Chemistry Research Day 2023 | Department of Chemistry

Chemistry Research Day - Friday, 12/1/2023 was a huge success!

A celebration of Research in Chemistry performed by graduate, undergraduate and high-school students, as well as postdoctoral fellows and staff scientists affiliated with Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Posters/Contributors:

Chemistry Research Day - Posters/Contributors

Location:

Student Activities Center, Stony Brook University

Schedule:

Poster Session I [even numbered posters] in BALLROOM A - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Poster Session II [odd numbered posters] in BALLROOM A - 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Reception in THE SHORE CLUB (Room 169) - 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Keynote Lecture in AUDITORIUM - 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Presentation of Poster/Photo Awards in AUDITORIUM - 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Robert B. Grubbs, Professor of Chemistry
B.A. Pomona College, 1993
M.S. Cornell University (w/ J. Fréchet), 1995
Ph.D. Cornell University (w/ J. Fréchet), 1998
Postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota (w/ F. Bates)

Emphasizing the ‘Molecule’ in ‘Macromolecule’: Making Old Polymers New Again Through
Organic Chemistry

While polymers are often colloquially referred to as "plastics," IUPAC defines polymers as
substances composed of macromolecules--long chain molecules of high molecular mass
comprising repeated units derived from lower molecular mass monomers. In most respects,
macromolecules can react just as lower molecular mass molecules in standard organic
reactions and, in the century or so since Staudinger proposed his Macromolecular
Hypothesis, the exploitation of new organic synthetic methods for the synthesis and
modification of macromolecules has led to significant new materials and polymer synthesis
methods. Harnessing synthetic chemistry to enable control over polymer architecture has
enabled the synthesis of an ever expanding range of new macromolecular structures. Among
these structures block copolymers, in which chains of chemically different polymers are
covalently connected at one or both ends, which have the ability to self-assemble into
nanostructured materials. This behavior has been exploited or proposed in applications over
a huge range of length-scales, from tires and shoe soles to memory storage media. I will
discuss recent research efforts by my research group to synthesize and apply two classes of
functionalized polymers, polyacetals and epoxidized polydienes, that are historically
important, in contexts where they have not been widely investigated. Incorporation of poly
(glyoxylate ester) blocks into block copolymers has been found to result in materials
with degradable hydrophobic blocks. Epoxidation of polydiene blocks leads to block
copolymers with versatile properties as templates for the infiltration synthesis of metal oxides.
Aspects of the synthesis, characterization, and application of both classes of block
copolymers will be discussed.

Chemistry Research Day 2022