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| Group Reunion, Armidale APS, 2002 |
Research into Polymer Chemistry at UQ covers a broad
range of topics, from polymerization, physical chemistry to polymer
degradation. The Polymer Materials Sciance and Radiation Group was
founded by Prof Jim O'Donnell and Drs David Hill and Peter Pomery
in the mid-1970s, however, polymer research at UQ dates from the appointment
of Jim O'Donnell to the Department of Chemistry in 1964. A list of
past and present members of the group can be found here.
Currently Polymer Chemistry is the theme of the Groups
of Prof Andrew Whittaker and Dr Michael Monteiro. The Polymer Group
collaborates with the Halley and Martin groups which are leaders in
the field of Polymer Engineering.
Research in Polymer Chemistry at UQ is funded from a number of sources,
including the University of Queensland, the Australian Research Council,
the Queensland State Government through the Smart State Schemes, the
Australian Institute for Nuclear Science and Energy, the Dairy Ingredients
Group of Australia, and through contract research with industrial
partners, notably Sematech and Intel.
Our work spans fundamental to applied sciences; we
believe in applying our expertise in polymer and physical chemistry
to solve questions important to society. Descriptions of our current
research projects are found on our projects
page.
Specific projects in
polymer research include:
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Polymer physical chemistry
»
Free radical synthesis
»
Polymerization mechanisms and kinetics
»
Modelling of polymer properties
»
Polymer hydrogels
»
Biomaterials
»
Protein structure and behaviour
»
Radiation chemistry
»
Thermal degradation of polymers
»
Photolytic degradation of polymers
»
Grafting onto polymers
»
Polymer nanocomposites
»
Polymer characterisation
»
Advanced NMR spectroscopy
The links on the left, and those on the home
page, will provide information about UQ Polymer Chemistry.