Professor Will Gutekunst
Department Seminar
Professor Will Gutekunst
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Georgia Institute of Technology
Host: Professor Marc Hillmyer
Development of New Chemical Platforms for Polymer Synthesis
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 with increased control over structure to produce systems that can respond to programmed inputs, as well as the exploration of entirely new polymer compositions. Our group takes a chemistry-focused approach to address these challenges through the strategic application of organic methodologies to design new monomer families and reagents for precision polymer synthesis. This presentation will specifically highlight (1) the utility of enyne chemistry to impart degradability and expedite functionalization of metathesis-derived materials and (2) the development of a new class of living polymerization that is enabled by the unusual reactivity profiles of twisted amide molecules.
Professor Gutekunst's research
The Gutekunst Lab is interested in pushing the limits of complexity in macromolecular systems using innovative concepts from synthetic organic chemistry. Specific projects in the lab explore the design of novel monomers for the construction of functional polyamides, the development of small molecule reagents for the dynamic modulation of branched polymer architectures, and the investigation of new concepts for creating covalent bonds in challenging contexts. Each project enables the generation of new functional materials with structures or assemblies that were previously inaccessible for study.
