Controlled Polymer Synthesis

Research

      Department activities: 

• Preparation and characterization of new polymeric materials –
  • synthesis of homopolymers, block and graft copolymers on the basis of styrene, vinylpyridine, (meth)acrylate and (meth)acrylamide derivatives with narrow molar weight distributions and defined polymer chain lengths using  anionic, cationic, radical and controlled radical polymerization;
  • preparation of graft copolymers on the basis of cellulose derivatives using   controlled radical polymerization (reversible-deactivation radical polymerization);
  • preparation of defined organic-inorganic copolymers (nanocomposites) containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) units covalently bonded in a polymer chain;
  • kinetic study of the anionic polymerization of (meth)acrylate esters and of the radical oligomerization of 1-alkenes;
  • synthesis of copolymers with liquid-crystal (LC) blocks for the preparation of thermotropic and  photosensitive polymeric materials;
  • chemical modification of montmorillonites and analogous inorganic materials with polymeric structures and  the  study of the mechanical properties of the prepared materials;
  • synthesis of antidegradant derivatives and their chemical bonding to polymer chains, characterization of products and by-products.

• Projects in progress  –
  • Synthesis and mechanical properties of nanocomposites with tailored organoclays (project GA ČR 106/09/1348 ; investigator P. Vlček);
  • Radical polymerization of 1-alkenes catalyzed  by Li-salts (project MŠMT Kontakt ME09001; investigator P. Vlček);
  • Preparation and characterization of organic-inorganic nanocomposites (project MŠMT Kontakt ME09058; investigator Z. Sedláková);
  • Preparation and study of the properties of organic-inorganic nanocomposite materials prepared by in situ emulsion polymerization (project AVČR KAN100500651; investigator Z. Sedláková);
  • Three-dimensional distributions of branched polymers (project GA AV A400500703; co-investigator J. Podešva);
  • Stabilizers chemically bound to polymers (project MPO FR-TI2/338; co-investigator J. Podešva).