Location
Cherry Auditorium, Kirk Hall
Start Date
10-6-2016 1:00 PM
Description
H-bonding catalysts for ring-opening polymerization (ROP) stand out among the highly controlled polymerization methods for their ability to precisely control molecular weight and polydispersity while facilitating the incorporation of functional groups in the monomer feed. The development of organocatalysts for polymerization has largely proceed along divergent pathways towards highly-selective or highly-active catalysts. The exquisite and remarkable combination of rate and selectivity present in other fields (e.g. olefin polymerization catalysis) had not been paralleled in organocatalytic transformations, especially H-bond mediated transformations. Using reaction mechanism as our cue, we have developed an H-bonding catalyst for the ROP of lactone monomers that is among the most active catalysts known for this transformation, yet it is remarkably selective. The age of being forced to choose between a highly-active or highly-selective ROP organocatalyst is over.
Speaker Bio
Matthew K. Kiesewetter was born in 1982 in Bloomington, IL. His initial training was in classic physical organic chemistry with Professor Cheryl D. Stevenson at Illinois State University (ISU). While there, he coauthored 11 publications including 7 in J. Am. Chem. Soc. He received his B.S. in chemistry, Summa Cum Laude, from ISU in 2004. He conducted his graduate research under the advisement of Professor Robert M. Waymouth and Dr. James L. Hedrick (IBM) at Stanford University. While there, he coauthored 8 publications and developed a lasting interest in catalysis. After postdoctoral studies with Prof. Tim Swager at MIT, he joined the faculty at the University of Rhode Island in 2013 where he is currently Assistant Professor of Chemistry. His current research interests are in homogeneous catalysis, supramolecular interactions and polymerization chemistry.
The Convergence of Rate and Selectivity in Organocatalytic Ring-opening Polymerization
Cherry Auditorium, Kirk Hall
H-bonding catalysts for ring-opening polymerization (ROP) stand out among the highly controlled polymerization methods for their ability to precisely control molecular weight and polydispersity while facilitating the incorporation of functional groups in the monomer feed. The development of organocatalysts for polymerization has largely proceed along divergent pathways towards highly-selective or highly-active catalysts. The exquisite and remarkable combination of rate and selectivity present in other fields (e.g. olefin polymerization catalysis) had not been paralleled in organocatalytic transformations, especially H-bond mediated transformations. Using reaction mechanism as our cue, we have developed an H-bonding catalyst for the ROP of lactone monomers that is among the most active catalysts known for this transformation, yet it is remarkably selective. The age of being forced to choose between a highly-active or highly-selective ROP organocatalyst is over.
Comments
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