U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science: New Stereoregular Polymers from 4-Membered Carbocyclic Monomers

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0244260HallThis award supports a two-year international collaborative research project. The principal investigator for the project is Henry Hall at the University of Arizona and the Japanese collaborator is Tatsuki Kitayama at Osaka University in Japan. They will be undertaking research on new stereoregular polymers from 4-membered carbocyclic monomers. These polymers readily undergo polymerization with radical or anionic initiators. They also copolymerize with vinyl monomers. New polymerization techniques such as ATRP and Lewis acid assisted anionic polymerization will be applied to these strained monomers. The polymers will be evaluated as high temperature polymer optical fibers, unzipper-jamming components, lenses, chiral resolving columns, etc. Polymers with more controlled structures will lead to enhanced properties, and therefore more sophisticated uses. In addition, they possess highly desirable physical properties including optical clarity, high glass transition temperatures and should be useful for high-tech applications. Detailed NMR studies of these polymers will provide information about the effect of specific polymerization conditions on the molecular polymer structure. The project brings together the efforts of two laboratories that have complementary expertise and research capabilities. The U. S. researchers have expertise in controlled radical polymerization and the Japanese are experts at controlled anionic polymerization and they also have high expertise in the field of structure analysis of polymers using NMR spectroscopy. These joint efforts should lead to a variety of novel polymers processing properties and to increased understanding of both free radical and anionic polymerization. The project advances international human resources through the participation of a postdoc and an undergraduate student. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. Results of the research will be disseminated at scientific meetings and in scientific journals.