Synthesising polymers with sound

Project description

An ultrasonic reactor will be used to produce reactive oxygen species capable of initiating radical polymerization. Preliminary results have already indicated that this is effective and the aim here is to develop the technique, particularly for acrylic acid salts which form gels in solution that are not easily polymerized via other methods. It is predicted that the gels will enable templating for stereochemical control so, rather than destroy the gel structure to enable normal polymerization, ultrasound will be used to trigger polymerization within the gel structures themselves.

Further information

I have recently joined Flinders University as a member of the College of Science and Engineering. My research group uses both theory and experiment to study chemical reactions, with applications spanning organic synthesis, organometallic catalysis, polymer chemistry and physical chemistry. Students wishing to do computational chemistry projects do not need prior experience in this area.

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You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.