Sustainable Polymer Designs via Robust Dynamic Covalent Bonds

• Prof. Zhibin Guan, Chemistry Dept., UC Irvine
• Sponsored by the Golden Gate Polymer Forum (GGPF)
• 6:30 PM Online via Zoom, Registration required. Learn more and register

Abstract:

This talk will discuss our recent progress in developing sustainable thermoset polymers that are strong, self-healing, malleable, and recyclable by using robust while dynamic boron-oxygen (B–O) and silyl ether (Si–O) bonds. Our goal for this project is to develop a universal strategy for the design of sustainable polymeric materials. Specifically, we aim to combine the excellent attributes of both thermoplastics (reprocessability and recyclability) and thermosets (mechanical strength, creep and solvent resistances) through dynamic covalent chemistry. We have particularly focused on developing covalent interactions that can lead to thermosets that are mechanically strong, highly malleable, and also both fully reprocessable and recyclable. In this talk, I will summarize our recent progress in this project with specific focus on our investigation of sustainable thermosets using boron-oxygen (B–O), silyl ether (Si–O–C), and siloxane (Si–O–Si) exchange reactions. A successful demonstration of robust, malleable, and reprocessable/recyclable thermosets will have major impact on new materials development, plastic recycling and sustainability, and modern technologies including additive manufacturing.

Speaker Background & Research Interests:

Zhibin Guan obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Peking University. He received his Ph.D. degree in 1994 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Following a postdoctoral stint at Caltech and a short career at DuPont, in 2000 he joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at UC Irvine as an assistant professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2004, and to Full Professor in 2006. From 2006, he also became affiliated faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the Department of Material Science at UC Irvine. He has received recognition of his research with several awards and fellowships, including the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship, the Humboldt Bessel Research Award, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the Beckman Young Investigator Award, and was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His research work has been featured many times in scientific journals and also in news sources such as C&EN News, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Forbes, etc. He served as the Chair for the 2018 Bioinspired Materials Gordon Research Conference in Les Diablerets, Switzerland.