Career Plan for Research in Polar Organic Materials with an Integrated Emphasis on Industrial Problem Solving

Southern Illinois University At Carbondale, Carbondale IL

Investigators

Abstract

The Advanced Materials and Processing Program in the Chemistry Division support this CAREER award to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. In this project, Professor Daniel Dyer of the Department of Chemistry will study the formation of noncentrosymmetric organic thin films from self-assembling monolayers formed by hydrogen bonding. These self assembled liquid crystal polymers with acceptor and donor groups at the opposite ends may have applications in electrooptic devices. The second part of the research will be the deposition of oriented dipole polymer brushes on gold or glass surfaces by free radical or anionic polymerization to provide polar stability and processability to thin films. The long-range goals of this research are to study structure-function relationships, to determine binding interactions and to control the self-assembly in organic thin films. The educational component of this program involves the development of a new course work in materials chemistry at graduate and undergraduate levels with summer internships in industrial laboratories. This research will impact the fields of polymer-based nonlinear optics, piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity, and the development of thermodynamically stable thin films for electrooptic devices of commercial interest. The educational component of the award with industrial partnership will provide interdisciplinary education and industrial training opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students.