Exercising Control in Ring-Opening and Controlled Radical Polymerisations

Catalysts offer chemists the ability to control various aspects of polymerisation reactions to afford new materials with defined properties and tangible benefits. Our research group sits at the interface between inorganic and polymer chemistry, using coordination chemistry inspiration to offer insight into controlled radical polymerisations and ring opening polymerisations. This talk will focus on our work in biodegradable materials and controlled radical polymerisation. Highlights include: monomer design in ring-opening polymerisation, post-polymerisation modification of aliphatic polyesters, tacticity control in complex macrostructures and new iron-based catalysts for atom transfer radical polymerisation that are the fastest reported to date and operate by a unique dual-control mechanism.