Arbeitsgruppe Prof. Dr. Philipp Vana, MBA

The Macromolecular Chemistry group performs research with focus on the development, synthesis, and characterization of tailored microstructures, morphologies, and topologies of synthetic polymers. In addition to that, we also concentrate of studies into mechanism and kinetics of various polymerization processes. We control polymeric growth by controlled radical, by ionic, and by catalytic polymerization methods in order to arrive at advanced polymers for the following applications: biomimetic high performance polymers, polymer brushes and polymer films at solid surfaces (e.g., gold nanoparticles, planar gold surfaces, silica nanoparticles, polymer networks, titania, carbon black, carbon nanotubes ?), functionalized polymers, printing inks, tire materials, packaging, UV-switchable block copolymers, nanocomposites with improved mechanical properties, and smart polymers for sensors. The kinetics and mechanism of radical and catalytic polymerizations are studied via various pulsed laser polymerization methods, which are also coupled with highly time-resolved ESR spectroscopy, and via computer simulations. Another focus or our work is the analytics of polymer (ESI-MS, AFM, TEM, TGA, GPC, NIR, ellipsometry, SEM, DMA, tensile testing, DSC, viscometry, DLS, NMR,...). Within the MAFO program, we focus on the functionalization of cellulose nanoparticles - which are obtained from wood - via surface-initiated controlled polymerizations in order to gain novel nanocomposites with improved properties and which may easily recyclable.