Project Grant 2203113

This $465,000 National Science Foundation project grant supports research at the University of Southern California to advance sustainable methods for producing conjugated polymers. Led by Professor Barry C. Thompson, the research aims to enhance the sustainability of direct arylation polymerization, a controlled and atom-efficient process for synthesizing semiconducting organic polymers with applications in optoelectronics. The project will investigate mechanistic features of the catalytic process using bio-based solvents, develop green emulsion polymerization and lower-temperature reaction methods, and explore strategies to achieve controlled chain growth and increase functional group tolerance of the polymerization. The broad scope of sustainable approaches has potential to transform direct arylation polymerization into a scalable and versatile method for preparing conjugated polymers. This work aligns with the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to strengthen the scientific enterprise through increasing fundamental scientific knowledge and understanding of major problems.