Design and Application of Microfluidic System for
Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Formulation
Kazunori Iida, Thomas Q. Chastek, and Kathryn L. Beers
The aim of this project is to develop a synthetic strategy with integrated characterization techniques for block copolymer libraries using a microfludic chip. Thiolene-based microfluidic chips recently developed at NIST show better performance in terms of compatibility with organic solvents than other soft materials, however there are still limitations to device stability at the elevated temperatures necessary for controlled synthesis of many block copolymer segments.
We designed and built a microfluidic chip using aluminum sealed with a thin polyimide film. We performed controlled radical polymerization on this aluminum-based chip at temperatures up to 90°C for periods up to 24 hours. The desired homo- and block-copolymers were obtained with excellent control of molecular mass and molecular mass distribution using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). We are also developing this system for integrated, direct monitoring using dynamic light scattering, Raman spectroscopy, or near-IR spectroscopy.
Author: Kazunori Iida
Mentor: Kathryn L. Beers
Division; Polymer (854)
Bldg 224, Room: B 216
Mail Stop: 8542
Sigma Xi member: No
Category: Materials, Chemistry