Development of novel chromatography media

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Project objective

Research objectives and content The objective of the project at the University of Strathclyde is to design and synthesise hydrophilic polymethacrylate-based media with structure, morphology, chemical functionality and stability suitable for the industrial separation of the platinum group metals (PGM). The synthesis of these materials will exploit the University of Strathclyde's suspension polymerisation methodology using a variety of crosslinking monomers with monofunctional species in the presence of varying levels of porogens, such as alcohol, aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon groups. The starting point for this will be based on the work of the current postdoctoral fellow who will have begun to explore the porogen modified homopolymers of each of the crosslinking species and their corresponding copolymers with each of the pendant monofunctional monomers. The molecular structure of the media will be characterised by spectroscopy, and the morphology quantified in terms of the porosity parameters. These earlier results may may be further developed. The alcohol and ether functionalities (along with the intrinsic ester functionalities of the methacrylate backbone) will provide many PGM interactions which may be supplemented by introduction of carboxylic acid, amide and ketone grouping during the polymerisation or by chemical modifications of epoxy groups from using glycidyl methacrylate as a comonomer. Training content (objective, benefit and expected impact) I hope that participation in this project via a Marie Curie Training Grant will advance my postgraduate qualifications and give me significant training; providing both knowledge and greater skill in this new field which I can pass on to others; in the spirit of international scientific training embodied in the TMR and the EC/South African Scientific and Technical Co-operation agreement. Links with industry / industrial relevance (22) The Project is part of a bi-national project which is co-ordinated, and partially funded, by two Industrial Companies from GB and South Africa respectively; who will also be responsible for commercialisation.

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Participants

• UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE · GLASGOWCoordinatorUnited Kingdom

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