CAREER: Dynamics in Nanostructured Polymer Materials (040722)
Project Status: Current
Investigator
Description
The PI's primary career goal is to develop a research and education program that significantly contributes
to the understanding of nanostructured polymer materials (NPMs) by studying motion across a broad
range of length and time scales. This will be achieved using the PI's expertise that includes both in-house
and national laboratory experiments. Motion in NPMs, such as block copolymers, affects performance
and durability in applications such as batteries, water purification, and carbon dioxide capture. The main
research objective of this CAREER proposal is to measure dynamics in strongly segregated block
copolymer membranes as a function of morphology, grain size, and mechanical contrast. A broad range
of experimental techniques will be used including time-resolved spectroscopies, rheology, x-ray and
neutron scattering. An expected outcome of this research effort is to improve fundamental understanding
of the relationship between local motion within the nanostructure and application specific material
properties, such as small molecule transport, mechanical strength, and aging.