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We are keenly interested in advanced polymer architectures, biobased polymers, and chemically recyclable polymer systems. Currently, we are exploring various areas, including bio-based acrylates, functional oligomers as modular units for polymerization in complex environments, new functional materials from bio-based precursors, bio-based conducting polymers, and chemically recyclable polymeric materials. We adopt a re-engineering strategy where we first look at the confinements of the polymer synthetic problems as the blueprint for how we need to develop the polymerization system; as such, we explore a wide scope of different polymerization methods and create new ones from scratch. Our guiding principle is to consider the whole cradle-to-grave, meaning green chemistry, sustainable processing, and end-of-life characteristics from a fundamental chemical perspective.

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Our strategy is developing new chemistry on bio-based platform molecules towards new functional and sustainable materials for targeted applications. It is important to remember that biobased precursors have a completely different build-up compared to petroleum resources; hence, the first step is to understand the inherent chemical features of the platform molecule and then harness that towards either new monomer synthesis or direct materials synthesis. Green chemistry and scalability are crucial to translating this to various applications. Our current focus is on Green Acrylation Chemistry, New Biobased Reactants, Transformations in Water, and using the Ring-Chain Equilibria for Monomer Synthesis.

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Biopolymers contain many different chemical functionalities, such as primary and secondary alcohols, carboxylic acids, phenolic structures, whose content depend on the pre-treatment. Using these chemical handles to tailor the substrate to a specific application may appear straightforward. However, it is not as simple as it seems; the reactions occur under non-optimal chemical conditions in the presence of both water, oxygen, and small molecules. In addition, when performing chemical modification on substrates, such as macro and nanofibers, we must consider that the reaction occurs under heterogeneous conditions. Thus, the interplay between the reaction system design and the chemical accessibility of the substrates is crucial for the desired transformation to occur. We are currently exploring the fundamental chemical problems relating to cellulose modifications, translating lignin to material applications, as well as interphase tailoring of wood templates.

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