A. Functional Polymer Surfaces

1. CAREER: Functional Polymer Surfaces and Networks via Thiol-Click ChemistryDerek L. Patton, University of Southern Mississippi, DMR 1056817 A. Multicomponent surfaces – where all components synergistically control surface properties – are ubiquitous in natural biological systems. For example, the unique surface properties of lotus leaves, butterfly wings, and rose petals result from not only multi-scale surface topographies, but also cooperative interactions of these features with multicomponent chemical compositions. The allure of mimicking nature’s approach to surface engineering – particularly the ability to install multiple chemical functionalities on surfaces in a controlled fashion – has recently attracted significant attention for surfaces with advanced applications in biosensors, self-cleaning surfaces, etc. The Patton group is developing simple methodologies for fabricating multicomponent polymer surfaces using thiol-click chemistry. B. The Patton group is interested in combining thiol-ene and polybenzoxazines for the development of hybrid, dual-cure polymer networks. A systematic synthetic approach enables the development of well-defined structure-property relationships. A. Functional Polymer Surfaces Guo et al. Macromol. Rapid. Commun.2012, 33, 863-868.; Rahane et al. J. Mater. Chem.2012,22, 932-943.; Hensarling et al. Polym. Chem. 2011, 2, 88-90. B. Thiol-ene/Polybenzoxazine Dual Networks Narayanan et al. React. Funct. Polym. 2012, DOI: 10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2012.07.012. Baranek et al. Polym. Chem.2012, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20498C.

2. CAREER: Functional Polymer Surfaces and Networks via Thiol-Click ChemistryDerek L. Patton, University of Southern Mississippi, DMR 1056817 • This grant has supported 2 graduate and 2 undergraduate students. Ryan Hensarling was selected to participate in the 2012 POLY Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Symposium, and won a POLY Division Best Poster Award at ACS San Diego. • Emily Hoff, a graduate student supported by this grant, was recently awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. • Members of the Patton Group served as judges and mentors for local elementary and high school science fairs. • The Patton Group hosted 2 NSF REU students (Will Atkins, Univ. of Louisville; Eric van Gorder, Univ. of North Carolina-Wilmington), and 1 AGEM REU student (LaTonya Hayes, Alcorn State University). • Three graduate students became 1st time users on the Liquids Reflectometer at the Spallation Neutron Source at ORNL. Ryan Hensarling was also selected to participate in the 2012 Neutron and X-ray Scattering School hosted by ORNL and Argonne National Lab. Hands-On Experience: NSF REU student Will Atkins and Graduate student Emily Hoff discuss surface modification techniques. Will won a $750 travel award for REU Best Paper and will attend the Spring 2013 ACS meeting in New Orleans Graduate student Matt Jungman (right) mentored high school students Jamie Sholar and Jake Lawler in the Class 4 Regional Science Fair. The students won 1st Place, and also won Excellence in Science and Engineering Awards from the Air Force, Army, and the Society of Professional Materials Engineers! Graduate students Ryan Hensarling, Emily Hoff, and Wei Guo inside the Liquids Reflectometer “cave” at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. A successful beam time proposal engaged these students as new users of neutron reflectometry to probe polymer brush surfaces. The Patton Group regularly leads the “What is a Polymer” field trip program. Students and teachers are given an intro lecture and then participate in hands-on demonstrations. Students shown in the picture above are from Jones County Elementary.