Catalytic Activation of Renewable Resources for Polymer Synthesis Seminar

The synthesis of various metal catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization of lactide and the ring-opening copolymerization of carbon dioxide/epoxides will be described. In particular, emphasis will be placed on understanding the catalytic activity (kinetics), selectivities (stereocontrol as well as monomer selectivity) so as to propose various mechanisms by which these catalysts may be operating. Various techniques are used to probe the proposed pathways, including in situ spectroscopic characterization of intermediates, structure-activity relationships, DFT calculations and polymerization kinetics. A new chemoselective monomer control mechanism is presented which enables the preparation of copolymers from mixed monomer feedstocks.
The second part of the talk, the preparation of new colloidal nanocatalysts based on ZnO and Cu nanoparticles suspended in organic solvents will be described. The syntheses apply organometallic precursors to prepare, with high reproducibility, nanoparticles of the metal/metal oxide with good control of the surface functionality. These nanoparticles are applied, in a continuously stirred tank reactor, as catalysts for the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to produce methanol.