ETH Laboratory of Sustainable Polymers

🏆And the Prizes for the #Best #OralContribution of our #materials #chemistry session at the SCS #fm25 went to ... Victoria Lohmann from ETH Zürich (winner) and Andrea Dodero from AMI Fribourg (runner-up). 👏to both, and 🙏to the Metrohm Foundation for sponsoring!

Selective Cascade Metathesis Polymerization of Dicycloalkenes and Their Chemical Recycling We report a highly selective CMP of dicycloalkenes using G2 catalysts, obtaining well-defined polymer structures with excellent cascade efficiency (>99%) and TON up to 3550. Sulfonamide-linked dicycl...

Thrilled to share our new paper on the selective cascade metathesis polymerization of dicycloalkenes and their chemical recycling! Big congrats to Yongkang, @hongsik.bsky.social, and the whole team! 👏
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

ETH Silver Medal and SVMT Prize for Outstanding Doctoral Theses Each year outstanding doctoral theses of D-MATL are honored with the Silver Medal of ETH Zurich and the SVMT Prize. Congratulations to this year’s awardees in Materials!

Congratulations to Hyun Suk Wang and Maria-Nefeli Antonopoulou for being awarded the Silver Medal of ETH Zurich and the SVMT Prize respectively for for their outstanding doctoral theses 🎉

Controlled polymerization of levoglucosenone-derived enynes to give bio-based polymers with tunable degradation rates and high glass transition temperatures In recent years, pollution from plastic waste has intensified the demand for sustainable polymers. Hence, biomass-derived degradable polymers offer a promising solution. For example, levoglucosenone, ...

🚨New paper out now in @chemicalscience.rsc.org! Living metathesis polymerization of a levoglucosenone-derived enyne monomer — with tunable degradation rates & Tg via structural design. Big congrats to @eunsongjung.bsky.social, Dr. Antonio Rizzo, and all co-authors!🎉
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Click To Stack: Shape-Assisted Self-Assembly of Unflattened Macrocycles into Waveguiding Elastic Crystals Designing molecular crystals for practical applications requires precise control over intermolecular interactions. We report a click-to-stack strategy to enable facile construction and systematic structural modification of tetraarene-fused cyclooctatetraenes. These saddle-shaped molecules self-assemble into one-dimensional columns with exceptional precision, driven solely by weak van der Waals interactions. Single-crystal X-ray crystallographic and computational studies revealed fully eclipsed π–π stacking, reinforced by the shape complementarity of the negatively curved molecular contour. With alkoxy groups tethered, the antiparallel alignment of coaxial cable-like assemblies produces centimeter-long voidless crystals that exhibit remarkable structural durability under mechanical stress. These glow stick-like elastic crystalline rods display optical waveguiding properties, demonstrating the practical utility of highly anisotropic molecular assemblies with structural uniformity and resilience.

!!! Just out in @jacs.acspublications.org !
We made flexible, saddle-shaped COTs via double SPAAC.
They stack perfectly (SASA), bend elastically thanks to adaptive curvature + alkoxy chains,
and guide light through cm-long crystals.
Final PhD project — and my favorite.
📄 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Come and be our colleague! The Polymer Chemistry Group
@tlclab.bsky.social @ethzurich.bsky.social has few PhD openings in polymer synthesis!🧪
Apply now 👉 jobs.ethz.ch/job/view/JOP...

Complete breakdown of Plexiglas into its building blocks Polymer chemists at ETH Zurich have discovered a surprising way to virtually fully break down PMMA plastic – commonly known as Plexiglas – into its monomer building blocks. The process remains unaffec...

Polymer chemists at ETH Zurich have discovered a surprising way to virtually fully break down #PMMA #plastic – commonly known as Plexiglas – into its monomer building blocks. The process remains unaffected by the presence of additives. ethz.ch/en/news-and-...