CAREER: Block Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Controlled Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conduction

职业：用于受控混合离子电子传导的嵌段聚电解质复合物

• 批准号: 2237888
• 负责人: Laure Kayser
• 金额: $ 65.42万
• 依托单位: University of Delaware
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2028-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2237888&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Block; Polyelectrolyte; Complexes; Controlled

This project is jointly funded by the DMR Polymers Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe use of electronic materials and devices at biological interfaces (i.e., bioelectronics) enables important applications in human health, such as for electrostimulation (e.g., to treat Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease), biosensing, nerve/wound healing, and electrophysiological measurements. But, most common electronics in everyday devices are made of precious metal conductors, such as gold or platinum. These materials are not ideal for applications related to human health because they are too rigid and brittle. They also use electrons for communication instead of ions like biological systems do (e.g., neurons communicate through differences in ion concentration); this makes it difficult to “translate” electronic signals to ionic ones for stimulation, or vice versa for sensing. To address these problems, new materials are needed that are much softer, biocompatible, and enable the conduction of both electrons and ions. This research will introduce a new class of polymers that fit these criteria and have properties inspired from biology. These electron- and ion-conducting polymers will be synthesized, characterized and integrated in devices, to provide design rules to optimize the efficiency of electronic materials specifically made for bioelectronics applications. This research will therefore have an impact in both fundamental research on materials and applications in healthcare. It will also provide educational activities, hands-on demonstrations, and a mentoring program designed to broadly educate about the uses of polymeric materials and trigger and nurture interest in materials science and engineering. These educational, outreach, and research activities will actively engage graduate and undergraduate students to help develop their capabilities as interdisciplinary researchers, and thereby also increase the participation and retention of marginalized students.PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARYElectrically-conductive polymers that can also transport ions (i.e., organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors) could play a major role in the study and treatment of neurological disorders by acting as transducers between ionic and electronic signals. However, current methods to functionalize these materials for bioelectronic applications have been limited to blending with additives and to side-chain modification, which often decrease the electronic performance of the devices. The goal of the planned research is therefore to access organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors that maintain or improve their electronic performance upon functionalization with an electronically-insulating polymer. To achieve this goal, the complexation between neutral-anionic diblock copolymers and positively-charged conductive polymers (i.e., block polyelectrolyte complexes) will be leveraged to control the ordering of otherwise disordered mixed conductors, and ultimately tailor their properties for applications specific to bioelectronics. These block polyelectrolyte complexes will mimic key properties of biological systems while precisely controlling the relative contribution of ionic and electronic transport and ionic-electronic coupling. The research will focus on mimicking three biological properties: (1) specificity, (2) dynamic and adaptable properties, and (3) biodegradability. The results of this research will enable new functionalities for bioelectronic devices (e.g., ion-selective sensors, injectable and conductive tissue scaffolds, and transient devices), and contribute to the establishment of fundamental molecular design rules for high performance organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors. This research will also integrate educational activities for students and parents about the positive societal impact of functional plastics, in particular plastic electronics. A laboratory module will be developed to introduce junior undergraduate students to authentic research in organic electronics. The samples produced during this laboratory will be used in an outreach module on plastic electronics for K-12 students. This grant will also support the creation of a mentoring and support network for high school girls interested in pursuing a college degree in materials science and engineering.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 DMR 聚合物计划和刺激竞争性研究既定计划 (EPSCoR) 联合资助。第 1 部分：非技术摘要电子材料和设备在生物界面（即生物电子学）的使用可在人类健康、例如用于电刺激（例如，治疗帕金森病或阿尔茨海默病）、生物传感、神经/伤口愈合和电生理学但是，日常设备中最常见的电子设备是由贵金属导体制成的，例如金或铂，这些材料对于与人类健康相关的应用来说并不理想，因为它们过于坚硬和脆弱，它们也使用电子来进行通信。像生物系统那样的离子（例如，神经元通过离子浓度的差异进行通信）；这使得将电子信号“转换”为离子信号以进行刺激变得困难，反之亦然以进行传感。柔和得多，这项研究将引入符合这些标准并具有受生物学启发的特性的新型聚合物，这些电子和离子传导聚合物将被合成、表征并集成到设备中。提供设计规则来优化专门为生物电子应用而设计的电子材料的效率，因此这项研究将对材料的基础研究和医疗保健应用产生影响。它还将提供教育活动、实践演示和指导。计划旨在广泛宣传聚合物材料的用途，激发和培养对材料科学与工程的兴趣。这些教育、推广和研究活动将积极吸引研究生和本科生，帮助培养他们作为跨学科研究人员的能力，并提高参与度和保留率。第 2 部分：技术摘要还可以传输离子的导电聚合物（即有机混合离子电子导体）可以通过充当神经系统疾病的研究和治疗发挥重要作用。然而，目前用于生物电子应用的这些材料的功能化方法仅限于与添加剂混合和侧链修饰，这通常会降低设备的电子性能。获得有机混合离子电子导体，在用电子绝缘聚合物功能化后保持或提高其电子性能。为了实现这一目标，中性阴离子二嵌段共聚物和带正电的导电聚合物之间发生络合。 （即嵌段聚电解质复合物）将用于控制无序混合导体的排序，并最终针对生物电子学的特定应用定制其特性。这些嵌段聚电解质复合物将模仿生物系统的关键特性，同时精确控制离子的相对贡献。该研究将集中于模拟三种生物特性：（1）特异性，（2）动态和适应性，以及（3）生物降解性。这项研究的结果将为生物电子器件（例如离子选择性传感器、可注射和导电组织支架以及瞬态器件）提供新功能，并有助于建立高性能有机混合离子电子导体的基本分子设计规则这项研究还将为学生和家长整合有关功能性塑料（特别是塑料电子学）的积极社会影响的教育活动，以向低年级本科生介绍有机电子学的真实研究。该实验室期间将用于 K-12 学生的塑料电子外展模块。这笔赠款还将支持为有兴趣攻读材料科学与工程大学学位的高中女生创建指导和支持网络。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，NSF 的法定使命被认为值得支持。