Abstract

Heteropolymers with adjustable monomer sequences (HAMS) represent a new type of functional random copolymers that could play an important role in emerging areas pertaining to interfacial science and polymer assembly. HAMS are synthesized in a laboratory by “coloring” the segments of a collapsed homopolymer (say, A) with a functionalizing agent (say, B) and then unraveling the resultant polymer to yield a random sequence of A and B segments, which “remembers” its original collapsed conformation and hence prefers some conformations over others. In the presentation, we will provide details pertaining to the experimental formation of HAMS and studying their physico-chemical characteristics. We will also provide examples of a few case studies that unravel the tailorable interfacial and self-assembly character of HAMS made of poly(styrene-co-4-bromostyrene) and its derivatives. We also present results of computer simulation studies providing molecular insight into forming HAMS.

Biography

Jan Genzer, a native of the Czech Republic, received the "Diploma-engineer" degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in Chemical & Materials Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague in 1989. In 1991 he moved to the USA to pursue graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Professor Russell Composto, receiving the Ph.D. degree in Materials Science & Engineering in 1996. Since 1996 he was a post-doctoral fellow with Professor Ed Kramer first at Cornell University (1996-1997) and later at the University of California at Santa Barbara (1997-1998). In the fall 1998 he joined the faculty of chemical engineering at the North Carolina State University as an Assistant Professor. He's currently a full professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology in Trondheim, Norway. He received multiple research honors, (e.g., Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Sigma Xi research award, NSF CAREER award, John H. Dillon Award of the American Physical Society, NSF Award for Special Creativity). He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Genzer authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered more than 100 invited lectures. His group at North Carolina State University is actively involved in research related to the behavior of polymers at interfaces and in confined geometries, with particular emphasis on self-assembly and forced assembly and combinatorial methods.