Charged Metallopolymers: from Chemoselective Synthesis to Antimicrobials to Membranes
time: 2018-04-10

Topic:Charged Metallopolymers: from Chemoselective Synthesis to Antimicrobials to Membranes
Speaker:Prof.Chuanbing Tang(University of South Carolina, USA)
Time:15:00, Apr 10th, 2018
Venue:Room 346, Building 25, Wushan Campus
Abstract:Metallopolymers possess simultaneous benefits of mechanical and processing properties of polymeric frameworks and electronic, catalytic, and magnetic properties of metal building blocks. Cationic metallocenes are a class of sandwich-type compounds with cationic metal centers, which are usually iron, cobalt, or rhodium. They are potential building blocks for fabricating a special class of functional polyelectrolytes that could have some of unprecedented properties. Research on synthetic chemistry of cationic metallocenes is emerging. In this presentation, I will talk about the latest efforts on chemoselective synthesis of derivatives of cationic cobaltocenium and rhodocenium as well as controlled polymerization toward multifunctional polyelectrolytes with a variety of macromolecular architectures and compositions. On the other hand, these novel polyelectrolytes have found many utilities that play an active role in promoting sustainability. I will discuss a sustainable approach to addressing bacteria resistance by conjugating cationic polyelectrolytes with conventional β-lactam antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. This new approach could provide a therapeutic platform in revitalizing old antibiotics to treat multidrug resistant superbugs. In addition, I will also talk about the potential of this class of polyelectrolytes as ultra-stable anion-exchange membranes for ion conduction in fuel cells.