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Research Interests
Design, synthesis and investigation of
structure-property relationships of novel functional
polymers: polymers with unusual optic and/or electronic properties; (semi)conducting conjugated polymers; stimuli-responsive polymers; biomimetic materials, polymer nanocomposites, supramolecular chemistry.
Overview of Research
Our main scientific interests revolve around the design and investigation of novel functional polymers, which exhibit currently unavailable properties and enable new applications. In particular the ability to design the chemical structure of macromolecular systems virtually at will, but also the possibility to exert control over their supramolecular architecture allows one to change the properties of this broad class of materials over a wide range. For the efficient development of new polymers it is of fundamental importance to develop a predictive understanding for the relation between the relevant molecular parameters and the macroscopic property of interest. Our interests and activities are therefore highly interdisciplinary and range from the synthesis of new monomers and polymers to advanced polymer processing, to the in-depth investigation and (in some cases) technological exploitation of these materials. Architectural control at the nanometer length scale is an important design tool for many of our projects. The use of non-covalent interactions has emerged as another important aspect. We employ various (macro)molecular assembly processes as polymerization tools, but are similarly interested to exploit specific intermolecular interactions for the formation of targeted supramolecular architectures. Many of my current and planned future research activities are interdisciplinary and span across several disciplines. Our local, national, and international collaborations include partners whose expertise ranges from solid-state physics to biomedical engineering and medicine. Examples of completed projects that illustrate some of our past activities include the development and investigation of nonlinear optic, photo- and electroluminescent polymers.
Current Activity
Our current research projects are aligned with one or more of four major thrust areas:
- (Semi)conducting Conjugated Polymers
- New Stimuli-Responsive Materials
- Supramolecular Materials
- Advanced Structural Polymers
Brief outlines of these projects can be found here:
http://macromolecules.case.edu/research.htm
Selected Recent Publications
Mendez, J.D.; Weder, C.; Cross-Linking Increases the Electrical Conductivity of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene); Macromol. Chem. Phys. 2008, 209, 1959-1966.
K. D. Singer, J. Lott, T. Kazmierczak, H. Song, Y. Wu, J. Andrews, E. Baer, A. Hiltner, C. Weder; Melt-processed all-polymer distributed Bragg reflector laser; Optics Express 2008, 16, 10358-10363.
Lott, J.; Xia, C.; Kosnosky, L.; Weder, C.; Shan, J.; Terahertz Photonic Crystals Based on Barium Titanate/Polymer Nanocomposites; Adv. Mater. 2008, Early View DOI: 10.1002/adma.200800531
Capadona, J.R; Shanmuganathan K.; Tyler, D.; Rowan, S.J.; Weder, C.; Bio-inspired chemo-mechanical polymer nanocomposites that mimic the sea cucumber dermis; Science 2008, 319, 1370-1374.
Burnworth, M.; Mendez, J.D., Schroeter, M.; Rowan, S.J.; Weder, C.; Decoupling Optical Properties in Metallo-Supramolecular Poly(p-phenylene ethynylene)s; Macromolecules 2008, 41, 2157-2163.
Kunzelman, J.; Chung, C.; Mather, T.M.; Weder, C.; Shape Memory Polymers with Built-In Threshold Temperature Sensors; J. Mater. Chem. 2008, 18, 1082 - 1086.
Weder, C.; Hole Control in Microporous Polymers; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 448-450. (Angew. Chem. 2008, 120, 456-458). Invited Highlight.
Kunzelman, J.; Kinami, M.; Crenshaw, B.R.; Protasiewicz, J.D.; Weder, C.; Oligo(p-phenylene vinylene)s as a “New” Class of Piezochromic Fluorophores; Adv. Mater. 2008, 20, 119-122.
Capadona, J.R; van den Berg, O.; Capadona, L.; Schroeter, M.; Tyler, D.; Rowan, S.J.; Weder, C.; A versatile approach for the processing of polymer nanocomposites with selfassembled nanofibre templates; Nature Nanotechnology 2007, 2, 765-769.
Islangulov, R.R.; Lott, J.; Weder, C.; Castellano, F.N.; Noncoherent Low-Power Upconversion in Solid Polymer Films; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 12652-12653.
Burnworth, M.; Rowan, S.J.; Weder, C.; Fluorescent Sensors for the Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents; Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 7828-7836. Invited Concept Article.
Crenshaw, B.; Burnworth, M.; Khariwala, D.; Hiltner, P.A.; Mather, P.T.; Simha, R.; Weder, C.; Deformation-Induced Color Changes in Mechanochromic Polyethylene Blends; Macromolecules 2007, 40, 2400-2408.
Knapton, D.; Rowan, S.J.; Weder, C.; Synthesis and Properties of Metallo-Supramolecular Poly(p-xylylene)s; Macromolecules 2006, 39, 4069-4075.
Weder, C.; Rowan, S.J.; Capadona, J.R.; Tyler, D.J.; Shanmuganathan, K.; van den Berg, O.; Dynamic Mechanical Polymer Nanocomposites; US Provisional Patent Application filed (2008).
van den Berg, O.; Capadona, J. R.; Weder, C.; Self-Assembled Nanofiber Templates: A Versatile Approach for Polymer Nanocomposites; US Patent Applications filed (2007, 2008).
Kinami, M.; Crenshaw, B.R.; Weder, C.; Time-Temperature Indicators; US Provisional Patent Application US 60/758,106 (2006); US Patent Application 2007/0158624 (2007).
Löwe, C.; Weder, C.; Photoluminescent Polymer Blends and Uses Therefore; US 7,223,988 (2007) (to Case Western Reserve University).
Recent Presentations
Presented over 100 public lectures/seminars at national and
international meetings, workshops, companies, or other universities.
Awards
2008 Case School of Engineering Research Award
2007, 2008 Finalist Bruce Jackson Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring
2005 NSF-DMR Special Creativity Award
2002 DuPont Young Professor Award
2002 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award
2001 DuPont Aid to Education Award
1994 Swiss National Science Foundation
Research Fellowship |
