Phosphazenes

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Dr. Claire Tessier, Chemistry Department, University of Akron, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division for the study of phosphazenes. The behavior of chlorophosphazene rings, linear oligomers, and polymers with Lewis and Bronsted acids, including GaX3, AlX3, SbF5, AsF5, TaF5, NbF5, HAlCl4, HBCl4, and HTaCl4, will be studied. A goal of this portion of the project is to ascertain if such acids may serve as ring opening polymerization catalysts for the formation of polymers from cyclic chlorophosphazenes and to characterize processes that may be responsible for acid mediated polymer degradation. The ring opening polymerization will be studied by multidimensional, multinuclear nmr spectroscopy.Polyphosphazenes encompass the largest group of inorganic backbone polymers and many important applications have been developed for them. The commercial development of polyphosphazenes has been held back because the syntheses of the polymers are difficult, inefficient, expensive and/or irreproducible. This research will focus the formation and the stability of chlorophosphazenes and may lead to new, selective catalyst for the polymerization of cyclicphosphazenes. This proposal will provide training for graduate and undergraduate students and postdoctoral associates in inorganic, polymer, and analytical chemistry. Women and underrepresented groups will be strongly involved in the work. Both students and the PI will participate in outreach activities whose goal it is to encourage K-12 students to succeed in the sciences and to consider a career in the sciences.