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Designing Multiphase Step-Growth Polymers for Advanced Technologies: From Electromechanical Transducers to Additive Manufacturing

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dc.contributor.authorWhite, Benjamin Tyleren
dc.contributor.committeechairLong, Timothy E.en
dc.contributor.committeememberMoore, Robert Bowenen
dc.contributor.committeememberMatson, John B.en
dc.contributor.committeememberBortner, Michael J.en
dc.contributor.committeememberWilliams, Christopher B.en
dc.contributor.departmentChemistryen
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-05T08:01:54Zen
dc.date.available2021-06-05T08:01:54Zen
dc.date.issued2021-05-28en
dc.description.abstractThe synthesis and characterization of step-growth polymers with novel monomers provided materials with tailored properties for emerging technologies. Specifically, multiphase materials (i.e., microphase separated block copolymers) exploit the synergistic relationship of combining polymers with disparate thermal and mechanical properties. The introduction of intramolecular interactions such as hydrogen and ionic bonding into these polymers further tailored their properties for applications including elastomers, electromechanical transducers, and additive manufacturing (AM). A review of recent literature revealed the material properties required for polymeric materials in electromechanical transducers, which aided in the design of polymers for this application. An isocyanate-, catalyst-, and solvent-free approach facilitated the synthesis of segmented polyureas with tunable thermal and mechanical properties. These materials found use as high dielectric elastomers and water-soluble polymers for extrusion-based AM dependent on the backbone composition. Vat photopolymerization (VP) AM served as a technique to 3D printed novel unsaturated polyester resins (UPR). Incorporating a phosphonium ionic liquid as a reactive diluent replaced styrene and reduced the volatility of commonly used UPRs. VP successfully provided 3D structures from these UPRs that demonstrated limited ionic conductivities. An extensive review of the literature surrounding the structure-property relationships of charged block copolymers with varying architectures helped to inform the synthesis of novel, cationic step-growth polymers. The synthesis of a new phosphonium IL facilitated the synthesis of a segmented polyurethane containing a phosphonium-functionalized soft segment for the first time. This phosphonium polyurethane exhibited ionic conductivities comparable to literature examples of block copolymers used for ionic polymer transducers, which suggests that these materials may serve for this application as well. Carbonyldiimidazole provides a novel route towards synthesizing imidazolium ionenes with unique backbone structures. The coupling of poly(ethylene glycol) dibromides with a bis-carbonylimidazole monomer and a commercial aliphatic dibromide led to the formation of segmented imidazolium ionenes. These polymers exhibited significant atmospheric water uptake as well as water solubility. However, the physical properties of the materials suggested that the synthetic procedure resulted in low molecular weights. Suggested future work provides methods for circumventing this issue and proposes next steps for all the projects discussed herein.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralEmerging technologies require new polymeric materials with intentionally designed properties. Step-growth polymers such as polyesters, polyurethanes, and polyureas find use in many applications of our everyday lives. Although these materials have served mainly as commodity plastics historically, a reimagining of their syntheses and chemical structures makes them accessible for modern technologies. For example, applying green chemistry principles to the synthesis of polyureas resulted in a less toxic synthetic procedure. Polyureas synthesized through this method exhibited elastic properties comparable to classical polyureas and displayed high dielectric constants, which lend them towards use in dielectric elastomer actuators. This chemistry also allowed for the synthesis of water-soluble polyureas, which served as a material for low temperature extrusion additive manufacturing, colloquially known as 3D printing. Vat photopolymerization describes another type of 3D printing that involves the selective curing of liquid resins with light to form a 3D structure. Employing a reactive ionic liquid monomer with a commercially-relevant unsaturated polyester allowed for a nontoxic method of printing these materials, which also imparted ionic conductivity. Finally, the synthesis of positively charged polyurethanes and ionenes led to the production of ionically conductive materials that may find use in polymeric transducers.en
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:30211en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/103622en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectstep-growth polymerizationen
dc.subjectionic liquidsen
dc.subjectadditive manufacturingen
dc.subjectelectromechanical transducersen
dc.subjectpolyurethanesen
dc.subjectpolyureasen
dc.titleDesigning Multiphase Step-Growth Polymers for Advanced Technologies: From Electromechanical Transducers to Additive Manufacturingen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplineMacromolecular Science and Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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