Dr. Darryl D. DesMarteau, III, Department of Chemistry, Clemson University, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Program of the Chemistry Division for research into the reactivity, properties, and materials based on sulfonimides. Perfluorinated ionomers (ion clustering polymers) and perfluorinated ionenes (polyelectrolytes containing ionic groups in a polymer main chain) incorporating the superacid bis((perfluoroalkyl)sulfonyl)imide and isoelectronic sulfone functions will be prepared. Stable N-fluoro derivatives will then be obtained by the reaction of the ionomers with elemental fluorine. These polymers will contain ionic clusters embedded in a fluorcarbon matrix and the cavities, where the clusters reside, will be used as microreactors to form dispersed nanoscale particles of, for example, CdSe. Using analogies to molecular sulfonimides, the polymers will be developed as acid catalysts. Also based on analogy to the sulfonimides, fluoroalkyl iodonium salts will be developed as aqueous phase alkylating reagents. Using these reagents fluoroalkyl analogs of amino acids and other biochemically interesting compounds will be prepared. The systems to be studied in this project are being investigated for their potential as polymer electrolytes in fuel cells and battery applications, as media in which nanoscale materials can be formed, and as polymer based reagents. One objective is the design of new catalysts for a number of `acid catalyzed` processes (petroleum refining, for example, often uses acidic catalysts). Another is to design ways to introduce fluorine containing groups into biological molecules.
