Perspectives, pillars, and examples of polymer reaction engineering in the 21st century

Abstract

In this chapter, we reflect on the very definition of polymer reaction engineering (PRE) now versus from its origin paying homage to original pillars of the field and the trajectory it has evolved along to date. We open with a collection of perspectives from direct conversations with former chairs of the Polymer Reaction Engineering conference series as well as a selection of major contributors that we had the opportunity to ask. We highlight the common threads and themes both on the origins of the field, birthed from chemical reaction engineering, and the noted challenges we are facing today. We project examples of the future direction of PRE with commentary and describe our confidence in the continued needs for our expertise with new polymer classes and markets. Now nearly a century from the birth of the synthetic macromolecular market, we also remark on the critical role of the determination of reaction rate coefficients by our PRE community as well as a perspective on a basis for the continued challenge to directly determine those for certain monomers that have been in use for many decades. Here, we contrast direct analytical determination by pulsed-laser polymerization methods, coupled with molecular weight distribution analysis, with modeling based approaches extrapolating from kinetics output. We are encouraged by the impact PRE has made through the 20th century and we are certain the field and society will feel the same as we continue to contribute through the 21st century.