Novel Polymer Architectures

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The synthesis and characterization of macromolecules whose polymeric nature does not solely derive from direct covalent bonding of the repeat units will be carried out. These materials, known as polyrotaxanes and polycatenanes, may be considered interpenetrating netwoks at the repeat unit (micromolecular) level. However, because the units are not covalently bonded, but are like links in a chain, they may have a large degree of independence from one another. As such, they are expected to have physical properties distinct from those of conventional polymers and copolymers. Use in a broad range of applications may be envisioned for these two new classes of materials, including engineering materials. In the latter case, attainment of toughness through physical, rather than chemical, bonding should avoid the brittleness that plagues current highly crosslinked polymeric systems used, for example, as matrixes for composites.