Scientific Achievement
Researchers in the Inorganic/Organic Nanocomposites program used nanoconfinement in the assemblies of polymer grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs) to program polymer chain conformation to form pseudo bonds with variable strength, multivalency and directionality, which led to high performance nanocomposites with circular lifecycles without forming and/or breaking chemical bonds.
Significance and Impact
Synthesizing PGNP nanocomposites with controlled radial and lateral heterogeneity to modulate cohesive energy is a new design to obtain nanocomposites with improved properties beyond effective media theorem.
Research Details
- Design and synthesize PGNPs to modulate both radial and lateral organization of grafted chain clusters
- Measured mechanical properties as a function of composition at microscopic, nanoscopic, and single-particle levels to correlate pseudo-bond strength with property
Publication Details
T. Chen, Y. Qian, A. Laine, J. Kwon, L. Liu, S. Pal, S. Gupta, E. Vargo, G.M. Su, R.O. Ritchie, S. Keten, R. Wang, M. Salmeron, T. Xu, Advanced Materials (2025).
Work was performed in the Molecular Foundry, NERSC, and the Advanced Light Source.