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TRR 102:  Polymers under Multiple Constraints: Restricted and Controlled Molecular Order and Mobility

Subject Area Chemistry
Biology
Materials Science and Engineering
Physics
Term from 2011 to 2023
Website Homepage
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 189853844
 
The rich versatility and the variable properties and functions of macromolecules are based on the one hand on a large variety of different monomers but on the other hand, on the fact that polymers are able to assemble in organized structures, encoded in the chemical sequence of the polymer chains. In simple cases of self-assembly only the connectivity of the chain acts as a constraint, leading to the existence of largely universal properties independent of the specific chemistry. The self-assembly of simple block copolymers is a well-studied example. However, many important open and challenging problems in polymer science are characterized by strong correlations between local structure and global conformation of the chain. Generally, in macromolecular systems the formation of order on the monomer scale is a complex process as it typically underlies constraints from the surroundings mediated by the chain. In the CRC TRR 102 we investigate such processes of structure formation and self-assembly of chain molecules, where the formation of molecular structures and the molecular dynamics are affected by chain connectivity and additional constraints like for example specific internal interactions as in proteins, external forces, geometrical confinement, crowding or topological restrictions. Two prominent examples of such processes and central topics of the CRC are crystallization in the area of synthetic polymers and the formation of amyloids in the area of biopolymers. In both cases larger scale structures form, driven by the formation of local molecular order, and constrained by the connectivity of the chains. Both processes carry generic features. In the CRC we study and want to understand these and other similar processes of structure formation and the properties of the resulting structures. Our aim is to work out the fundamental, underlying principles. A new development in our research program, initiated in the second funding period and to be extended in the third funding period is the investigation of structure formation in hybrid systems. Molecular elements that are typical and different for synthetic and biological macromolecules are combined in one macromolecule leading to new functions and material properties. We expect that fundamental research on these topics will provide basic knowledge potentially useful for applications of polymeric materials or treatment of amyloid related diseases. 
DFG Programme CRC/Transregios

Completed projects

Co-Applicant Institution Universität Leipzig
 
 

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