The Controlled Radical Polymerization (CRP) Consortium at Carnegie Mellon University began operation on January 1, 2001 with the objective to assist the member corporations in developing materials for their markets based on controlled radical polymerization.
The present technical focus of the CRP Consortium is to increase the efficiency of a research organization's effectiveness by development of a comprehensive structure - property correlation where the properties of a target material can be met through controlled synthesis of functional monomers followed by controlled processing. The process will be amplified by detailed physical analysis and by modeling the processes providing an understanding of material properties based on the composition and structure of the polymer, size of phase separated domains and the dynamics of testing response rates.
CRP Polymerization Technique Applications
Many valuable applications are enabled by the CRP polymerization techniques that have been developed in the Matyjaszewski labs. For example:
High yield polymer to monomer recycling by depolymerization of halogen functional polymethacrylates promises to add value to controlled polymers.
Polyethylene / acrylic and fluoropolymer / acrylic copolymers have been made and are showing interesting physical properties and morphologies.
Stable nanoparticle (both organic and inorganic) dispersions have yielded thermoplastic films with self-healing properties, photonic color, and extreme toughness.
Lithium metal battery safety and performance has been improved by means of highly ionically conductive solid polymer electrolytes and new artificial solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI).
Photocatalytic initiation systems for controlled polymerizations that work with various wavelengths of light have proven to be amazingly efficient.
Recent progress in acrylic / protein biohybrids has yielded many practical applications such as targeted drug delivery and specific bacteria detection systems.
Recent advances in acrylic / nucleic acid biohybrids have resulted in RNA hybrids that are much more stable under biological conditions.
Catalyst recycling via immobilization will help to reduce cost and simplify controlled acrylic polymer production.
Infrared-light-initiated emulsion polymerization has proven to be industrially feasible and cost effective.
Low cost amines have replaced most of the high cost copper chelating agents typically required for good control in ATRP systems.
Organic microgels with controlled size and crosslink density have been synthesized via miniemulsion techniques.
Cyano acrylate monomers have been polymerized via ATRP for the first time.
Hyper branched polymers can be easily made and have interesting physical and rheological properties.
Extremely fast polymerizations (minutes not hours) have been realized while maintaining good control.
Networks that “expand” on insertion of new monomers into the network. have been made.
Orthogonal synthesis of bottlebrush polymers by using both RAFT and ATRP techniques has yielded new and interesting structures.
“Hairy” inorganic nanoparticles via surface initiated ATRP can be made with absolute control of the length and composition of the polymeric “hairs”.