Fundamentals and development of advanced polymer reaction engineering and materials

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Manufacturing of resins and rubbers, as well as their products, is an important industrial sector in Canada with over thirty billion annual shipments. Volume consumption of polymers is more than all other types of synthetic materials combined. Polymers are chain molecules and their properties are determined to a large extent by chain microstructure such as molecular weight, composition, branching, network, etc. Improving product quality by designing chain microstructure has been a great challenge for polymer researchers. Recent development in living radical polymerization (LRP) chemistry provides excellent opportunities. In LRP it takes several hours for individual polymer chains to fully grow, while in conventional radical polymerization it is in seconds from initiation to termination. The extended time duration makes it possible for polymer reaction engineers to design and control chain microstructure.