The primary objective of the proposal funds the purchase of laboratory equipment which is used in a lecture-laboratory course in polymer chemistry: materials development. The development of this course was assisted by an advisory committee of polymer scientists and educators. The lecture portion of the course generally follows the course content recommended by the A.C.S. Joint Polymer Committee. Each laboratory experiment contains two parts: a synthesis component and a testing component. The synthesis component provides students with experience in common polymerization procedures and is used to prepare samples for use in the testing component. The synthesis procedures studied include step and chain growth polymerizations, radical and ionic initiators, linear and cross linked polymers, and alternating, random, and block polymers. The testing component includes the use of standardized test procedures and test instruments currently found in the modern polymer laboratory, computer interfaced test equipment for data collection, and the use of spreadsheet software for data manipulation and presentation. The equipment used includes a gel permeation chromatograph, a differential scanning calorimeter/thermogravimetric analyzer, a vapor pressure osmometer, viscometer, and a stress/strain tester. The institution is matching the award with an equal amount of funds.
