Advanced Polymer Synthesis

Lecturer(s)

Prof. A.D. Schlüter & Dr. J. Sakamoto

Hour(s) of lecture(s), exercise(s) and credit points

3L
1E
6CP

The theoretical part is divided into Advanced Polymer Synthesis I and Advanced Polymer Synthesis II, which are independent from one another and will be taught in two subsequent semesters

Teaching goals

The course provides the students with a high-level overview of modern methods of polymer synthesis both in theoretical and practical aspects. It should enable them to develop reasonable synthesis schemes for certain target structures and also to predict how a given macromolecule could possibly organize into a secondary or even higher-order structure. For all polymers presented, potential or real applications will be discussed. The students will gain a substantial insight into the problems associated with synthesizing polymers, proving their molecular structure, determining their molecular weight, and testing their properties.

Summary and outline

Though an emphasis is placed on covalent procedures in solution leading to single-stranded, linear polymers, other methods (e.g., polymerizations in organized media) as well as structurally more complex polymers will also be addressed. The nowadays important aspect of how to create nanoscale molecular objects will also be treated. Outline:metal-mediated polycondensations, conductive polymers, condensative chain, topochemical, and enzymatic polymerizations, rod-coil polymers, conjugated and ladder polymers, supramolecular polymers, macrocycles, dendrimers, hyperbranched and dendronized polymers, molecular brushes, 2D polymers, polyrotaxanes, polycatenanes, (bio)polymers with secondary structures (helicity, foldamers), higher order structures, intermolecular interactions (e.g. H-bonding networks), ordered aggregates and nanoscopic objects (e.g. from rod coil polymers).

Literature

Lecture notes will be provided

For a textbook which however does not cover the entire course, see: A. D. Schlüter "Polymer Synthesis" in the Materials Science and Technology Series, Wiley, VCH, Weinheim 1999, ISBN 3-527-26831-6