Designer Polymeric Materials (Dr. Thomas Kodger)

In the Designer Polymeric Materials group of Dr. Thomas Kodger, we research both the synthesis and properties of new polymeric materials by designing the architecture of the polymer. Often the properties of polymeric materials are a direct consequence of both their chemical constituents and self-assembled structure; for example polyethylene has many unique properties partially due to the local crystalline structure. Our work combines both chemistry and physics first starting from monomers to produce a wide range of polymer structures, such as bottle-brushes, and finishing with techniques to measure and exploit their physical properties.