With this award from the Chemical Catalysis Program, Professor Lawrence R. Sita from University of Maryland at College Park will work on discovering and developing new paradigms, catalysts and polymerization processes that can be used to significantly expand the range of polyolefins and their end-use applications in support of new technologies. The primary hypothesis that will be pursued is that different categories of fast and reversible dynamic processes that are competitive with chain-growth propagation can be introduced to establish two-state living coordination olefin polymerization in which the relative rates of the dynamic process and propagation can be brought under external control to direct polyolefin production over a spectrum that is delineated by two extreme boundary structures. Several new paradigms will be conceived and developed in order to remove existing restrictions that are presently imposed by classical approaches that are based on a one-to-one correlation between catalyst structure and polyolefin product.
In addition to the scientific impact this work will provide support for a continued scientific and economic competitive position of the U.S. in the global polyolefin and chemical industries and support training of future generation of scientists and engineers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related careers. Importantly, the discovery and development of new technological inventions and innovations of commercial value will support the national economy.
