Prof. Will Gutekunst
Title: New Concepts for Ring-Opening Polymerization of Sulfur-Containing Monomers
Bio:
Will Gutekunst received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma in 2008 and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 2013 from the Scripps Research Institute under Prof. Phil S. Baran. Following a postdoctoral experience learning about polymer science in the laboratory of Prof. Craig J. Hawker at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Will started his independent career at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2016 where he is currently Associate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. His lab is interested in the development of new methods for the synthesis of functional and renewable polymeric materials through the introduction of new concepts from organic chemistry.
Abstract:
Synthetic polymers have permeated nearly every facet of modern life. From the ubiquity of polyolefins to recent advancements in 3-D printing, organic materials continue to shape the world around us. While tremendous accomplishments have been made with relatively few polymer families, the future requires the development of materials that can respond to programmed inputs, as well as the exploration of entirely new polymer compositions. This presentation will focus on recent developments in the Gutekunst group to leverage the unique reactivity of sulfur to inspire new concepts for ring-opening polymerization. Through the careful design of cyclic scaffolds, dynamic chemical reactions such as transthioesterification, nucleophilic aromatic substitution, and Michael addition/elimination can be leveraged to generate tunable and recyclable materials. In the latter part of the talk, a serendipitously discovered topochemical ring-opening polymerization of an oxathianethione will also be discussed.
Keywords: Monomer design, ring-opening polymerization, topochemical reactions
Host: Prof. Julian Cooper