CAREER: Synthesis of Hierarchically Structured Polymeric Materials Enabled by Polymerization-Induced Branching

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Polymers have a wide range of applications in our daily life. Polymers with branched structures, instead of linear chains, give rise to unique properties that are critical for their utility in a broad spectrum of applications. While synthetic methods have been developed to prepare polymers with branches, controlling where they are branched sites and the number of branches remains challenging. In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Mingjiang Zhong of Yale University develops a novel approach to synthesizing polymers with well-defined and desirable branching structures. The fundamental discoveries may have a broader technological impact on next-generation applications, including matrices for cellular and tissue engineering (human health), membrane materials for water treatment (environmental sustainability), and photolithography (semiconductor industry). Students participating in this program are trained in synthetic and physical chemistry, as well as polymer science and engineering. Professor Zhong teaches a new course, the first one in polymer science at Yale. The research team hosts high school summer interns and teachers from several different states (Connecticut, New York Rhode Island and Massachusetts) enabling students to learn from role models about the importance of science. Finally, by maintaining relationships with industry, the results of this research are disseminated to a broad scientific and technical community. The research team is developing a site-specifically initiated controlled/living hyperbranching polymerization (CLHP) for the production of HPs with tailored structures and high livingness through the rational design of novel inimers, i.e., monomers tethered with an initiator group. The degree of branching as well as the chemical nature of HPs is well-tuned under copolymerization conditions. The site-specific initiation enables the precise incorporation of HP motifs into other materials to synthesize hierarchically branched structures, providing a comprehensive understanding of structure-property relationships in branched polymers. The research activities include: the development of chain-growth type CLHP; the optimization of CLHP conditions to improve livingness and quality of control; and the design and synthesis of higher-order HP-containing macromolecular architectures with target properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.