Shaping the materials of tomorrow
Polymer chemistry is the study of large molecules composed of repeating units, known as polymers, which include plastics, rubbers, and many biological materials. It focuses on polymer synthesis, structure, properties, and processing. Researchers design polymers with specific mechanical, thermal, and chemical characteristics for applications in packaging, medicine, textiles, and electronics.
Emerging work emphasizes sustainable and biodegradable polymers to reduce environmental impact. Polymer chemistry combines aspects of organic chemistry, materials science, and engineering to create versatile materials that are essential to modern life, from everyday consumer products to advanced biomedical devices.
World-class research
Work with leaders in the field and conduct research in our state-of-the-art facilities. What could you do at Waterloo?
The Institute for Polymer Research (IPR) carries out applied and fundamental research in areas that are of vital interest to the plastics, coatings, adhesives, and elastomers industries. Technological initiatives from IPR have been instrumental in developing better polymers for wire and cable applications, modifications for heat- and oil-resistant rubber, new polymer alloys and blends, systems for recycling polyolefin containers, and more.
What does polymer science have to do with building more sustainable batteries?
Dr. Yangju Lin combines polymer science with device applications, offering molecular solutions that can help address practical challenges, such as sustainable energy.
Meet our researchers
Jean Duhamel
Dr. Jean Duhamel and his research team are characterizing the behavior of polymers in solution using a variety of techniques. Among those techniques, fluorescence and particularly pyrene excimer fluorescence (PEF) is certainly the workhorse of their research. Most polymers are synthesized and fluorescently labeled in the laboratory. The research projects aim at modeling the internal dynamics in solution of a variety of polymeric backbones ranging from vinyl polymers to polyolefins and including polypeptides using fluorescence decay measurements. The applications of these techniques to retrieve structural information about polypeptides as random coils and helices are also being investigated.
Yangju Lin
Dr. Yangju Lin's research interests include mechanistic design of smart polymers (e.g., force-responsive polymers), sustainable polymer materials, (e.g., mechanically durable/resilient polymers, recyclable, and degradable polymers), polymers for battery materials, and polymers for smart devices. The team is passionate about bringing molecular insights into material properties and their performance in a device level, thereby manipulating the material utility through molecular-level tools.
Want to partner with us?
Collaboration is where research thrives. If you’re an industry leader interested in partnership, we want to hear from you.