The research objective of this grant is to elucidate the fundamental mechanism that is responsible for changes in step-growth and free-radical polymerizations under nanoconfinement. Nanoporous matrices will be used as model confinement geometries and work will be carried out in both cylindrical and spherical confinement regimes and with various surface chemistries. Calorimetric and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies will be performed to determine reaction rates and limiting conversions and will be augmented by studies of nanoconfined liquid dynamics and structure using optical Keer effect (OKE) spectroscopy. The investigation will quantify the importance of confinement-induced changes in liquid structure and liquid dynamics on reactivity and thermodynamics in confined polymerizations.
The results of the proposed study are important for controlling polymer synthesis at the nanoscale in nanocomposite, nanolithographic, and nanoelectronic applications. The proposed effort will also provide excellent state-of-the-art research training for the undergraduate and graduate students involved, and strong efforts will be made to include under-represented minorities. Outreach efforts will include involvement of high-school students in summer research, as well as participation in two successful outreach programs coordinated by the TTU Institute for the Development and Enrichment of Advanced Learners (IDEAL), "Super Saturdays," a science-enrichment program for fourth- to six-graders and "Science - It's a Girl Thing" (SIGT) aimed at promoting interest in science and engineering for junior high and high school girls.
