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Mentor(s): Dominik Konkolewicz, Ph.D.

Polymers have been a transformative product that has been integrated into our society for everyday use. However, polymer waste is now a prevalent global issue, as materials like plastics degrade at a much slower rate compared to other organics in the natural environment. Photochemistry is used to polymerize various monomers, since this gives both control over where and when the polymerization is occurring. The incorporation of vinyl ketone monomers will be tested based on their photoreactive properties. The three monomers tested and incorporated with PVK are the following: poly(methyl methacrylate)-poly(MMA), poly(ethyl acrylate)-poly(EA), poly(styrene)-poly(Sty). Polymer samples were prepared and exposed to UV light (wavelength = 350 nm), in which gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was used to monitor the Mn of the polymers before and after UV exposure. Both environmental and biomedical applications, such as solutions for end-of-life plastics and creating polymers that can degrade on demand for controlled drug usage.