ABSTRACT: This seminar is divided into three distinct sections: the first is focused on the synthesis of novel polymers by Nitroxide Mediated Polymerization (NMP), the second is the design of small molecules and their use in the fabrication of organic electronic devices and the third section combines both previous sections to explore the use of smart polymers in smart-sensors.
NMP is a synthesis technique that has experienced considerable growth in the past decade due to its ability to control molecular architecture and incorporate novel functionality into a variety of materials such as stimuli responsive polymers for use in drug delivery systems or the synthesis of block copolymers that can self assemble into nanoporous membranes for use in templating or catalysis. Organic electronics are devices where the active layer consists of a polymers or small molecules and therefore represent a class of materials with highly tunable functionality, potential for flexibility and potential for inexpensive manufacturing compared to their inorganic counterpart. Among these devices, the organic light emitting diode (OLED), the organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) and the organic thin film transistor (OTFTs) are the most promising. While some examples of commercial implementation are currently underway, a great deal of improvement is necessary to be market competitive. Combining smart polymers and organic electronics could potentially result a new class of inexpensive, flexible and highly tunable sensors. For example CO2-responsive polymers could be utilized to make CO2 functional OTFTs where the change in electrical response is directly proportional to the change in CO2 concentration.
Biosketch of the speaker:
Dr. Benoît H. Lessard is currently a NSERC Banting post-doctoral fellow in the department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto under the mentorship of Prof. Timothy Bender. In just over 6 years, Benoît has published 26 peer-reviewed manuscripts (353 citations, h-index:13), applied for 5 patents and presented his work at over 15 international, national and regional conferences. During his PhD (May 2012) and Masters (December 2008) in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill University, Benoît was awarded the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (NSERC, CGS) as well as the MSED/LANXESS Graduate Thesis Award, which is distributed annually throughout Canada for accomplishments in polymer science.