Polymers for Energy, Sustainability, and Human Health

3 units

Polymeric materials are critical to solving global challenges related to energy (e.g., batteries, membranes, and energy harvesting devices), sustainability (e.g., upcycling, compatibilizers, water purification, and bio-based plastics), and human health (e.g., wearable and implantable bioelectronics, stimuli-responsive soft robots, and hydrogels for drug delivery). This course covers how polymers are designed and processed across many length and time scales to achieve specific target properties for applications in energy, sustainability, and human health. Ideal and real chain conformations, persistence length, polymer architectures, scaling and blob theories, dispersity, networks and defects, and programmed interactions in heteropolymers will be covered. Analysis of polymer structure and dynamics will include: macroscopic and microscopic phase separation, crystallization and melting, glass transition behavior, rouse dynamics, linear viscoelasticity, processing methods, and network elasticity. Key polymer characterization methods including rheology and small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering will be introduced. The course will emphasize individual problem sets, in-class journal club participation, and team-based project work.