Markus Klapper studied chemistry at the University of Mainz and received his PhD in 1990 (Prof. R. C. Schulz) for work on the synthesis and topochemical polymerization of aminodiacetylenes. Soon after, he joined the MPI for Polymer Research and became project leader in the Dept. of Polymer Synthesis (Prof. Klaus Müllen). His research interests are very broad and include new polycondensation and polymerization methods, as well as polymer analogous reactions towards the synthesis of functional polymers and block copolymers. These materials are especially designed for fuel cell applications or for the hydrophobisation of inorganic nanoparticles. Additionally, he has focused in the recent years on the polymerization of olefins in heterogeneous phase for which he has developed new organic supports and studied their polymerization behavior. Another central topic is the development of non-aqueous emulsions suitable for the polymerization of water-sensitive monomers. In this area he developed new emulsifiers based on for example perfluorinated structures. He published more than 130 papers and filed about 20 patents. He is managing editor of Polymer Bulletin.
Personal Webpage: http://www.mpip-mainz.mpg.de/70027/Dr_Markus_Klapper
Institutes webpage: http://www.mpip-mainz.mpg.de
What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?
In fact, I had this dream already in school due to an excellent experienced teacher in chemistry! In the seventh grade we did the first experiments and I found this rather fascinating. From that time on there was no doubt for me that chemistry should become my profession.
What was the motivation to write your Polymer Chemistry article?
This article is a joint work between the group of Ken B. Wagener in Gainesville, Florida and of the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany. This work is an excellent example of an international collaboration using synergistic effects from two groups. We combined herein the experience of synthesizing “precise polymers” from Gainesville with our experience in fuel cell membranes and in the polymerization of phosphonated monomers. A highly defined polymer with excellent proton conductivity was the outcome.
Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work? (DOI:10.1039/C2PY20886E)
Polymer Chemistry is an excellent journal, being extremely fast, for example, our article became accepted within a very few days.
In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?
The next conference will be in Asilomar in California at a workshop about fuel cells (February, 23-27) and the EPF conference in Pisa in summer (June, 16-21).
How do you spend your spare times?
Mainly with my family, playing with my two children, reading (preferably history books or biographies of political or historical persons) or travelling.
Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?
I am really happy with my present job. Even when I studied economy for some time in parallel, I found chemistry always fascinating. Perhaps in younger years to become a pilot would have been a real option.
Cyrille Boyer is a guest web-writer for Polymer Chemistry. He is currently a Senior Lecturer and an ARC-Future Fellow at the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales (Australia)).
