2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Solid-state supramolecular polymers: a new era for polymer science
| Project/Area Number |
21F21337
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Institution | Institute of Physical and Chemical Research |
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Principal Investigator |
相田 卓三 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 創発物性科学研究センター, グループディレクター (00167769)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SU ZEBIN 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 創発物性科学研究センター, 外国人特別研究員
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| Project Period (FY) |
2021-11-18 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | Supramolecyular polymer / Phase seperation / Self-assembly |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
I have successfully designed and synthesized a library of novel molecules (or supramolecular monomers). Each supramolecular monomer contains four funcional parts, including a gunidinium group, a carboxylate group and two thermodynamically incompatible side chains. As a proof of concept, a polystyrene chain and a polysiloxane are utilized as the side chains. These supramolecular monomers polymerized into supramolecular polymers via salt-bridge interactions between a gunidinium group and a carboxylate group. These supramolecular polymers further self-assemble into various ordered nanostructures by microphase separation due to the thermodynamically incompatible side chains. These ordered nanostructures are unambiguously characterized by SAXS in reciprocal space and TEM in real space.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
I am now doing the scale-up synthesis of monomers. A series of solid-state supramolecular polymeric films have been prepared by cast-coating for by indentation, tension, and rheology tests, from which I can obtain the mechanical properties of supramolecular polymers with varied nanostructures, such as Young’s modulus, storage modulus, and loss modulus. Moreover, I am collaborating with our colleagues in Riken for in-situ TEM observation of the phase-transition of supramolecular polymers. I am preparing thin-film smaples by ultra-microtone methods, and will do the TEM expeiment on varying temerature.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I am going to systematically investigate the phase diagram of the supramolecular polymers in the solid state by changing the molecular weight of both polystyrene and polysiloxane. Therefore, I am going to synthesized polystyrene side chains with different molecular weight by ATRP polymerization and functionalized these polystyrenes by alkyne groups. Similarly, polysiloxanes with different molecular weights will also be functionalized by alkyne groups. Based on these new synthesized polystyrenes and polysiloxanes, I can systematically change the volume fraction of polystyrene in our supamolecular monomers and polymers. Therefore, I am going to complete the phase diagram of the solid-state supramolecular polymers.
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