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Home , Organic Chemistry, Polymer chemistry

CHE 360: SYLLABUS

Instructor: Dr. Zachary Rodgers Text: Introduction to (Carraher) Course webpage: Desire2Learn Prerequisites: CHE 262: Contact Info: (724)-946-6289 [email protected] Class Time: TR 9:10 – 10:50 am Lab Time: R 2:00 – 5:00 pm

Course Overview

The word polymer comes from the Greek words “poly”, meaning many, and “mer”, meaning parts. Like the macrostructures we see every day, such as a house built of brick, the larger structures of have very different properties from their smaller chemical building blocks. The uniqueness of polymer properties provide most of the materials we interact with on a regular basis, including our clothes, , paper, , and even our bodies themselves. Therefore, no education in chemistry would be complete without describing the general properties, synthesis, processing, and function of polymeric materials. This semester long course aims to:

 Describe how polymer morphology affects a polymer’s overall properties and behavior  Teach polymer characterization techniques to determine their structure and size  Detail a variety of mechanisms and their underlying kinetic/thermodynamic characteristics  Introduce the practical techniques used to synthesize a wide range of polymeric structures  Provide several examples of the industrial processing techniques used to generate consumable polymer products  Make connections between material to answer complex and multi-step problems  Expose students to literature research in materials and

Grading

Grading Weights 10% Homework Assignments (~6 – 8 total) 20% Laboratory Grade 37.5% Exams (3 Tests) 12.5% Student Presentation 20% Final

Grading Scale 90 - 100 A 72 – 77 C 88 - 89 B+ 70 – 71 C- 82 – 87 B 68 – 69 D+ 80 – 81 B- 60 – 67 D 78 – 79 C+ < 60 F

The scale set in this syllabus is non-negotiable.

Homework Assignments: I will provide homework assignments at regular intervals (2-3 per test cycle) to help you study and practice for your exams. Most homeworks will consist of short answer questions ranging from simple to more challenging, critical thinking problems. These assessments will be graded for completeness and correctness. You are allowed to work with classmates on these if you wish.

Laboratory Grade: We will have lab each week, but not every period will have a new lab. Some lab periods will provide time to catch up on characterization and data analysis. Each lab assignment will require a written pre-lab that counts as ~20% of your lab score. The rest of your lab grade will vary for each lab assignment’s goal and assessment, but they may include a lab report, analyzing an unknown and determining its property or nature, or demonstrating aptitude for a particular technique. Each lab handout will have the assessment’s grading criteria clearly outlined and described.

Exams: Tests will examine your deeper comprehension of the covered material. These exams may include multiple choice, short answer, mechanism schemes, synthesis, etc. These will be administered roughly once a month on the days indicated.

Student Presentation: At the end of the semester, students must give a presentation (using PowerPoint) on at least two related and recently published papers dealing with some aspect of polymer chemistry. These papers must come from peer-reviewed chemistry or journals and contain original research (no reviews). Students will work in groups of two for this assignment and may pick any polymer topic they find interesting. Papers must be selected by the students and approved by me at least a month prior the scheduled presentation (see below). A rubric detailing how the grade assignment will work for this presentation will be provided before students begin selecting potential manuscripts.

Final: This is a comprehensive final and will be structured as a longer test.

Additional Resources

Online Resources: I will post additional resource material, such as mechanism videos, molecular models, and practice problems, on the course Desire2Learn website for you to review. I encourage all of you to suggest problems that you are struggling with so that I may tailor these resources for class needs.

Office Hours: Monday 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 pm Tuesday 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 pm Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 pm Friday 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

I am also available for office hours by email appointment (my brain needs it in writing) provided you allow for several days’ notice. Please bring specific questions or concerns to make these sessions more productive.

Form a study group: Most of you are upper-level students who have interacted with one another throughout your time at Westminster. Therefore, you should find it easy to get to know one another better and work together on homework and exam prep. However, if you do not know anyone in class, let me know and I will assist you in finding peers to study with. Be sure to have others assess your understanding of the material prior to each test.

Tips to Succeed

Read, read, READ: The suggested reading sections will prepare you for lecture so that you can absorb more of the information and gain a deeper understanding of the material.

Study together: If you wish, I will help you find other students to study with. Making friends while aiding each other in learning will make the class more enjoyable and improve your collaboration skills. Set aside time each week to meet with a study group so that you will hold each other accountable for studying.

Practice and test your knowledge several times a week using the problems in the text: Set aside time each week (~3- 4 hours) to read/practice and stay ahead of the material. If you do this, you will be able to quickly adapt to new material and have to devote less time (and loss of sleep) to studying during test week.

Attendance

Class attendance is not mandatory, but I would highly encourage you to attend class when possible so you do not miss anything. However, lab attendance is mandatory. Two unexcused lab absences will result in a F for the course. School sanctioned events (sports, class field trips, band, etc.) and illnesses are excused absences. Please inform me ahead of time about possible absences so that I can provide a make-up time for you.

Academic Honesty All students must hold themselves to the highest standards of academic integrity while in the course.

Instances of cheating (attempting to gain an unfair advantage on an assignment without prior approval or permission), plagiarism (copying another person’s work), class disruption (creating a poor learning environment for other students), etc. deemed unacceptable by me will result in the following penalties:

First Offense: The assignment in which the infraction occurred will be scored at a 0%. No make-up assignment will be provided, and the offense will be reported to the proper departments and administrators at the school.

Second Offense: The student will receive an F in the course.

CHEM 360 Lecture Schedule

Aug. 28: Syllabus Day and an Introduction to Suggested Reading: Polymer Nomenclature and Chapter 1

Aug 30: Polymer Morphology and Physical Properties Suggested Reading: Chapter 2.1 – 2.2

Sept 4: Polymer Morphology and Physical Properties Suggested Reading: Chapter 2.3 – 2.7

Sept 6: Polymer Morphology and Physical Properties Suggested Reading: Chapter 2.7 – 2.9

Sept 11: Polymer Molecular Weight Characterization Suggested Reading: Chapter 3.1 – 3.9

Sept 13: Polymer Functional Characterization and Properties Suggested Reading: Chapter 12

Sept 18: Polymer Functional Characterization and Properties Suggested Reading: Chapter 13

Sept 20: Exam One

Sept 25: Step Reaction Polymerization: Introduction and Kinetics Suggested Reading: Chapter 5.1 – 5.3

Sept 27: Step Reaction Polymerization: Mechanisms and Reaction Considerations Suggested Reading: Chapter 5.4

Oct 2: Step Reaction Polymerization: Varieties, Control, and Industrial Processing Suggested Reading: Chapter 5.6 – 5.7

Oct 4: Chain Polymerization: Introduction and Kinetics Suggested Reading: Chapter 6.1 – 6.2

Oct. 9: Chain Polymerization: Anionic and Cationic Mechanism and Applications Suggested Reading: Chapter 6.1 – 6.3

Oct. 11: Chain Polymerization: Mechanism and Considerations Suggested Reading: Chapter 7.1 – 7.2

Oct. 16: Chain Polymerization: Chain Transfer and Controlling Radical Suggested Reading: Chapter 7.3

Oct. 18: Chain Polymerization: Technique and Industrial Processing Suggested Reading: Chapter 7.4 – 7.11

Oct. 23: Exam Two

Oct. 25: Coordination Polymerization: Catalysts and Stereoregulation Suggested Reading: Chapter 6.4 – 6.5

Nov 1: Coordination Polymerization: Polyalkene Production and their Applications Suggested Reading: Chapter 6.6 – 6.9

Nov. 6: Coordination Polymerization: Metathesis Suggested Reading: Chapter 6.10

Nov. 8: Copolymerization: General Concept and Kinetics Suggested Reading: Chapter 8.1 – 8.2

Nov. 13: Copolymerization: Block & Graft Polymers; Elastomers & Blends Suggested Reading: Chapter 8.3 – 8.8

Nov. 15: Exam Three

Nov. 20: : and Suggested Reading: Chapter 4.1 – 4.6

Nov. 27: Biopolymers: , Hydrogels, and Nucleic Suggested Reading: Chapter 4.7 – 4.12

Nov. 29: Inorganic Polymers: Silicon Derivatives Suggested Reading: Chapter 10.1 – 10.6

Dec. 4: Inorganic Polymers: Silicon Derivatives Suggested Reading: Chapter 10.6 – 10.10

Dec. 6: Student Presentations

Dec. 12: FINAL EXAM 8:00 – 10:30 AM

Dec. 13: Final Grades Posted Online

CHEM 360 Lab Schedule Aug 30: Lab 1: Check-in

Sept 6: Lab 2: DSC analysis of Crystallinity and Tg th Results Due September 20 Sept 13: Lab 3: Size Determination- GPC and Dilute Results Due September 27th Sept 20: Lab 4: Characterizing an Unknown Polymer: Employing NMR, IR, and DSC Results Due October 4th Sept 27: Lab 5: Polymerization of ε-Caprolactone Report Due October 11th Oct 4: Catch-up Lab Period Oct 11: Lab 6: Chain Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Oct 18: Lab 7: Nitroxide Mediated Radical Polymerization of Styrene Report (Lab 6 & 7 together) Due November 1st Oct 25: Catch-up Lab Period Nov 1: Lab 8: ROMP of Norbornene Results Due November 15th Nov 8: Lab 9: Block from ATRP (Pt. 1) Nov 15: Lab 9: Block Copolymers from ATRP (Pt. 2) Report Due November 29th Nov 22: Lab 10: Films Results Due December 6th Nov 29: Lab 11: Applications of Silicone

Lab Results and Reports Due Dates Results Worksheets Due Lab 2 September 20th Lab 3 September 27th Lab 4 October 4th Lab 8 November 15th Lab 10 December 6th

Full Lab Reports Lab 5 October 11th Lab 6 & 7 together November 1st Lab 9 November 29th