The expanding possibilities of bio-based polymers

Researchers present a new route to prepare biobased polyesters with tuneable properties

04-Mar-2021 - Finding innovative and sustainable solutions to our material needs is one of the core objectives of green chemistry. The myriad plastics that envelop our daily life - from mattresses to food and cars - are mostly made from oil-based monomers which are the building blocks of polymers. Therefore, ...

No assembly required

Self-assembling silicone-based polymers

24-Oct-2018 - Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology, RIKEN and Tohoku University have developed a silicone polymer chain that can self-assemble into a 3D periodic structure. They achieved this by using their recently reported self-assembling triptycene molecules to modify the ends of the polymer ...

A path to sustainable and biodegradable polyesters

04-Jun-2018 - There's a good chance you've touched something made out of the polyolefin polymer today. It's often used in polyethylene products like plastic bags or polypropylene products like diapers. As useful as polyolefins are in society, they continue to multiply as trash in the environment. Scientists ...

Electrostatic force takes charge in bioinspired polymers

06-Nov-2017 - Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst have taken the first steps toward gaining control over the self-assembly of synthetic materials in the same way that biology forms natural polymers. This advance could prove useful in designing new bioinspired, ...

Polymer pioneer

08-Jun-2017 - Taking a transformative approach to functional materials, a UC Santa Barbara polymer chemist has created innovative results that feature new properties and new applications. Now, his methods have earned him the Charles G. Overberger International Prize for Excellence in Polymer Research from the ...

New process enables easier isolation of carbon nanotubes

25-Jan-2016 - Manufacture of longer, thinner, and uncontaminated carbon nanotubes, and successfully isolating them, have been ongoing challenges for researchers. A newly developed method has opened up new possibilities in carbon nanotube development. Researchers at Kyushu University's Department of Applied ...

Carnegie Mellon's Krzysztof Matyjaszewski wins Dreyfus Prize

06-May-2015 - Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, the J.C. Warner University Professor of Natural Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, has won the 2015 Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences.The international prize awarded by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is given every two years to recognize ...