Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/M66554/01
Title:	ENHANCED PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVED PROCESSING OF HIGH- PERFORMANCE POLYMERS VIA RING-CHAIN INTERCONVERSION
Principal Investigator:	Colquhoun, Professor HM
Other Investigators:	Hodge, Professor P
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	AKZO Nobel Manchester Materials
Department:	Advanced Materials & Surfaces (Res Cen)
Organisation:	University of Salford
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 October 1999	Ends:	01 October 2000	Value (£):	177,248
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation Materials Synthesis & Growth
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Chemicals
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Support is requested for a three year research programme, to be carried out in collaboration with Professor P. Hodge of the University of Manchester. The project will include work on the cyclo-depolymerisation and subsequent ring-opening polymerisation of aromatic poly-ethers and thioethers, a cycle of reactions very recently discovered by the present investigators. Work will mainly concentrate on industrially significant engineering polymers such as the aromatic polysulfones derived from bisphenol-A, bisphenol-S, and biphenol, and also the crystalline aromatic polyketones derived from hydroquinone and dihydroxybenzophenone. However, a range of other polymers, including polythioetherketones and aromatic polyamides, will also be studied during the course of the work. Applications to be investigated include (i) polymer recycle by incorporation of polymerisable macrocyclic oligomers into conventional polycondensation reactions, (ii) development of high-performance adhesive compositions and (iii) reactive processing e.g. RIM. Macrocyclic oligomers dissolve in their parent polymers and can thus greatly reduce the polymer melt-viscosity. This promotes wetting and adhesion to the surfaces being bonded, and reproduction of fine detail during moulding processes. At higher temperatures the macrocyclic species undergo ring-opening polymerisation, potentially reaching higher molar mass than the parent polymer and so enhancing the strength and toughness of the bond or fabricated component.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.salford.ac.uk