Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Polymers are macromolecules composed of many repeating subunits. What makes these materials unique is that many of their properties depend strongly on size (molecular weight). This means that molecular weight determination is part of the basic, routine analysis performed on every sample, no matter how routine; the industry standard in measuring molecular weights is size exclusion chromatography (SEC) / gel permeation chromatography (GPC). This application requests a high-temperature SEC/GPC system. The instrument will be used to analyze polymers from two research chairs with well-funded research programs and a strong track record of innovative research. Kelly is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Photovoltaics and Acharya is the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Chair in Bioprocess Engineering. The polymers made in the Kelly group are used as advanced materials in electronic applications, including solar cells and transistors. His work on organic solar cells aims to bring this highly manufacturable, low-cost photovoltaic technology out of the laboratory and into commercial production. In contrast, Acharya's team is focused on adding value to agriculture biomass; here, the polymers are the result of a biorefining process. The biorefining processes developed by Acharya's team will produce versatile plastics and adhesives from sustainable and biodegradable feedstocks. In both cases, the measurement of polymer molecular weights is a crucial part of the work. These advances will help grow Canada's technology and sustainability sectors, creating new jobs in green energy, polymer synthesis, biorefining, and sustainable materials production. It is expected that 50+ students and post-doctoral fellows will be trained on the SEC/GPC system over the next five years, providing skilled workers to these growing industries.