Page 85 - Plastics News December 2016

Technology
University of Akron, Sandia pair up to bring new polymers
The University of Akron has a huge new partner with
big plans for what it views as the nation's top school
for polymer science research and technology. Together,
the university and Sandia National Laboratories hope to
make large strides in applying new material science to
advanced manufacturing, transferring new technology
to industry and
finding new ways
to make some of
the smallest things
mankind has ever
created.
Sandia, the
university's new
partner is a big
deal on the
nation's tech scene
and one of the U.S.
Department of
Energy's major facilities. The lab's work, largely funded
by the DOE, is broad-based. Sandia is a chief source of
research and development for systems and does a lot of
science and development in areas such as microscopic
3-D printing. Sandia's size and the broad scope of its work
mean it has many opportunities to use the University of
Akron's expertise as it seeks to develop new materials,
Valley said.He hopes new polymers can be used in energy-
related products and to develop things like new materials
for advanced 3-D printers that can make tiny sensors and
other devices virtually one molecule at a time.Sandia has
the science, but it needs new materials to employ what it
has learned, Valley said. "One of the areas we identified
as a gap was polymers and polymer science," he said. "We
had no one, and we had no ongoing relationships with
anyone in academia. We pretty quickly discovered that
the University of Akron was the premier school for polymer
science. Polymer science is particularly important … we
use polymers in so many of our mission applications."
Sandia and UA will produce new materials and inventions
and sell or license that technology in the private sector.
Ultimately, it could mean a host of new products used
in health care and energy production and management.
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It also could lead to sensors that monitor the nation's
infrastructure — or even sensors used in cars, fuel cells
and other products. If they're successful, both Sandia
and the university will share in the proceeds gained from
commercializing new technologies,
Light to design precision
polymers
Chemists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
have succeeded in specifically controlling the setup
of precision
polymers by
light-induced
chemical
reactions. The
new method
allows for
the precise,
planned arrangement of the chain links, i.e.
monomers, along polymer chains of standard length.
The precisely structured macromolecules develop
defined properties and may possibly be suited for
use as storage systems of information or synthetic
biomolecules. Chemical reactions may be triggered
by light at room temperature. This effect was used by
KIT scientists to specifically link molecules to defined
polymer chains under light. "In many conventional
processes, polymer chains of variable length are
produced. The building blocks are arranged randomly
along the chain," says Professor Christopher Barner-
Kowollik of the KIT Institute for Chemical Technology
and Polymer Chemistry (ITCP)."We wanted to develop
a light-induced method for polymer structuring, which
reaches the precision of nature," the Holder of the
Chair for Preparative Macromolecular Chemistry adds.
The new, light-induced synthesis method allows for
customized molecule design, with the building blocks
being arranged at the positions desired similar to a
string of colored pearls. "By controlling the structure
of the molecule, the so-called sequence, properties
of macromolecules can be controlled,"
85 • December 2016 • Plastics News