Award Abstract #0092967
CAREER: Relating Micellar Structure to Aggregate Properties in Polymerization of Wormlike Micelles

NSF Org:	CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
Initial Amendment Date:	January 5, 2001
Latest Amendment Date:	January 21, 2005
Award Number:	0092967
Award Instrument:	Continuing grant
Program Manager:	Morris S. Ojalvo CBET Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems ENG Directorate for Engineering
Start Date:	January 15, 2001
Expires:	December 31, 2005 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$389593
Investigator(s):	Lynn Walker lwalker@andrew.cmu.edu (Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	Carnegie-Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue PITTSBURGH, PA 15213 412/268-8746
NSF Program(s):	INTERFAC PROCESSES & THERMODYN
Field Application(s):	0308000 Industrial Technology
Program Reference Code(s):	OTHR, 9251, 9231, 7237, 1187, 1045, 0000
Program Element Code(s):	1414

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

CTS-0092967

Carnegie-Mellon

Lynnm Walker

I have three career goals; to develop an active research program aimed at answering fundamental questions about the dynamics of complex fluids and the influence of those dynamics on macroscopic phenomena, to develop a strong complex fluid rheology and polymer processing component in the chemical engineering curriculum at Carnegie Mellon, and to develop strong links between local industry and the undergraduate and graduate programs in an effort to expose students to the types of problems faced by the polymer processing and complex fluids industries. Carnegie Mellon provides an optimal environment for me to develop these research and education goals through its variety of

interdisciplinary research and education programs. I provide the rheology expertise to the Center for Complex Fluid Engineering (CFE) research center and Colloids, Polymers and Surfaces (CPS) education program.

In this proposal, an exciting extension of current work on micelle dynamics in my research group to the polymerization of wormlike surfactant assemblies is outlined. The polymerization of counterions condensed on the surface of wormlike micelles (or surfactant aggregates) offers a novel approach to the formation of anisotropic nano-particles in solution. These cylindrical particles have radii of a few nanometers and lengths ranging from a few to hundreds of nanometers. The amphiphilic nature of these polyelectrolyte-surfactant aggregates allows them to solubilize hydrophobic compounds into aqueous media. This property is vital for applications in detergency, drug delivery, separations and water purification. The novel feature arising from the length of these anisotropic particles is that they have the potential to act as rheological modifiers, be cross-linked to form amphiphilic gels and to form liquid crystalline or higher order phases when concentrated. None of these potential applications can be realized without the ability to control the morphology of the nanoparticles through reaction. The hypothesis that drives the proposed research is that that counterion composition can be used to control the structure of wormlike micelle solutions and that control can be utilized to generate novel high aspect ratio polymer-surfactant aggregates through polymerization of counterions. The goal is a quantitative understanding of the relationship between counterion composition of wormlike micelle systems and properties of the polymerized aggregates. Secondary goals of the research are investigations of the feasibility of controlling polyelectrolyte structure and ionomeric copolymer composition using this mechanism and the development of a series of novel charged, anisotropic nanoparticles for colloidal and structural studies.

Carnegie Mellon is clearly committed to excellence in education and I strive to continue that trend. In all courses, I stress the application of fundamentals to modern engineering problems and expose students to the computational tools necessary to enter into the chemical engineering field. A specific educational goal is to utilize my background in complex fluid rheology and polymer processing to fill that gap in the curriculum. I am incorporating polymer processing and rheology into the curriculum through undergraduate laboratory modules, development of advanced courses and undergraduate research . I am exposing undergraduate chemical engineering students to industrial polymer processing through industrial links for the laboratory modules and, in my own laboratory, through industry-driven undergraduate research projects.

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