PREPARATION OF A NEW CLASS OF PROCESSIBLE INTRINSICALLY RIGID POLYMERS

A NEW CLASS OF RIGID-ROD POLYMERS WILL BE PREPARED BY A NOVEL TRANISTION METAL CATALYZED COUPLING ROUTE. THE RESULTING POLYMERS OFFER A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF SYNTHETIC VERSATILITY, PROCESSIBILITY, AND MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE WITH RIGID REINFORCING AGENTS. WE PROPOSE TO CARRY OUT RESEARCH FOCUSING ON THE OPTIMIZATION OF THE POLYMERICATION REACTION AND THE SCREENING OF NEW MONOMER MODIFICATIONS. OUR PRIMARY GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO ROUTINELY PREPARE GRAM SCALE SAMPLES OF HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYMER FOR EXTENSIVE TESTING OF PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES DURLING LATER STAGES OF THE WORK.