Researchers Receive Federal Grant to Explore Breakthroughs in Conjugated Ladder Polymers

Tue, 09/26/2023 - 09:07am | By: Van Arnold

Signaling a significant development in the field of materials science, Professors Xiaodan Gu from The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and Lei Fang from Texas A&M University have been awarded a research grant by the National Science Foundation’s Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry program within the Division of Chemistry.

The total grant is $650,000, and approximately half of the amount will be awarded to USM. The grant is set to support pioneering work in investigating the solution-phase properties of rigid-rod conjugated ladder polymers, a unique and promising class of materials.

Conjugated polymers, known for their semiconducting properties resembling those of silicon, are distinct from the commonly used insulating polymers. They find extensive applications in light-emitting devices (LEDs), flexible electronics, sensors, biomedical imaging, and other technologies harnessing their optoelectronic properties.

Conjugated ladder polymers, however, stand out as a special category within this realm. These double-stranded polymers possess a ladder-like bond connectivity, resulting in repeating units fused in the form of conjugated rings, giving them unique polymer physics properties compared to their single-stranded counterparts.

The core focus of this groundbreaking research project will encompass studying polymer-solvent interactions, single-chain conformation, and chain diffusion dynamics in a series of conjugated ladder polymers that are soluble in common organic solvents. Additionally, the team will develop synthetic methodologies to gain precise control over chain lengths and molar mass distributions.

“This research award will enable new direction in the center for optoelectronic to explore ladder type polymer for novel electronic applications,” said Gu. “Furthermore, the educational aspect of this project will modernize undergraduate polymer chemistry curricula. This will involve the implementation of student-performed ‘Nobel Prize Reaction’ experiments in undergraduate organic laboratory courses with the help Dr. Bill Jarrett.”

Added Gu, “We are also grateful for NSF’s investment to broader Mississippian.  This grant could also allow myself and graduate student to conduct outreach activities, engaging historically regional black colleges and universities in Mississippi through site visits and workshops. We are particularly excited for that and hope to engage them in research and education.”.