Collaborative Research: RUI: Ruthenium Catalyzed Reactions Leading to New Polymer Architectures and Improved Chemical Recyclability of Plastics

塑料由聚合物制成，聚合物制造是化学工业中最大和最具活力的部门之一。公司的目标是从更经济和环境友好（生物可再生）的原料中获得性能更好的聚合物材料。这些改进通常是由聚合物合成研究中的化学进步推动的，例如该奖项所支持的工作。提高对聚合物结构和所得塑料的性质之间关系的基本理解对聚合物化学领域至关重要，这是本研究的主要目标。 本科生，包括低收入和第一代大学生，执行本研究的实验室工作，并接受宝贵的培训，为他们准备研究生院和/或在化工行业就业。在NSF化学部大分子，超分子和纳米化学计划的支持下，Northland College的Robertson教授和威斯康星大学欧克莱尔分校的Carney教授进行合作研究，以更好地了解钌催化剂在聚合反应中的性能。 具体而言，该项目侧重于在五个关键领域取得进展：（1）由生物可再生单体如5-羟甲基糠醛（HMF）制备聚合物，（2）聚氨酯的聚合物替代物（存在于许多油漆、清漆、粘合剂和泡沫中），（3）增加商品塑料的效用，（4）从废塑料生产有用化学品的解聚方法，以及（5）合成新的钌化合物以更好地理解化学结构对催化剂性能的影响。 为此，研究小组正在合成和研究具有结构通用的N-膦基脒和β-二酮亚胺配体骨架的新型钌催化剂。

Plastics are made from polymers and polymer manufacture represents one of the largest and most dynamic sectors of the chemical industry. Companies are targeting better performing polymer materials derived from more economical and environmentally friendly (bio-renewable) feedstocks. These improvements are often driven by chemical advancements in polymer synthesis research, such as the work supported by this award. It is critical to the field of polymer chemistry to improve the basic understanding of the relationships between polymer structure and the properties of the resulting plastic, which is a primary goal of this research. Undergraduate students, including low income and first generation college students, perform laboratory work for this study and receive valuable training to prepare them for graduate school and/or employment in the chemical industry. With the support from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry Program of the NSF Division of Chemistry, Prof. Robertson of Northland College and Prof. Carney of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire conduct collaborative research to better understand the properties of ruthenium catalysts in polymerization reactions. Specifically, this project focuses on making advancements in five key areas: (1) preparation of polymers from bio-renewable monomers, such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), (2) polymer alternatives to polyurethanes (found in many paints, varnishes, adhesives, and foams), (3) increasing the utility of commodity plastics, (4) depolymerization methods to produce useful chemicals from waste plastics, and (5) synthesis of new ruthenium compounds to better understand the impacts of chemical structure on the catalyst's performance. Toward this end, the research team is synthesizing and studying new ruthenium catalysts with structurally versatile N-phosphinoamidine and beta-diketimine ligand backbones.