Grant: Alliance Grants

This NSERC Alliance project supports a collaboration between Professor Scott Parent at Queen's University and Ingenia Polymers, a Canadian-based company with an international client base and a R&D centre in Brantford, Ontario. It will create training opportunities for two graduate students and four summer undergraduate students over a two-year period. The goal of the project is to advance knowledge of functional nitroxyl chemistry proven effective for controlling the dynamics and yields of polyolefin modifications like polypropylene and polyethylene. These polymers are prevalent in a wide range of applications, most notably consumer plastic. This research will further the ability to control the dynamics and yields of solvent-free processes that improve the physical properties of polyolefins. The partnership will allow Ingenia to create new products and services thereby expanding their market share to the direct benefit of the Canadian economy. Their business is built on knowledge of how to formulate plastics to meet the demands of a wide range of consumer goods. Chemistry invented at Queen's University has shown promise in several of their applications, fueling interest in a collaborative effort to understand and apply the technology. NSERC-supported research conducted at Queen's will generate new chemistry that allows plastic goods manufacturers control their production processes to an unprecedented degree. In addition to improving the efficiency of consumer goods production, new formulations that allow these goods to be recycled will be explored in an effort to improve the sustainability of plastics that are currently disposed of by landfill or incineration.