GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

on Monday, December 9, 2019

11:00 AM

in MRDC 3515

will be held the

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL DEFENSE

for

Emily McGuinness

"Vapor Phase Infiltration: Sorption Thermodynamics, Chemical Entrapment Mechanisms, and Hybrid Material Structure-Property Relations”

Committee Members:

Prof. Mark Losego, Advisor, MSE

Prof. Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena, MSE

Prof. Michael Filler, ChBE

Prof. Ryan Lively, ChBE

Prof. Natalie Stingelin, MSE & ChBE

Abstract:

Over the past ten years, vapor phase infiltration (VPI) and its variants have emerged from the atomic layer deposition (ALD) community to infuse the bulk of polymeric materials with inorganics, yielding a wide range of properties. In VPI, a metalorganic precursor adsorbs to the polymer surface, absorbs within, diffuses throughout, and ultimately becomes entrapped within the polymer bulk through a variety of mechanisms. VPI has demonstrated numerous applications such as the modification of mechanical properties, increase in electrical conductivity, enhanced UV stability, and changes in photoluminescence. Additionally, VPI has been used to create uniquely patterned nanostructures from the infiltration of block copolymers, stain polymer blends for contrast in phase imaging, enhance gravimetric sensing capabilities, and in creating hybrid photovoltaics.

From these property explorations and several fundamental studies, a picture of the relevant thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms behind VPI has begun to emerge. While these mechanisms are generally understood, their detailed characterization and the derivation of fundamental thermodynamic and kinetic parameters are largely unavailable. Limited work has been conducted determining effective diffusion coefficients in the VPI process, but these investigations must be expanded to additional precursor-polymer systems. Additionally, few studies have been conducted to directly connect underlying inorganic entrapment mechanisms to observed property changes. Finally, few reports exist regarding the durability of these changes in simulated use environments. The proposed work will investigate the fundamental mechanisms behind the VPI process, how they connect to material properties such as solvent stability, and how durable these property changes are for daily use applications.