High-Throughput Experimentation

Automated parallel synthesis (HTE)

2-Oxazolines can be polymerized by a living polymerization technique (cationic ring opening polymerization), which facilitates an easy access to block copolymers. Block copolymers as well as homo polymers from poly(oxazoline)s are used in a variety of different applications and exhibit economic potential. The screening for suitable monomers, initiators and termination agents, the variation of temperature and monomer/initiator ratios (molecular weight) and the combination of monomers as building blocks for copolymers strongly favor an automated parallel synthesis approach.

Homopolymers and random copolymers of methyl-, ethyl-, nonyl- and phenyl-2-oxazoline were successfully prepared in automated synthesizers. The liquid-handling unit of the synthesizer (see picture) realizes the full automation and acceleration of the polymerization recipe, special heating reactors enable the determination of activation energies in a single polymerization run and online GC and GPC set-ups (see picture) makes kinetic data easily accessible.