Author: Scott

We have another new paper out in Angew. Chemie.! In this one, Nirob and Will report on the formation of transient covalent polymers using carbodiimide-driven anhydride formation. These systems are intended to complement the many examples of out-of-equilibrium supramolecular polymers, by offering different characterization methods and control over assembly kinetics.

We have a new paper out in Angew. Chem.! Chamoni, Corvo, and Will report on how network architecture affects the properties of polymer materials with temporary crosslinks generated by carbodiimides. Materials that generate interpenetrated networks on treatment with the carbodiimide show remarkable increases in their fracture energies (resistance to fractures).

We have a new paper out in J. Chem. Educ.! Suma and Jake developed an activity for second-year organic chemistry labs that explores out-of-equilibrium systems chemistry. It is based on the work we (and others) have done developing carbodiimide-driven processes.

We have a new paper out in Macromol. Rapid Commun.! In this work, a collaboration with the Konkolewicz group, Kate and Viraj, with help from Emma Gordon from Miami’s microscopy facility, report on the properties of star polymers with ortho-phenylene cores. The o-phenylenes retain their well-folded (helical) state when functionalized with many different acrylate polymers.

We have a new paper out in J. Am. Chem. Soc.! In this work, Chamoni, Corvo, and co-workers explore polymer network hydrogels that can be temporarily mechanically reinforced on treatment with a carbodiimide through the formation of anhydride cross-links. Because these materials undergo gel–gel transitions, they exhibit new and unusual behavior. For example, two pieces can be temporarily and repeatedly adhered, with the time of adhesion dependent on the amount of carbodiimide used. Films can also be reversibly patterned with different mechanical properties. This work is part of our long-running collaboration with the Konkolewicz group.