Polymer Chemistry Blog

Dr Wantai Yang received his bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University in China in 1982 and MS degree in 1985 from Beijing Institute of Chemical Technology (presently known as Beijing University of Chemical Technology, BUCT), and Ph.D. degree from Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden in 1996. He started his research career in 1985 at BUCT where he is currently a Professor of Polymer Chemistry and serves as Dean of College of Materials Sci. & Eng. He has published more than 290 peer-reviewed papers in international journals and filed over 15 patents. He also has been an invited speaker and/or chairman at more than 20 international meetings. Professor Yang has received many honors and awards for his outstanding research achievements, including Natural Science Award of Ministry of Education (2009), China National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholar (1999) and Chair Professor of Cheung Kong Scholars Programme (2001). He is the Vice-President of Chinese Society for Imaging Science and Technology (CSIST), and members of the editorial board of several journals including Biomacromolecules, Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, Membrane Sci. and Tech., Process Engineering and Thermosetting Resin.

His research interest focuses on basic/fundamental chemistry for polymer synthesis and modification. At present his main directions include photopolymerization, controlled/living polymerization, heterogeneous polymerization, new chemistry for surface modification of  organic polymeric material.

For more information, see: http://www.cmse1.buct.edu.cn/ywt/cncss/yjly.asp

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

There are two reasons for me to become a chemist. One is the strong will to know what is polymer science, which seems so curious and mysterious to me before I went to university. Another is due to my high school teacher, who is a very kind person. When I knew he graduated from major of Polymer Science of Tsinghua University just before applying to university, I firmly determined to study polymer science.

What was the motivation to write this article? (DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20117H)

As we known, although the developments in the past 20 years have involved a series of breakthroughs in the living radical polymerization (LRP) field, we have to face the fact that due to inherent drawbacks for each method, even abundant efforts have been endeavored, large-scale industrial applications of LRP remain a big challenge, and a possible alternative solution is return to full organic system. We have presented the first example of living radical graft polymerization on the surface of polymeric materials by use of benzophenone (BP), xanthone and 9-fluorenone as graft polymerization photoinitiators (Macromolecules, 1996, 29, 3308). Therefore, one motivation of this work is to direct the similar reaction into bulk and solution polymerization system to open/explore a novel controlled/living radical polymerization. While another motivation, we hope, our work could attract more chemists pay attention to full organic, especially to this kind of system with cycloketone compounds.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Although it is a new journal, Polymer Chemistry has become one of top journal in polymer science. It is our great pleasure to publish our work in this journal due to its good visibility.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will attend the 20th Annual International Conference on Composites or Nano Engineering, ICCE-20, July 22-28, 2012 in Beijing and the 244th ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia on 19–23 August 2012.

How do you spend your spare times?

I enjoy swimming, sing songs, or listen to music.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I would probably be a farmer or architect.

Dr Gerard Lligadas received his education in chemistry at the University Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain. He continued his studies in Tarragona and completed his PhD in 2006 on exploring the utilization of plant oils as renewable feedstock in polymer chemistry. In 2007, a postdoctoral fellowship brought him to Penn University at Philadelphia, USA, where he worked under the direction of Prof. Virgil Percec on the elaboration of single-electron transfer living radical polymerization. At the end of 2008, he came back home becoming Lecturer and joining the Suspol Research Group at URV. His research interests include new bio-based polymers from renewable resources, halogen-free flame-retardant materials and controlled radical polymerization of acrylate and methacrylate monomers.

Research group’s website: http://www.quimica.urv.es/~w3qo/suspolymers/suspolymers

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist? I had a really great chemistry teacher during high school. But I really got into the organic chemistry and polymer science world after listening to Prof. Juan C Ronda at the University. I got really fascinated by the way he feels science!

What was the motivation to write this article? (DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20273E) The key objectives of our research come under the broad heading of the sustainable polymer chemistry. In our searching of novel biobased polyols for polyurethane technology, we came a couple of years ago with the application of thiol-ene click chemistry to unsaturated fatty acid derivatives with hydroxyl-functionalized thiols. Here, our motivation was to make a step forward and apply thiol-yne coupling to alkyne-derivatized fatty esters for its ability to add double hydroxyl functionality without compromising ester functionality, which may be used for a further polyurethane modification.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work? Polymer Chemistry attracted us because of the quality of the work it publishes. Moreover, it meets all the criteria of a modern journal: it has a wide scope, a broad readership and promises fast review process and publication – which I can now confirm from my own experience.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you? In February, my wife and I welcomed our first kid. The rest of 2012 will be quite. Next year I plan to attend 3rd Frontiers in Polymer Science Symposium.

How do you spend your spare time? I try to get some quality time each day with my wife and I am also trying to keep active with triathlon…swimming, cycling and running is a perfect release of stress cocktail.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist? Hard to say… but If I would not be a scientist, I would probably be a chef. I really enjoy trying out new recipes. My wife loves it!

Prof. Laurent Billon received his M.S. from the University of Bordeaux (1992) where he worked on anionic ring opening polymerization of cyclosilazanes.  He obtained his PhD on synthesis of functional telechelic polyimides in 1996 at the University of Pau (UPPA). Subsequent to postdoctoral research for Rhodia/Schlumberger on electro-rheological polyzwitterionic fluids (1998) and Arkema USA on acrylic-modified fluoro-polymers by seeded emulsion (1999), he started his career as Associate Professor in 2000 at the UPPA where he earned the position of Full Professor in 2010 and became Deputy Director of the Polymer team. His research interest focuses on the design of well-defined polymer structures, especially block and gradient copolymers, by controlled radical polymerization techniques.  His research activity is also focused on the development of Surface Initiated Nitroxide Mediated Polymerization to design functional hybrid colloidal particles and pigments with industrial partners. A special attention concerns the self-organized nano/micron structures, such as colloidal crystal, inverse opal or honeycomb patterns, for photonic and responsive surfaces.

What was your inspiration in becoming a chemist?

Since I was a teenager I have been fascinated by the possibility to transform the matter just by an invisible process, the chemistry. A few years after, during my License & Master degrees, I met a wonderful team of teachers in University of Bordeaux I which opened me to a new world: the polymer chemistry.

What was the motivation behind your recent Polymer Chemistry paper? (DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00357G)

It’s a long story because this study on Carbon NanoTubes CNT was developed with an industrial French partner. Few years ago, we patented and published a work on “in situ” polymerization where we were able to graft through the CNT the block copolymer chains during their growth, spontaneously. At this time, we focused only on this aspect and tried to characterize this phenomenon.

In a second contract, we focused on the polymerization kinetic in presence of raw industrial CNT without any post-modification … and we were surprised to observe a strong impact in terms of initiation and enhancement of the kinetic depending of the CNT amount. This work was first patented and finally even if we have not fully identified the mechanism of polymerization, it has been published in Polymer Chemistry. It’s a really an unexpected behavior because the initiation and growth of the chains occur in a controlled manner without any initiator and can also be better controlled by the adding of nitroxide.

This study represents a collaborative project between academic and industrial partners which can be strongly valorized by publication in Polymer Chemistry.

Why did you choose Polymer Chemistry to publish your work?

Polymer Chemistry is an exciting new journal that has become a top journal in the polymer scientific community. It contains innovative and inspiring research related to all aspects of polymer chemistry, only.

In which upcoming conferences may our readers meet you?

I will attend the CSM8 (May 28-31 in Beyrouth, Lebanon), EUPOC 2012 (June 3-7 in Gargnano, Italy) and Warwick 2012 (July 9-12 in Warwick, UK).

How do you spend your spare times?

I run two times a week (sometimes with my daughters) and when I have time, swim and bike. So, if I’m around Pau, in September I participate in a short triathlon or July in the swimming race, crossing the bay of Saint Jean de Luz … just for fun. But I don’t know the reason why, it’s more and more difficult … maybe the global warming!!!

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

I love breads, wines and cheeses, and also jazz and French rock music. To combine all these passions, I think I would have liked to keep a bar where you could taste organic products and enjoy jam sessions in a friendly atmosphere, curl up in sofas.