Periodic Reporting for period 4 - STEREOPOL (Stereocontrolled Polymerisation: New Frontiers in Synthesis and Supramolecular Self Assembly)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2022-06-30
The distinct influence of the stereochemistry in biopolymers on their structure and hence performance makes it reasonable to expect such aspects of synthetic materials to be equally important. Yet this area has received little study, partially a consequence of the challenges of creating large macromolecules with well-defined sequence and stereochemistry at each repeat unit. Clearly, creating materials with controlled stereochemistry in particular has the potential to result in novel materials with complex behaviour and function. Being able to achieve and understand these phenomena will unlock a new paramter in materials design that will enable us to make better materials for a range of applications that will address complex societal issues in the area of sustainability through materials resourcing and more energy/resource efficient materials synthesis - as well as in the biomedical field by developing new therapies and medical devices.
In STEREOPOL, we are inspired by nature to design polymers with exquisite structural control in which the behaviour and properties of the resultant materials will be dependent on their stereochemistry. The objectives are to better control stereochemistry in polymers and to understand it's influence on materials behaviour and properties so that we can use stereochemistry to control polymeric materials properties.