PHD
  1. Inorganic chemistry  1.1. Coordination chemistry  1.1.1. Ligand field theory  1.1.2. Crystal field theory  1.1.3. Molecular Orbital Theory for Coordination Compounds  1.1.4. Stability of Coordination Compounds  1.1.5. Electronic spectra of coordination compounds  1.1.6. Isomerism in Coordination Compounds  1.1.7. Kinetics and mechanism of coordination reactions  1.2. Organometallic Chemistry  1.2.1. Metal Carbonyls  1.2.2. Metal alkyl and aryl  1.2.3. Fischer and Schrock carbonaceans  1.2.4. Oxidative Addition and Reductive Elimination  1.2.5. Metal Hydrides  1.2.6. Catalysis by organometallic compounds  1.2.7. Metallocenes and Sandwich Complexes  1.2.8. CH activation  1.3. Solid state chemistry  1.3.1. Crystal structures and lattices  1.3.2. Band theory and electrical properties  1.3.3. Defects in the crystal  1.3.4. Synthesis of solid state materials  1.3.5. Magnetic and optical properties of solids  1.3.6. Superconductivity  1.3.7. Solid state ionics  1.4. Bio-inorganic chemistry  1.4.1. Metalloproteins and enzymes  1.4.2. Metal ion transport and storage  1.4.3. The role of metals in medicine  1.4.4. Bioinspired catalysis  1.4.5. Metal–DNA interactions  1.4.6. Metal Complexes in Medical Science  1.5. Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.1. Electronic configuration and oxidation states in lanthanides and actinides  1.5.2. Spectral and Magnetic Properties in Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.3. Separation and Extraction of Lanthanides and Actinides  1.5.4. Coordination chemistry of f-block elements  1.6. Main Group Chemistry  1.6.1. Chemistry of boron compounds  1.6.2. Chemistry of Silicon and Germanium Compounds  1.6.3. Chemistry of Phosphorus and Sulfur Compounds  1.6.4. Organosilicon chemistry  1.6.5. Noble Gas Chemistry
  2. Organic chemistry  2.1. Reaction mechanism  2.1.1. Nucleophilic substitution reactions  2.1.2. Electrophilic addition and substitution reactions  2.1.3. Elimination reactions  2.1.4. Rearrangement reactions  2.1.5. Radical reactions  2.1.6. Pericyclic Reactions  2.1.7. Photochemical reactions  2.2. Stereoscopic  2.2.1. Chirality and optical activity  2.2.2. Structural analysis  2.2.3. Stereoelectronic effects  2.2.4. Asymmetric synthesis  2.2.5. Dynamic Stereochemistry  2.3. Organometallic Chemistry in Organic Synthesis  2.3.1. Organolithium and organomagnesium reagents  2.3.2. Transition metal catalyzed coupling reactions  2.3.3. Palladium-catalyzed reactions  2.3.4. Olefin Metathesis  2.3.5. Gold and silver catalysis  2.4. Natural products chemistry  2.4.1. Alkaloids and terpenoids  2.4.2. Steroids and Flavonoids  2.4.3. Total synthesis of natural products  2.4.4. Biosynthesis of natural products  2.5. Supramolecular Chemistry  2.5.1. Host-Guest Chemistry  2.5.2. Self-assembly and molecular recognition  2.5.3. Supramolecular Catalysis  2.5.4. Molecular Machines
  3. Physical Chemistry  3.1. Thermodynamics  3.1.1. Laws of Thermodynamics  3.1.2. Chemical Potential and Equilibrium  3.1.3. Statistical thermodynamics  3.1.4. Non-equilibrium thermodynamics  3.2. Quantum Chemistry  3.2.1. Schrödinger equation and its applications  3.2.2. Molecular orbital theory  3.2.3. Density functional theory  3.2.4. Post-Hartree–Fock methods  3.3. Chemical kinetics  3.3.1. Reaction rate theory  3.3.2. Mechanism and rate laws  3.3.3. Catalysis and enzyme kinetics  3.3.4. Reaction dynamics  3.4. Spectroscopy and molecular structure  3.4.1. Infrared Spectroscopy  3.4.2. UV-visible spectroscopy  3.4.3. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy  3.4.4. Mass Spectrometry  3.4.5. Raman Spectroscopy  3.5. Surface and Colloid Chemistry  3.5.1. Absorption and Catalysis  3.5.2. Surfactants and micelles  3.5.3. Colloidal Stability  3.5.4. Nanomaterials and Interfaces
  4. Analytical chemistry  4.1. Chromatography  4.1.1. Gas Chromatography  4.1.2. High Performance Liquid Chromatography  4.1.3. Thin Layer Chromatography  4.1.4. Ion Chromatography  4.2. Electroanalytical techniques  4.2.1. Voltammetry and Polarography  4.2.2. Conductometry and potentiometry  4.2.3. Colometry  4.3. Spectroscopic Methods  4.3.1. Atomic absorption spectroscopy  4.3.2. Fluorescence Spectroscopy  4.3.3. X-ray diffraction  4.3.4. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy  4.4. Chemometrics  4.4.1. Data processing and statistical methods  4.4.2. Multidisciplinary analysis  4.4.3. Machine Learning in Analytical Chemistry
  5. Theoretical and Computational Chemistry  5.1. Molecular dynamics simulation  5.2. Quantum chemistry methods  5.3. Computational drug design  5.4. Machine Learning in Chemistry  5.5. Ab initio molecular dynamics
  6. Biophysics and Medicinal Chemistry  6.1. Drug discovery and design  6.2. Enzyme kinetics and inhibition  6.3. Chemical biology approach  6.4. Protein-ligand interactions  6.5. Bioorthogonal chemistry
  7. Materials chemistry  7.1. Polymer chemistry  7.1.1. Polymerization mechanism  7.1.2. Functional Polymers  7.1.3. Biodegradable Polymer  7.1.4. Conducting and semiconducting polymers  7.2. Nano Chemistry  7.2.1. Nanoparticles and nanostructures  7.2.2. Carbon-based nanomaterials  7.2.3. Quantum dots  7.3. Energy and Environmental Chemistry  7.3.1. Battery and Fuel Cell Chemistry  7.3.2. Green chemistry and sustainable materials  7.3.3. Photocatalysis

PHD → Materials chemistry → Polymer chemistry ↓


Functional Polymers


Functional polymers are an exciting and broad field in polymer chemistry, which is itself a subfield of materials chemistry. Polymers are large molecules composed of repeated subunits called monomers. These structures can be simple, containing a single repeating unit, or complex, containing different functional groups and structures. Functional polymers are designed with specific chemical properties that can engage in various interactions or participate in reactions, making them useful in a wide range of applications such as medicine, electronics, and environmental engineering.

One of the defining aspects of functional polymers is their diversity. They can be formulated to exhibit a variety of physical and chemical properties. This is achieved by incorporating functional groups into their structures, which are specific groups of atoms within the molecule that have specific properties. For example, functional groups can make a polymer hydrophilic (attracting water) or hydrophobic (repelling water), electrically conductive, or sensitive to temperature changes.

Basic structure of polymers

The basic structure of polymers consists of long chains of repeating units. Here's a simple representation:

[-CH₂-CH₂-]_n

In this example, [-CH₂-CH₂-]_n represents polyethylene, a common polymer where n can be a large number indicating the number of repeating units in the molecule. The simple repeating structure can be modified by replacing the hydrogen atoms with various functional groups to create functional polymers.

Types of functional polymers

1. Conductive polymers

Conductive polymers, also known as conducting polymers, have attracted significant attention due to their ability to conduct electricity. This property comes from conjugated π-electron systems along their backbones. Some common conductive polymers include:

  • Polyaniline (PANI)
  • Polypyrrole (PPy)
  • Polythiophene (PT)

The structure of polythiophene can be represented as:

[S-(CH=CH)_n]

Conductive polymers are used in a variety of applications, such as organic electronics, electromagnetic interference shielding, and sensors.

polythiophene series

2. Biodegradable polymer

Biodegradable polymers are designed to break down through naturally occurring processes. These types of functional polymers play an important role in reducing environmental impact. Common biodegradable polymers include:

  • Polylactic Acid (PLA)
  • Polycaprolactone (PCL)
  • Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)

The structure of polylactic acid can be seen as follows:

[(-CO-CH(CH₃)OH-)_n]

Biodegradable polymers are valuable in medical applications such as sutures, drug delivery systems, and tissue engineering structures.

Polylactic Acid Series

3. Stimuli-responsive polymers

Stimuli-responsive, or smart polymers, are materials that undergo significant changes in response to environmental stimuli such as temperature, pH or electric field. A classic example of this is poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), which exhibits a sharp change in water at around 32°C. The structure of the polymer can be represented as:

[(-CH₂-CH(CON(CH₃)₂)-)_n]

These polymers are used in drug delivery, biotechnology, and as actuators or sensors. Their reactivity to environmental changes makes them incredibly versatile.

Synthesis of functional polymers

The synthesis of functional polymers can be achieved through a variety of methods, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Chain-growth polymerization
  • Step-growth polymerization
  • Living polymerization

In chain-growth polymerization, the growth of the polymer chain occurs through the successive addition of monomer units with an active center such as a radical, cation, or anion. This method is commonly used for the synthesis of polyethylene or polystyrene:

Initiator (*) + Monomer (M) → Polymer chain (*-MMM...)

Step-growth polymerization involves reactions between monomer functional groups, gradually building up polymer chains:

Diacid + Diamine → Polyamide (Nylon)

Living polymerization, on the other hand, allows better control over the polymer structure, allowing precise functionalization. This method is advantageous for the synthesis of block copolymers and other complex structures.

Applications of functional polymers

Functional polymers have a wide range of applications due to their versatile properties. Some of the major areas are as follows:

1. Medical devices and biotechnology

In the medical field, functional polymers are used to develop drug delivery systems, tissue engineering scaffolds, and medical implants. The biodegradable nature of some functional polymers also allows for temporary implants without the need for surgical removal.

2. Environmental applications

Wearable sensors made from conductive polymers help monitor pollution levels. Functional polymers can also act as membranes for water purification, aiding in the removal of toxins and making water safe to drink.

3. Electronics and energy

In the field of electronics, functional polymers are used in the manufacture of flexible displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaic cells. Their ease of processability and lightweight nature make them suitable for a variety of electronic applications.

Future prospects of functional polymers

The future of functional polymers is promising, with ongoing research and development aimed at creating more advanced materials with special functionalities. The integration of nanotechnology with functional polymers will open up new possibilities, creating smart materials that can adapt to their environment or interact with biological systems for improved performance.

Research is also focused on sustainability, pushing the boundaries of biodegradable and recyclable polymers to further reduce environmental impacts. The advent of green chemistry principles is guiding the development of synthetic processes that are more environmentally friendly, providing a better path forward for polymer chemistry.

The potential for innovation in functional polymers appears almost limitless, spanning fields from healthcare and electronics to energy and environmental management. This diverse range of applications and the potential for further innovation make functional polymers an essential and exciting area of study in modern chemistry.


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Functional Polymers

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