Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
This honors thesis covers an overview of the the motivation, objectives, and projects of the Xie Research Group, focusing on the mechanical effect of dopants (through p-doping) on the structural domains of conjugated polymers (specifically P3DT). The ability to sustainably 3D-print conjugated polymers has the potential to impact a variety of industries (personalized technology, medical treatment, replacement of metals, etc).
This honors thesis covers an overview of the the motivation, objectives, and projects of the Xie Research Group, focusing on the mechanical effect of dopants (through p-doping) on the structural domains of conjugated polymers (specifically P3DT). The ability to sustainably 3D-print conjugated polymers has the potential to impact a variety of industries (personalized technology, medical treatment, replacement of metals, etc).
We utilized biomaterial scaffolds created from an electrospinning apparatus to create fibrous scaffolds with controllable morphology. To create consistent stable fibers, norbornene-modified cellulose acetate (nor-CA) was used as the polymer in solvent solutions of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and acetone/N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc). Solution rheology was used to determine a baseline for the nor-CA concentration used within each solvent system for electrospinning. The fibrous scaffolds were analyzed for morphology and fiber size using scanning electron microscopy. Increased fiber stability and decreased beading was found with higher concentrations of nor-CA for each solvent system. TFA appeared to be the most versatile as it was able to form fibers without beads at concentrations of 15%, 18%, and 21% nor-CA, with the most stable and uniform fibers at 21% nor-CA. This solvent had a conductivity measurement of 0.98 mS. DMAc/acetone had a much higher conductivity measurement and increased beading at lower concentrations of nor-CA.