Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) can act to catalyze numerous organic reactions. To increase its recovery and reuse, it has been tethered to dendrimers and to micellar systems, creating nano-scale catalytic pockets for reactions to proceed. Previously developed systems show diminished reactivity over time as the products of the reaction fill up the nano-scale reactor. Thus, the goal of my research is to use RAFT polymerization methods to synthesize a hydrophobic polymer chain bearing 4-methylaminopyridine units and to attach it to a hydrophilic polymer chain to create a polymer system capable of micelle formation in solution. These functionalized micelles are designed to be selectively opened and closed by changing the temperature, thus allowing the product to be removed from the micelle and avoiding the diminished catalytic activity that other polymer-supported catalytic systems show. A monomer with DMAP-like activity was made by reacting 4-methylaminopyridine with 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate that could be polymerized into a hydrophobic polymer chain, and progress towards polymerizing the functionalized monomer was made.
","abstract_html":"<p>Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) can act to catalyze numerous organic reactions. To increase its recovery and reuse, it has been tethered to dendrimers and to micellar systems, creating nano-scale catalytic pockets for reactions to proceed. Previously developed systems show diminished reactivity over time as the products of the reaction fill up the nano-scale reactor. Thus, the goal of my research is to use RAFT polymerization methods to synthesize a hydrophobic polymer chain bearing 4-methylaminopyridine units and to attach it to a hydrophilic polymer chain to create a polymer system capable of micelle formation in solution. These functionalized micelles are designed to be selectively opened and closed by changing the temperature, thus allowing the product to be removed from the micelle and avoiding the diminished catalytic activity that other polymer-supported catalytic systems show. A monomer with DMAP-like activity was made by reacting 4-methylaminopyridine with 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate that could be polymerized into a hydrophobic polymer chain, and progress towards polymerizing the functionalized monomer was made.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fredricks, Richard Arthur"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Chemistry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Gregg Wilmes","Harriet Lindsay","Donald Snyder"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:13Z","subjects":["Pure sciences","Chemistry"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/770","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Gregg Wilmes","Harriet Lindsay","Donald Snyder"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fredricks, Richard Arthur"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-03-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Chemistry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Pure sciences","Chemistry"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/770"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) can act to catalyze numerous organic reactions. To increase its recovery and reuse, it has been tethered to dendrimers and to micellar systems, creating nano-scale catalytic pockets for reactions to proceed. Previously developed systems show diminished reactivity over time as the products of the reaction fill up the nano-scale reactor. Thus, the goal of my research is to use RAFT polymerization methods to synthesize a hydrophobic polymer chain bearing 4-methylaminopyridine units and to attach it to a hydrophilic polymer chain to create a polymer system capable of micelle formation in solution. These functionalized micelles are designed to be selectively opened and closed by changing the temperature, thus allowing the product to be removed from the micelle and avoiding the diminished catalytic activity that other polymer-supported catalytic systems show. A monomer with DMAP-like activity was made by reacting 4-methylaminopyridine with 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate that could be polymerized into a hydrophobic polymer chain, and progress towards polymerizing the functionalized monomer was made.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Synthesis of DMAP tethered polymer chains for reversible micelle formation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Gregg Wilmes","Harriet Lindsay","Donald Snyder"],"dc:creator":["Fredricks, Richard Arthur"],"dc:date.available":["2018-03-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) can act to catalyze numerous organic reactions. To increase its recovery and reuse, it has been tethered to dendrimers and to micellar systems, creating nano-scale catalytic pockets for reactions to proceed. Previously developed systems show diminished reactivity over time as the products of the reaction fill up the nano-scale reactor. Thus, the goal of my research is to use RAFT polymerization methods to synthesize a hydrophobic polymer chain bearing 4-methylaminopyridine units and to attach it to a hydrophilic polymer chain to create a polymer system capable of micelle formation in solution. These functionalized micelles are designed to be selectively opened and closed by changing the temperature, thus allowing the product to be removed from the micelle and avoiding the diminished catalytic activity that other polymer-supported catalytic systems show. A monomer with DMAP-like activity was made by reacting 4-methylaminopyridine with 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate that could be polymerized into a hydrophobic polymer chain, and progress towards polymerizing the functionalized monomer was made.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/770"],"dc:subject":["Pure sciences","Chemistry"],"dc:title":["Synthesis of DMAP tethered polymer chains for reversible micelle formation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Chemistry"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:13Z"}