SGER: Template-Controlled Living Polymerization for Synthesis of Self-Assembling Polymers

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Youqing ShenUniversity of Wyoming "SGER: Template-Controlled Living Polymerization for Synthesis of Self-Assembling Polymers."Association of polymer chains with uncontrolled distribution of hydrogen bonding sites leads to random clusters and three-dimensional networks through a process of random intra- and intermolecular bonding which leads to self- and cross-association or both. By contrast, uniform polymer chains (same structure and length from molecule to molecule) with a well-defined distribution of hydrogen-bonding sites can self assemble with their complementary chains, that is, they can form highly aligned chain duplexes with well-defined bond sequences. Such polymer self-assembly, reminiscent of DNA self-assembly, can lead to valuable biotic and abiotic materials. The challenge is how to synthesize such self-assembling polymers.The principal investigator proposes a template-controlled living polymerization for the synthesis of self-assembling polymers. The goal of the exploratory research is to demonstrate that the proposed template-controlled living polymerization is viable, i.e. the monomers can be kept on the template during the polymerization and the polymerization can be kept along the template. Specific objectives of the proposed research are as follows:1) To synthesize template and monomers.2) To develop a living polymerization process for these monomers.3) To develop a template-controlled living polymerization process.This research will clarify the two main concerns to the template-controlled living polymerization. The interdisciplinary research, combining the elements of polymer science, supramolecular chemistry, biochemistry, thermodynamics and materials engineering, will enhance our fundamental understanding to which extent macromolecules must be uniform in order to self assemble, as opposed to randomly self associate. Such understanding will be the basis for future research on polymer self-assembly. In addition to building a knowledge base and seeding future research, the proposed project could result in novel functional materials, such as new silk-like materials having exceptional mechanical and thermal properties.