Upcycling Polyolefins into Value-Added Thermoplastics, Assisted by SEC-MALS

Register Free: https://www.chromatographyonline.com/lcgc_w/mals

Event Overview:

Polyolefins are engineering thermoplastics that demonstrate diverse thermomechanical properties, attractive chemical resistance, and excellent processability. Though made from petroleum-derived monomers, greater than 60% of world plastic production remains dominated by polyolefins. Creating sustainable materials that compete with the performance and value proposition of polyolefins is a grand challenge for the field of polymer science.

The goal of research in the Leibfarth group is to develop synthetic methods that transform readily available starting materials into thermoplastics that are both functional and sustainable, with molecular-level precision. This work has resulted in platform synthetic methods that enhance the thermomechanical, adhesion, and transport properties of polyolefins while also uncovering mechanistic insights that broadly inform synthetic method development. In this web seminar, we will highlight how molecular weight determination, achieved via multi-angle light scattering coupled to size-exclusion chromatography (SEC-MALS), has enhanced these studies.

Key Learning Objectives:

• How stereoselective polymerization and selective functionalization lead to upscaling of polyolefins
• How the production of polar polyolefins from post-consumer plastic waste leads to performance-advantaged thermoplastics
• Fundamentals of SEC-MALS as an absolute method for molecular weight determination
• How SEC-MALS contributes to polymer structure-function studies

Who Should Attend:

• Polymer scientists exploring advanced methods for synthesis, functionalization, characterization and structure-function studies
• Lab and core facility managers in need of information-rich techniques for determining molecular weight, size, and conformation of sustainable polymers derived from post-consumer plastic waste

Speakers:

Frank Leibfarth
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Landry Bennett
Application Scientist
Wyatt Technology

Register Free: https://www.chromatographyonline.com/lcgc_w/mals