(660a) Polyether Structural and Compositional Control through Aluminum Catalyst Design.

Polyethers, like poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), are used in a wide variety of applications from batteries to drug delivery, with the requisite properties for these applications achieved through polymer structural and compositional control. A diversity of polymerization methods have been devised to achieve target polyether materials, each with their own pros and cons in relation to polymer design. Over the past several years, we have developed a robust polymerization method for the synthesis of polyethers using tunable, Earth-abundant aluminum initiators and catalysts. The flexibility of this polymer platform allows for remarkable control over polyether structure through facile initiator design. Specifically, initiators can be made from most thiol or alcohol containing (macro)molecules, with branching dictated by the number of these moieties. As such, linear di- and tri-block polymers as well as star polymers can be synthesized through rational initiator ligand choice. Furthermore, functional end groups can facilitate grafting to or polymerizing from other substrates, allowing further control over polymer properties. Similarly, polymer pendant design can be leveraged as another handle for structural control. In this talk, we discuss our work on this aluminum-based polymerization platform, how we can tune polymer structure, and how we leverage this structural control in various applications.