RESEARCH TOPICS
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Solid polymer electrolytes (SPE)
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Green chemistry
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Precise synthesis
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Polyimides
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Optoelectronic polymers
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Shape memory polyurethanes
Solid Polymer Electrolytes (SPE)
Green Chemistry
Precise Synthesis
Polymers have been successfully developed and used as commodity materials. The consumption of polymers have increased steadily due to their ubiquitous applications. However, the success of polymers has been came up with the disposal of polymer wastes. Moreover, another issue attributed from the use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the processing of polymers is also a concerning problem. We try to provide solutions for post-manufacturing and post-consumer stages. The solutions for heterogeneous reactions based on water as medium such as emulsion polymerizations also have been developed.
Dendritic structures are a relatively new class of macromolecules different from the conventional linear, crosslinked, or branched polymers. Their tree-like, monodisperse, structures lead to a number of interesting characteristics and features. Hydrogen bond-rich poly(urethane/malonamide) dendrons with different generations were realized based on a dual functional 4-isocyanato-4′-(3, 3-dimethyl-2, 4-dioxoazetidino)diphenylmethane (IDD) as building block under mild condition, without the need of catalyst, and protection/deprotection procedures. Because of their distinct physical chemistry behavior comparing to linear type-architectures, various applications including 2nd order nonlinear optics, PU elastomers, super-hydrophobic surfaces, shape memory materials and organic/inorganic hybrids based on poly(urea/ malonamides) have been developed.
Polyimides
Polyimides (PIs) are one of the widely used polymer due to their superb thermal stability, good chemical resistence and excellent mechanical properties. By using the sequential self-repetitive reaction (SSRR) reactions, second-order non-linear optical materials were realized. They exhibited improved thermal stability, good polarization, and lower optical loss along with long-term stability of electro-optical coefficients. In addition, by the design of monomer structures, PIs with intrinsic microporosity were prepared based on large-scale conformational changes in polymer main chains. These polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) are good candidates for gas separation or pervaporation films.
Optoelectronic Polymers
Optoelectronic polymers are one of the most important specialty materials in industry. We are interested in the research fields including 2nd order nonlinear optics, (NLOs), organic photovoltaics (OPV) and organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). The field of NLO polymers mainly focuses on materials synthesis and chromophore orientation phenomena. Compared to the cost of expensive inorganic solar cells (Si, GaAs, etc), OPV with the potential for lower costs, and light weight characteristics, can be manufacured by the existing printing or continuous rolling technology on a large scale. Moreover, OPV can be combined with flexible plastic substrates. Apart from that, in terms of device performance, OTFTs has caught up with amorphous silicon thin-film transistors. These low cost OTFT cac be applied to large-area electronics such as active driving displays, smart cards, and price tags.
Polyurethanes have unique physical properties such as high elasticity, good elongation at break, solvents and wear resistance. Various performances on demand could be realized via structures design with ease. We are aiming at the investigation on the configurations of chemical structures to alter their intermolecular forcesand and physical properties along with fine-tuning the ratio of hard and soft segments. In one example, PUs possess high potential for making shape memory polymers.
Shape Memory Polyurethanes
