AGRARIAN, ENGINEERING AND MATERIAL SCIENCES
A study conducted by CONICET scientists is the cover subject of Polymer Chemistry
Daniela Iguchi and Pablo Froimowicz participated in a research work that was the cover subject of a journal specialized in polymers.
The cover subject of Polymer Chemistry, which is about the article “Quantitative studies on the p-substituent effect of the phenolic component on the polymerization of benzoxazines” shows a study led by two CONICET scientists. They are Pablo Froimowicz, CONICET associate researcher at the Instituto de Tecnología en Polímeros y Nanotecnología (ITPN, CONICET-UBA) in the Facultad de Arquitectura Diseño y Urbanismo (FADU) of the UBA, and Daniela Iguchi, CONICET postdoctoral fellow at the same institution. The journal belongs to the prestigious publisher Royal Society of Chemistry of the UK.
The study is about benzoxazines synthesis, molecules whose polymerization produce polybenzoxazines. This material appeared recently but has attracted interest due to its thermal and chemical resistance, great performance under high temperatures, low flammability and large capacity to stand humid or corrosive environments.
“Apart from a lower cost of manufacture, it does not produce waste or by-products during its polymerization. Other benefit of benzoxazines is the flexibility of its molecular design as it can be adjusted to different properties according to what is needed”, Iguchi affirms.
“For this reason, the polybenzoxazines have become more and more important for the design and development of ultra-tough and compound materials that can be applied in aerospace, transport, oil, gas and electronic areas, among others”, Froimowicz explains.
Other scientists who participated in the study were Seishi Ohashi and Hatsuo Ishida –world experts in this subject– from the Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, USA). The research consisted in the preparation and systematic analysis of benzoxazines with small modifications in its composition and chemical structure so as to determine the way in which those changes affect their macroscopic properties –characteristics of the material obtained- but especially at a molecular level (in particular its polymerization temperature).
Both scientists remarked that this was an honor for them and encouragement to continue working on this subject in the country.
By Miguel Faigón