
Scripps Research chemists develop new sustainable reaction for creating unique molecular building blocks The building blocks can be used to create polymers with previously unexplored structures and fine-tunable properties, with applications across energy storage and more.
August 08, 2024
LA JOLLA, CA Polymers can be thought of like trains: Just as a train is composed of multiple cars, polymers are made up of multiple monomers, and the couplings between the train cars are similar to the chemical bonds that link monomers together. While polymers have myriad applications from drug delivery to construction materials their structures and functions are restricted by the chemically similar monomer building blocks they're composed of.
Now, Scripps Research chemists and additional collaborators have developed a new reaction to create unique monomers in a controlled way. This reaction, which uses nickel as a catalyst, ultimately enables scientists to create polymers with unique and modifiable properties for drug delivery, energy storage, microelectronics and more. The study was published in Nature Synthesis on August 8, 2024.
This study shows how earth-abundant metal catalysts can unlock the path toward previously unknown materials with unparalleled structural and functional diversity, says senior author Keary Engle, PhD, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Scripps Research.
The Engle lab at Scripps Research focuses on developing new chemical reactions to build a wide and diverse array of small molecules, typically with applications in drug discovery. In this study, the Scripps Research team collaborated with polymer researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Pittsburgh to test whether their methods could be scaled up to create unique polymers.
The properties of polymers are very much dependent on what type of chemistry is on the backbone, so if you can modify the chemistry of the building blocks, then you can easily apply it to the macromolecular structure that youre building, says Anne Ravn, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Engle lab at Scripps Research and co-first author on the paper. With this project we wanted to test whether our strategy for developing small molecules could be applied to a bigger picture to provide new building blocks for polymer synthesis.
The paper's other first authors are Van Tran, PhD, who worked on the project as a graduate student in the Engle lab; Camille Rubel, a current graduate student in the Engle lab; Mizhi Xu, PhD, a former graduate student in the Gutekunst lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology; and Yue Fu, PhD, a former graduate student in the Liu lab at the University of Pittsburgh.
To create the new monomers, the Scripps Research team developed a chemical reaction that alters the structure of a starting molecule by using nickel as a catalyst. The nickel-catalyzed reaction added two new functional groups to the molecule small side chains that confer different chemical and physical properties on the ensuing polymer, for example, how flexible, elastic or soluble it is.
Then, the team's collaborators at Georgia Institute of Technology used another chemical reaction to link the monomers together via polymerization, resulting in polymers with a unique structure.
Most commercial polymers have two carbons in between each functional group that are not decorated with any side chains, but in this case, the functional groups are much closer in space, which creates a material with different properties, says Ravn.
In the future, the team plans to explore the impact of substituting different functional groups onto the monomers.
Our strategy allows us to decorate' the molecule with much more flexibility than other methods, which gives us more freedom to explore different types of functionalities in the building blocks, says Ravn. Were now working to expand the method to explore how introducing other types of functional groups changes the properties of the material.
Because nickel is more abundant than many other metal catalysts used in this type of chemical reaction, the researchers say that their method holds promise as an environmentally sustainable method for polymer production. They're also exploring ways to make the products even more sustainable.
From an environmental perspective, we want to find a method to degrade these long polymers so that we can get back to the original building blocks, which would allow us to reuse them, says Ravn. This is a tool that we hope to fine-tune in the future to ultimately create new technologies that are useful for society.
Ni-catalysed dicarbofunctionalization for the synthesis of sequence-encoded cyclooctene monomers was co-authored by Ethan Wagner, Steven R. Wisniewski, Peng Liu, and Will Gutekunst of Scripps Research.
Support for the research was provided by the Department of Energy (DESC0023205), the National Science Foundation (CHE-2102550), the Independent Research Fund Denmark (grant ID: 10.46540/3102-00009B), and the Schimmel Family Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Molecular Medicine Engle, Keary
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
22/09/2026
From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...
22/09/2026
The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...
22/09/2026
Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...
22/09/2026
The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...
22/09/2026
Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...
22/09/2026
Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...
22/09/2026
Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...
22/09/2026
Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...
22/09/2026
Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...
22/09/2026
Second high-gain tone plug-in released
Following on from their debut release, Chainsaw Suite, Avalanche Tones have announced the launch of their second plug...
22/09/2026
Uncompressed audio with below 6ms of latency
Lewitt's have just introduced their first pair of headphones which, despite being aimed primarily at studio...
22/09/2026
Two new capsule heads for Sennheiser wireless systems
Neumann have announced the upcoming launch of the KK 104 A and KK 105 A, a pair of new premium condens...
22/09/2026
Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance We're excited to share an important update about the future of Apogee plugins.
Apogee plugins are moving to Pl...
22/09/2026
Parkland, Florida, US, September 22, 2026: SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has been honored wit...
22/09/2026
VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, bro...
22/09/2026
Chile's TV Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
URSA Broadcast G2 brings versatility...
22/09/2026
OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
Image courtesy of Deposit Photos
Business and ...
22/09/2026
Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music F...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
From Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and BAFTA-winning director Marian Mo...
22/09/2026
Tuesday 22 September 2026
Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts with ...
22/09/2026
Whether it be from the sun or from our phones and other devices, we are all exposed to electromagnetic radiation in some shape or form. With the dramatic growth...
22/09/2026
Comscore's latest AI Intelligence Report Shows Competition Intensifying as C...
22/09/2026
The Factory-X Project Sets Standards for Data Sovereignty in Industry
Arvato Systems Brings Digital Sovereignty to Industrial Practice
Factory-X Successfully...
22/09/2026
LONDON Apple today announced the opening of Apple Music Hall, a brand-new state-...
22/09/2026
RT , Creative Ireland and Shared Island Initiative ask young artists
to respon...
22/09/2026
To build and deploy sophisticated robotics applications that can perceive, reason and act in dynamic environments, developers need new physical AI models and to...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies, developer of software-defined, FPGA-accelerated infrastructure for live production, has named Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer...
21/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has won Best Journal Article at the 2026 IAMT Impact Awards for What Video Editors Need When Everything Is Changing Around Them,...
21/09/2026
Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced a streaming distribution agreement with Tubi for its weekly series MLW FUSION. Beginning September 17, new episodes w...
21/09/2026
Disney Entertainment has announced that Adam Smith has been named Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, with responsibility for Disney and Hulu including product, engi...
21/09/2026
United Airlines and DISH have announced an agreement to bring live professional ...
21/09/2026
SES and JioStar have announced a multi-year agreement under which SES will provide satellite distribution services for JioStar's television channel portfoli...
21/09/2026
The Detroit Red Wings have announced details for their inaugural season on Detro...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies has appointed Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer for North America, effective October 1, 2026. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Wi...
21/09/2026
Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV), the local television home of the Los Angeles...