Research Seminar –

Abstract: Cyclic ketene acetals (CKAs) have been used in the synthesis of polyester/polyacrylate copolymers via radical and cationic polymerization since the 1980s. It is a well understood phenomenon that temperature plays a major role in cationic CKA polymerization, with lower temperatures yielding more vinyl addition and higher temperatures favoring ring opening, however, this phenomenon has not yet been exploited to its full potential. In this presentation a method for exploiting the unique reactivity of CKAs will be explored and used to enable the synthesis of degradable polymer nanoparticles with applications in a variety of areas including drug delivery and environmental contaminant sequestration.