or hair gel). This will be the first systematic study on phase-selective gelation. The insights from this award could help design new materials to clean-up oil spills or to remediate oil-contaminated ground water. The focus of this award will be on the fundamental science behind the phenomenon of phase-selective gelation, and the goal will be to develop design rules connecting molecular structure, interfacial properties, and gel structure/rheology. A range of amphiphilic molecules will be synthesized and their ability to gel either the oil or water phase in a mixture will be studied. Key criteria for a molecule to be a phase-selective gelator are: (a) it should not emulsify the oil-water mixture; and (b) it should also not get appreciably solubilized in either of the phases. The hypothesis is that such gelation can be accomplished by striking the right balance of non-covalent interactions between the amphiphilic molecules such as hydrogen-bonding between the head groups as well as pi-pi and van der Waals interactions between the tails. The proposed research will also be integrated with educational, mentoring, and outreach activities at the collaborating institutions.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.

每个人都知道油和水不会混合。该奖项将研究如何选择性地将其中一种液体转化为凝胶，这一过程称为相选择性凝胶化，将合成能够找到其自身性质的分子。进入油层或水层，然后在那里进行“自组装”。自组装意味着分子会自发地结合并形成纳米级尺寸的结构（在这种情况下为长纤维）。会相互缠结，从而将液体转化为糊状材料（具有番茄酱或发胶的稠度），这将是第一个关于相选择性凝胶的系统研究，该奖项的见解可以帮助设计新材料。该奖项的重点是相选择性凝胶现象背后的基础科学，目标是开发连接分子结构和界面特性的设计规则。 ,将合成一系列两亲性分子，并研究它们在混合物中胶凝油相或水相的能力。分子成为相选择性胶凝剂的关键标准是：（a）它。不应乳化油水混合物；并且（b）它也不应在任一相中明显溶解。假设这种凝胶化可以通过实现油水混合物之间的非共价相互作用的适当平衡来实现。两亲性分子，例如头部之间的氢键以及尾部之间的 pi-pi 和范德华相互作用。拟议的研究还将与合作机构的教育、指导和外展活动相结合。该奖项是 NSF 的法定奖项。使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。