This award will support a seminar on "Chemistry of Metal-Polymer Systems," organized jointly by Prof. James N. Demas, University of Virginia, and Prof. Hitoshi Ohtaki, of the Institute for Molecular Sciences, Okazaki, Japan. Participants will meet in Lawrenceville, N.J., from July 23 to 28, 1989, to discuss the roles of metals in polymer synthesis; electron transfer in macromolecular systems; interactions between metal complexes and macromolecules; and molecular assemlies, polymer films and surfaces involving metal complexes. The state of polymer science is at a high level in both Japan and the U.S. This seminar will bring together experts from both countries in various areas of macromolecule metal complexes. A balance between basic and applied aspects of each of the chosen topics will be sought, and the discussions are expected to contribute importantly to progress in the chemistry of metal/polymer systems in both countries. Questions to be addressed in the seminar should help clarify the detailed mechanism of catalysis in the production of man-made polymers using organometallic compounds; mechanisms of electronic conduction in polymers; the use of microprobes to study microscopic interactions of metal species with polymers; and the role of surfaces in chemical reactions involving polymers. Understanding of these questions may have important implications in polymer production and the fabrication and use of organic electron devices.
