On the 8th and 9th of April 2010 the Bunsen-Kolloquium "Kinetics of Radical Polymerization: The Foundation of Novel Materials and Processes" will be held at the University of Göttingen, Germany.

The focus of the meeting will be on the kinetics and mechanism of radical polymerization, which constitutes a basic foundation for the design of new processes and materials. A fundamental physicochemical understanding of polymerization kinetics, both in conventional and controlled processes, is vital for effectively tailoring the microstructure of macromolecules. This is so, because the complex interplay of the multitude of individual reactions that occur in radical polymerization determines the microstructure of the polymeric product, which in turn governs its material properties. In controlled radical polymerization, the reactivity of mediating agents toward different radicals occurring in the polymerizing system as well as side reactions are of additional concerns and determine whether a controlled polymerization process is successful or fails. These circumstances have always made kinetic and mechanistic studies a valuable companion of polymer synthesis and material design.

The University of Göttingen has a long standing tradition in the field of chemical kinetics and provides an excellent background for this forthcoming meeting, which is dedicated to Professor Michael Buback on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Professor Buback is one of the leading experts in the field of polymerization kinetics and has contributed fundamental and constitutional work throughout his entire academic career. Many world-renowned scientists of this field have decided to join this meeting and to publish their latest results in a special issue of Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics (Vol. 211, No. 5, March 2010, click here), which was guest edited by Prof. Philipp Vana.

Further information about the meeting can be found here.