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Caltech

Organic Chemistry Seminar

Wednesday, November 11, 2020
12:00pm to 1:00pm
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Online Event
Development of New Chemical Platforms for Polymer Synthesis
Will Gutekunst, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Tech,

This event will take place on Zoom

Synthetic polymers have permeated nearly every facet of modern life. From the ubiquity of polyolefins to recent advancements in 3-D printing, organic materials continue to shape the world around us. While tremendous accomplishments have been made with relatively few polymer families, the future requires the development of materials with increased control over structure to produce systems that can respond to programmed inputs, as well as the exploration of entirely new polymer compositions. Our group takes a chemistry-focused approach to address these challenges through the strategic application of organic methodologies to design new monomer families and reagents for precision polymer synthesis. This presentation will specifically highlight (1) the utility of enyne chemistry to impart degradability and expedite functionalization of metathesis-derived materials and (2) the development of a new class of living polymerization that is enabled by the unusual reactivity profiles of twisted amide molecules.

For more information, please contact Annette Luymes or Rena Rasti-Becerra by phone at x6016, x6151 or by email at [email protected], [email protected].