Dr. Ertugrul Sahmetlioglu, Associate Professor, Nanotechnology Research Center (ERNAM), Erciyes University, Kayseri - 38039, Turkey

Biography: Ertugrul Sahmetlioglu is an Associate Professor at the Nanotechnology Research Center of Erciyes University in Kayseri/Turkey. He had his Ph.D. degree at Nigde University in 2004. He had worked as a visiting scholar in Middle East Technical University and, Chemistry Department at the University of Florida in between 2012-2013 for a year. He worked at Chemistry department of Nigde University, Nigde/Turkey from 1998 to 2015. His research areas are electrochemical polymerization, conducting polymers, electrochromism, enzyme immobilization, oxidative polymerization, enzymatic oxidative polymerization, nanocomposites, biodegradable polymers. He has currently forty two paper published in international Journals and His h index is 14.

Speech Title: Polysilicon acetals from green feedstock materials
Abstract: The silicone polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is 38% silicon and 22% oxygen and is the most commonly used silicon-containing polymer. PDMS can be used for many applications. Important and specific attributes include low glass transition temperature, high conformational flexibility, biocompatibility, high gas permeability, hydrophobicity, and good oxidative, thermal, and UV light stability. Although PDMS has such valuable characteristics, its relatively poor mechanical properties prevent it from replacing high-volume commodity plastics (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride) in a wider variety of consumer applications. Adjusting the basic structure of silicon containing polymers has a profound influence on their thermomechanical properties. Distinct from silicones such as PDMS, polysilicon acetals are polymers containing silicon acetal units (−OSiR₂O−) connected by hydrocarbon segments (−R′−), having the generalized structure [−OSiR₂OR′−]. While several polysilicon acetals have appeared in the literature, their thermal properties and other characterizations are rarely delineated. We present families of sustainable polysilicon acetals via a novel methodology, silicon acetal metathesis polymerization. Silicon acetal metathesis polymerization (SAMP) would be a viable approach for condensing bifunctional monomers to high molecular weight polymers. This silicon acetal metathesis reaction is exploited for the step-growth polymerization of bis-silicon acetals (MeOSiMe₂OROSiMe₂OMe) with metathetical loss of Me₂Si(OMe)₂. Thus, a convenient and generalized silicon acetal metathesis polymerization (SAMP) method is introduced as the acid-catalyzed copolymerization of a diol (HOROH) and Me₂Si(OMe)₂, driven by elimination of methanol and/or Me₂Si(OMe)₂ to produce polysilicon acetals.