Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/C53056X/1
Title:	Towards Electrochemically Controlled ''Smart'' Macromolecules
Principal Investigator:	Cooke, Professor G
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Department:	Sch of Engineering and Physical Science
Organisation:	Heriot-Watt University
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 April 2005	Ends:	30 September 2005	Value (£):	208,816
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Chemical Synthetic Methodology Materials Synthesis & Growth
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Chemicals
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Synthetic polymers are arguably the most important class of compounds produced by the worlds' chemical industries. Over the last 25 years these ubiquitous molecules have greatly enhanced the quality of life in a diverse range of applications. In particular, polymers have played a pivotal role in the development of advanced materials: their fascinating properties and associated processibility will ensure speciality polymers remain at the forefront of attention for many years to come. A burgeoning field in contemporary polymer chemistry is the development of well-defined self-assembled architectures from supramolecular polymer and monomer building blocks. Although much attention has focused on the fabrication of exquisite molecular architectures, surprisingly little attention has been directed towards controlling the disassembly and subsequent re-assembly of the components of these self-assembled structures. In order to address this situation, the present research programme will develop synthetic polymer systems functionalised with host derivatives capable of forming specific thermo- and solvo-reversible non-covalent interactions with a variety of guest derivatives. Moreover, the receptors have been designed so that they include a redox-active moiety, which upon application of electrochemical oxidation/reduction cycles, will allow us to modulate the electrostatic interactions between the complementary units, so that assembly/disassembly can be triggered. This electrochemical control will allow the inherent lock-and-key selectivity of these systems to be reversibly modulated, thereby allowing the production of a diverse range of self-assembled polymers using this smart methodology.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.hw.ac.uk