Participants: T.Russell and T.Emrick (coordinators) with M.Achermann, M.Barnes, A.Crosby, A.Dinsmore, G.Grason, S.Gido, R.Hayward, V.Rotello, S.Thayumanavan, M.Tuominen, D.Venkataraman, J.Watkins, 9 Graduate Students

Smaller, faster and more efficient devices using nanoscopic elements are key to U.S. technological competitiveness in the next decade. Generating such devices will require new protocols towards functional systems with a controlled spatial distribution of elements over multiple length scales. By directing the self-assembly of polymer-based nanoscopic elements, or by using the interactions between nanoscopic elements and a polymer host, the 2-D and 3-D spatial distribution, orientation and ordering of nanoscopic elements can be manipulated to create novel architecture and function with limited or no need for the use of external forces. This IRG will address fundamental challenges in polymer synthesis, physics, and engineering related to directing the assembly of functional materials. Specific areas of research include the assembly of polymer building blocks with tailored functionalities into hierarchically ordered structures that span multiple length scales; the use of polymer-based composites with metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles; and the spatial confinement of polymers and particles, including electronically active materials, such as self-assembled transistors and processible photovoltaics. Achieving either equilibrium or kinetically-trapped hierarchical order requires a detailed understanding of the assembly processes, as well as the response of polymers to applied fields that are coupled to the assembly process. Significant breakthroughs in functional polymer assemblies that will emerge include self-healing materials, efficient photovoltaic devices, advanced templating processes, functionalized organic/inorganic membranes and other composites with multi-dimensional functionality, and sensors with unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity. This will require concentrated efforts in 1) inorganic and polymer-nanorod assemblies, 2) nanoparticle and polymer-nanoparticle assemblies, and 3) nanostructured polymeric materials and their directed assembly.