Polymerization chemistry, single-site catalysts, polymers from biorenewable feedstocks, catalysis

Several ongoing projects are focused on polymerization chemistry, including: single-site catalyst design for the preparation of syndiotactic polypropylene and related copolymers; elastomeric polypropylene based on the isotactic-hemiisotactic, syndiotactic-hemiisotactic, or enantiomorphic site control microstructures; oxygen rich polymers from biorenewable feedstocks such as polylactic acid and polyoxymethylene; theoretical models of polymer tacticity; and the application of DFT calculations to polymerization chemistry. Other projects target the catalytic transformation of small molecules, including the use of cyanide as a versatile catalyst for aldimine coupling and other carbon-carbon bond forming reactions.