Mimicking the function of DNA: A novel approach for the synthesis of well-defined metallopolymers

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ulrich S. Schubert
• Subject Area: Preparatory and Physical Chemistry of Polymers
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 383067747

Natural materials can feature a large variety of different interesting properties. Those properties are often associated with a predefined protein structure. The basic information for the fabrication (biosynthesis) of such highly ordered molecules is encoded in the DNA. The process called protein biosynthesis enables the synthesis of these proteins in a controlled manner for a certain purpose.This proposal aims to mimic the concept of the protein biosynthesis in the preparation of structurally defined ligand containing polymers as well as their corresponding metallopolymers. For this purpose, ligand-containing templates will be prepared, which represent the encoded information. A highly selective and orthogonal binding event would result in preorganized systems allowing the preparation of ligand-containing oligomers. Those moieties can later easily be transferred into polymers using either a step-growth or a chain-growth polymerization technique. Finally, the complexation with different metal salts will result in the formation of metallopolymers featuring a high degree of organization within the resulting macromolecule. The obtained polymers should be studied in detail. A particular focus will be the molecular structure and, furthermore, the organization within the metallopolymers. Finally, this analysis should enable to elucidate structural-property relationships and should direct to a new and advanced preparation methods of metallopolymers.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants