This Lab course aims to broaden the knowledge and skills of students in the areas of polymer synthesis, polymer characterization, and processing. The course illustrates structure-property relations in polymeric materials, i.e. how polymer chain characteristics and composition influence macroscopic properties. The following topics are included: 1. Well-defined polymers by Anionic Polymerization. Polystyrene with a targeted molar mass and narrow molar mass distribution will be synthesized and characterized by means of Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) and solution viscometry. 2. Polymer characterization in solution. Polymer properties depend strongly on characteristics such as molar mass, polydispersity, and chain composition. In this experiment, a GPC measurement will be performed on commercial polymer samples to study their molar mass characteristics and to familiarize the students with relative and universal calibration methods. 3. Poly(butadiene) elastomers are formed from poly(butadiene) chains and a difunctional crosslinker, yielding a covalently crosslinked network. FTIR will be used to characterize the product. The mechanical properties of these elastomeric materials will be evaluated using dynamic mechanical measurements. 4. Designer surfaces by polymer grafting. The decoration of substrates with surface initiated polymer brushes has become an important way of modifying surfaces with chemically and mechanically robust thin polymer films. When stimulus-responsive polymers are used, brushes with switchable properties result, with tremendous application potential in the biomedical field, for creating sensors, supporting catalysts, etc. In this experiment, pH responsive poly(methacrylic acid) brushes will be grown from silicon substrates by controlled radical polymerization (RAFT). The brushes will be characterized by FTIR measurements as a function of pH, and by contact angle measurements. 5. Micro / nanofabrication with polymers. Surfaces decorated with functional patterns are of interest for instance in sensor applications. In this experiment, a hydrophilicized PDMS stamp will be used to locally transfer polar molecules, in this case an acid, onto a spin-coated polymer film with acid-sensitive groups. The acid changes the solubility of the polymer film in the areas of contact, allowing it to be washed away, thus creating a pattern in the film that corresponds to the stamp pattern. The quality of the obtained patterns will be analyzed by Optical Microscopy, and related to the pattern of the stamps.

The following topics are included:
1.       Well-defined polymers by Anionic Polymerization.
2.       Polymer characterization by Gel Permeation Chromatography.
3.       Poly(butadiene) elastomers.
4.       Designer surfaces by polymer grafting: Polymer brushes.
5.       Micro / nanofabrication with polymers.