With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor Rudolf Faust, of the Chemistry Department at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA. This research will involve detailed investigation of kinetic rate constants for cationic polymerizations and co-polymerizations initiated by Lewis acids. Preliminary data from Professor Faust's laboratory have demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed measurements and have shown that published kinetic data should be carefully reexamined. Ratios of the rate constants of propagation to those of cross propagation will be determined in order to develop a general and quantitative correlation of structure and reactivity in these polymerizations.
Knowledge of the structure-reactivity relationship developed in these investigations will allow fundamental control of these polymerizations and lead to the synthesis of new and efficient catalysts. The elucidation of relationships between structure and reactivity in cationic polymerization will enhance teaching and learning by providing a rational foundation for understanding and predicting cationic polymerization behavior.
