Achievement

IGERT fellow Angela DiCiccio designed catalyst systems to control polymer sequences for the creation of diverse functional materials. Her work at Cornell involves the copolymerization of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides with a specific focus on using renewable feedstocks. These biodegradable polyesters have the potential to be sustainable replacements for traditional, nondegradable olefin-based materials. This year, Angela developed two systems able to synthesize polyesters with superior sequence control under mild conditions, a major improvement from the traditional energy-intensive method of polyester synthesis. In addition, during her collaboration with the laboratory of Professor Didier Bourissou at the University Paul Sabatier, Angela has been studying a specialized monomer derived from crops and containing CO2 that could provide access to a new class of copoly(ester-carbonate)s. These materials are expected to have distinct properties valuable for sustainable development.