Goals of the Center for Macromolecular Engineering and CRP Consortium
The overall goals of the Center for Macromolecular Engineering and CRP Consortium are to enhance the benefits of polymer science to society by developing new methods to prepare advanced polymeric materials; train and develop tomorrow’s scientists and researchers; and transfer the technology to industry. The Center is currently focused on the use of CRP processes to develop new materials from commercially available vinyl monomers. To expand and define the limits of CRP we focus on three main areas:

Mechanisms

• Understanding the fundamentals of CRP systems
• Correlation of structure with reactivity for all components of each CRP system

Processes
• Optimization of the catalyst, persistent radical or chain transfer agent
• Reclamation/removal/recycling of the catalyst and end group transformation
• Development of heterogeneous (water-borne or CO2) polymerization systems

Materials
• Expansion of the number of monomers polymerizable in each CRP process
• Nanostructured Materials, composites and tethered functional materials
• Well Defined Macromolecules with tailored properties by controlling composition, functionality, and architecture
• Correlation of structure with property for a variety of materials