Prof Brent Summerlin Lecture
Prof Brent Summerlin
George Bergen Butler Professor,
Department of Chemistry,
University of Florida
"Decarboxylation for Polymer Deconstruction and Materials Design"
A Departmental Seminar
& Plenary Speaker for the Postgraduate Symposium
L3, Science Concourse, Main Campus
16:00 Wednesday 20 May, 2026
Our group has explored decarboxylation as a versatile strategy for polymer deconstruction, using carbon dioxide extrusion to generate reactive intermediates that promote chain cleavage, depolymerization, or architectural remodeling. By installing redox-active carboxylate derivatives at chain ends or as pendent groups, we can trigger carbon-centered radical formation through electrochemical or thermal activation. This approach provides a programmable handle for initiating unzipping reactions in vinyl polymers under comparatively mild conditions, moving beyond strategies that rely on weak end groups, high temperatures, or harsh reagents.
Building on this foundation, we show that depolymerization to volatile monomer can be repurposed as a constructive design strategy rather than only a recycling tool. By embedding depolymerizable domains within polymerization-induced microphase-separated block copolymers, we developed depolymerization etching of PIMS materials, or DEPIMS. In this platform, decarboxylation-triggered radical formation removes selected domains through monomer release while retaining the surrounding matrix, producing mesoporous materials with high surface areas and tunable adsorption properties. This solvent-free process circumvents diffusion limits of solution-based etching, yields recoverable monomer, and connects fundamental deconstructive reactivity to the scalable fabrication of functional nanostructured polymers.