Project Director

Barbee, Meredith

Department Examiner

Pienkos, Jared

Department

Dept. of Chemistry and Physics

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

In mechanochemistry, mechanical force causes a chemical change using small molecules, called mechanophores, by covalently connecting them into polymer materials. Stress-sensing mechanophores give a visual signal of mechanical force on the molecular level within a material. To our knowledge, stress-sensing mechanophores have never been incorporated into a commercially available epoxy kit. In this work, the characterization of two 3MTM Scotch-Weld TM Epoxy Adhesive kits: DP100 Plus Clear and DP190 Translucent have been completed through FT-IR Spectroscopy. The addition of the mechanophore spiropyran to the 3M kits will be discussed; as well as preparation and characterization of three dimerized anthracene derivatives. Our strategy is to synthesize a mechanophore crosslinker and add it into a two-part epoxy adhesive material, taking advantage of the existing cross-linking reaction to covalently incorporate it into the material; with the goal of using it to characterize the relationship between external strain and molecular-level force.

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to my research advisor, Dr. Barbee, who has been a significant mentor, tutor, and cheerleader to me during research and while writing my Honors Thesis. I have gained so much knowledge on chemistry and research skills from her. Throughout the duration of this work Dr. Barbee has welcomed her first baby girl, Grace, all while spending hours on zoom calls, responding to Slack messages, and emails to help me get to the finish line. I truly appreciate you Dr. Barbee, you are awe-inspiring, and I hope to be a scientist like you one day. I would also like to thank my Barbee research group team-members Kelly Hooper, Sam Robinson, Graham Ford, and Dallas Donovan for their continuous support in and outside of the research lab. I appreciate the relationships I have built with all of you and feel that being around you guys has made me a better researcher. I would like to thank Dr. Pienkos for his guidance throughout this year. I have gained heightened skills in writing and digesting scientific papers from you, as well as lots of information about graduate schools. Thank you for pushing me to be my best!

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

12-2023

Subject

Mechanical chemistry; Adhesives

Keyword

Polymer mechanochemistry; Synthesis; Adhesives; Epoxies; Stress-sensing

Discipline

Physical Chemistry

Document Type

Theses

Extent

44 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Download

Share

COinS