Reaction Development for the Synthesis of Conjugated Polymers

Monday, July 11, 2016 2:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Seminar by Professor Derek SchipperĀ 

Photo of Professor

Professor Derek Schipper's research is focused on tackling synthetic challenges posed in the context of conjugated organic materials. The ability as synthetic chemists to efficiently construct diverse sets of organic materials is rapidly becoming an important parameter in the development of cutting-edge, flexible, lightweight, low-cost electronic devices such as photovoltaics, light emitting diodes and field-effect transistors . The Schipper group is developing powerful new synthetic capabilities that are essential to addressing many of the challenges hindering exciting technology.

Schipper received his B.Sc. degree from the University of Prince Edwards Island. He then moved to University of Ottawa to pursue his graduate studies investing novel catalytic transformations. His NSERC postdoctoral appointment involved the development of novel aromatic and heteroaromtic structures for potential applications as organic electronic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Institute For Soldier Nanotechnologies. Schipper joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Waterloo in October 2013.

Abstract:

Conjugated polymers are quickly becoming indispensible for technologies such as photovoltaics, light emitting diodes and field-effect transistors. Therefore, efficient assembly of these materials is an important goal. Advancing synthetic strategies provide a direct way to both streamline synthesis and render new polymer architectures synthetically accessible. This talk will discuss our recent efforts developing a C-H bond functionalization and dehydration polymerization strategies to access novel, heterocycle-containing conjugated polymers.