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 | Biography |  |
Our research is aimed to develop methodologies to synthesise complex polymer architectures in water with controlled particle size, molecular weight and morphology. It is then aimed to gain an understanding of the structure-property relations of these novel nanomaterials such that targeted properties can be made for specific applications.
Main area of research:
Living radical polymerization has allowed unique architectures (block, branched to star polymers) to be made in solvent based systems. Our goal is to make these structures in an environmentally friendly medium, water. The use of such polymers would be for drug delivery or specialty high strength films in the coatings industry.
Complementary area of research:
A key to understanding the fundamentals of living radical polymerization is first to understand the small free-radical reactions that govern their reactivity. One method to probe these types of radical reactions is through the Nitroxide trapping technique, in which a stable nitroxide radical couples with carbon-centred radicals to form a stable alkoyamine. These species can then be separated and elucidated using HPLC and NMR. The types and proportion of these species allows quantitative information to be gained on a radical’s reactivity towards monomer(s) or various other compounds. We can use this method to gain information on living radical reactions to obtain kinetic parameters that are inaccessible through other techniques.
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