Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) will join in collaboration with two industry leaders, Rohm & Haas and Johns Manville, to develop a fundamental understanding of glass/polymer interactions at the molecular level. This will enable development of less hazardous and more chemically benign polymers that have the capability of transforming an entire industry. This research will study the interactions of organic probe molecules and polymer components with scientifically significant and technologically important multicomponent oxide surfaces. These materials and their surfaces are important in several energy, display, and bio-technologies. Specifically, the research will focus on alkali-free glasses containing aluminum, silicon, and boron oxides, as these materials present surfaces that are easily modified through changes in chemical composition but are subject to modification by environmentally friendly water-borne polymers (e.g., adhesives and binders). Well-controlled synthesis and processing of materials will be followed by characterization with a combination of techniques that will explore the structure of reactive sites on the surfaces as well as the energies of interactions of the surface sites with probe molecules. The PSU faculty and industry participants will meet with each other on a regular basis, including extended visits by faculty to industrial research centers. The research will also involve two graduate students and two undergraduate students working in collaboration across the labs of the two PSU faculty members. In addition to reporting research results in scientific articles, all data acquired in this project will be uploaded to ChemXSeer, a portal for academic researchers in chemistry.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: Physical and chemical knowledge obtained from simple oxide materials is often applied to multicomponent oxides even though it is widely recognized that unique reaction sites and atomic/molecular scale heterogeneity exist at the surface of the more complex systems. The increased complexity of multicomponent surfaces, and the resulting implications for polymer binding to the surfaces of these materials, will be studied through analysis of chemical interactions with alkali-free aluminoborosilicate gels and glass fibers. Interactions with small organic molecules and polymer precursors will be probed using a combination of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). By collaborating closely with two industrial teams, one from a glass company and the other from a manufacturer of polymer coatings, the proposed studies are intended to bring about a paradigm shift in the development of materials that rely upon an understanding of polymer/oxide interfaces. The results will enable enhanced performance, lower the environmental and health impact, and/or reduce the time and cost of new materials development. Students involved in this research will gain an appreciation for the value of fundamental research in product development, green chemistry, and manufacturing. Results from the IGC and NMR characterization of oxide surfaces and polymer adsorbates will be extended to allow translation of this work to industrial labs. At the same time, the work is sufficiently fundamental to impact other fields and other applications of oxide/polymer interface systems through its rapid and effective dissemination in the open literature and via cyber-enabled routes.
