This grant will expand research on conducting and semiconducting polymers and to include ferroelectric polymers and ceramic metal oxides. A simple technique called electrospinning will be used to prepare nanofibers of conducting/semiconducting/ferroelectric polymers and metal oxides and to use them as the active material in the fabrication of devices and sensors. Due to their small dimensions, nanofibers have a large surface to volume ratio and hence they have the potential to be used in the fabrication of low power consumption devices and supersensitive and rapid response sensors. Individual nanofibers that possess both semiconducting and ferroelectric properties are inherently multifunctional and will be used in non-volatile memory field effect transistors. The intellectual merit of this proposal also includes finding new ways of combining these materials that possess very different electronic, mechanical and optical properties, then using them in the form of nanofibers that have a large aspect ratio and even larger surface to volume ratio to fabricate and test devices and sensors. A range of experiments has been proposed using electrospun polymer and metal oxide nanofibers, and thin films and to study charge transport in crossed polymer nanofibers. The approach presented to making polymer nanofibers via electrospinning is unique and differs from the research of others who typically use templates or other complex methods. The proposed research includes polymer science, ceramics, physics, nanoscience and electronics and is multidisciplinary, giving students a sound and direct research experience that will help them in graduate school and in job searches.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
This research will expose undergraduate students to various branches of science and engineering. The proposed experiments are within the intellectual grasp of undergraduate students. All of the students will be trained in the scientific method and will be motivated to pursue graduate studies in science and engineering by providing them with real opportunities to participate in scientific research. Modified experiments based on the proposed research are planned to be included into the Intermediate Laboratory course that the PI has taught for the last eight years, thereby integrating research and education. The instruments requested in this proposal will strengthen the institutional infrastructure, increase faculty collaboration and also have a broader impact of improving the research facilities in the southeastern region of the Island. New results will be published in a timely manner and an up-to-date web page will be maintained, thereby broadening the dissemination of results from this proposal. The University of Puerto Rico at Humacao is a minority serving institution. This proposal will therefore increase the number of undergraduate students that participate in scientific research and who are underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering.
In this project the principal investigator worked with electroactive polymers in the form of thin films and nanofibers. The fibers were prepared via the electrospinning technique that is cheap and easy to manage. Besides studying charge transport in these polymers, several devices and sensors were also fabricated and tested. Nanofibers have a large surface area to volume ratio and so sensors based on these nanofibers are expected to be very sensitive to the environment and therefore capable of detecting toxic gases in small concentrations. One of the advantages of working with conducting polymers is that besides being able to conduct an electric current, they are light weight, flexible and cheap to synthesize. The proposed research included polymer science, physics, nano-science and electronics, and was multidisciplinay, giving students a sound a direct research experience that trained them in the scientific method and prepared them to be future scientists and engineers. This proposal also increased the number of undergraduate students that participated in scientific research and who are currently under-represented in the fields of science and engineering. An important outcome of this proposal is that it helped the PI stay active in research at an undergraduate institution. His research has been recognized outside the US as he has been invited to join a team of researchers in Europe on electrospinning polymers for bio-sensing applications. This research has also impacted High School students who have later chosen to study science for their Bachelor's degree.
