The focus of this Christian Doppler Laboratory (CDL) is on the cost-effective and environmentally friendly production of high-quality plastics used in bonding, coating or structural applications. The CDL is financed to 50 % by the public purse (with funding from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development) and to 50% by the corporate partners Allnex GmbH, Hilti AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy A/S. Together with these company partners, Prof. C. Slugovc and his team are looking for ways to replace toxic and foul-smelling sulphur or nitrogen compounds as well as toxic metal compounds currently used in plastics production with more readily available, cheaper and less toxic alcohols. So far, such experiments have failed due to the low reactivity of alcohols, which – unlike thiols or amines – only react at high temperatures. A potential way of allowing alcohols to react under milder conditions is by organocatalysis. In this method, organic molecules are used to accelerate chemical reactions. To this end, the CD lab is now advancing the basics and knowledge of the activation of alcohols, developing tailor-made organocatalysts and investigating the properties of alcohol-based plastics in fastening technology, construction and corrosion protection.

Publications:

"Poly(ether)s derived from oxa-Michael polymerization - A comprehensive review."
Ratzenböck, K.; Fischer, S. M.; Slugovc, C. Monatsh. Chem. 2023, 154, 443-458. DOI: 10.1007/s00706-023-03049-4
 

"Sequential dual-curing of electron-deficient olefins and alcohols relying on oxa-Michael addition and anionic polymerization"
Fischer, S. M.; Schallert, V.; Uher, J. M.; Slugovc, C. Polym. Chem. 2023, 14, 1081-1084.
DOI: 10.1039/D3PY00035D

"Exploiting retro oxa-Michael chemistry in polymers."
Ratzenböck, K.; Uher, J. M.; Fischer, S. M.; Edinger, D.; Schallert, V.; Žagar, E.; Pahovnik, D.; Slugovc, C. Polym. Chem. 2023, 14, 651-661. DOI: 10.1039/D2PY01345B
 

"Tris(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)phosphine - a Lewis base able to compete with phosphazene bases in catalysing oxa-Michael reactions."
Fischer, S. M.; Kaschnitz, P.; Slugovc, C. Catal. Sci. Technol. 2022, 12, 6204-6212. DOI: 10.1039/D2CY01335E

"Water as a monomer: synthesis of an aliphatic polyethersulfone from divinyl sulfone and water."
Ratzenböck, K.; Din, M. M. U.; Fischer, S. M.; Žagar, E.; Pahovnik, D.; Boese, A. D.; Rettenwander, D.; Slugovc, C. Chem. Sci. 2022, 13, 6920-6928. DOI: 10.1039/D2SC02124B

"Role of filler content and morphology in LLZO:PEO membranes."
Din, M. M. U.; Häusler, M.; Fischer, S. M.; Ratzenböck, K.; Chamasemani, F. F.; Hanghofer, I.; Henninge, V.; Brunner, R.; Slugovc, C.; Rettenwander, D. Front. Energy Res. 2021, 9, 711610. DOI: 10.3389/fenrg.2021.711610

"Electron-rich triarylphosphines as nucleophilic catalysts for oxa-Michael reactions."
Fischer, S. M.; Renner, S.; Boese, A. D.; Slugovc, C. Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1689–1697. DOI: 10.3762/bjoc.17.117
 

"A natural rubber waste derived surfactant for high internal phase emulsion templating of poly(dicyclopentadiene)."
Schallert, V.; Slugovc, C. Macromol. Chem. Phys. 2021, 222, 2100110. DOI: 10.1002/macp.202100110

"Melt-polymerization of acrylamide initiated by nucleophiles: a route towards highly branched and amorphous polyamide 3."
Edinger, D.; Weber, H.; Žagar, E.; Pahovnik, D.; Slugovc, C. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2021, 3, 2018-2026. DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.1c00084

"Step-growth polymerisation of alkyl acrylates via concomitant oxa-Michael and transesterification reactions."
Ratzenböck, K.; Pahovnik, D.; Slugovc, C. Polym. Chem. 2020, 11, 7476-7480. DOI: 10.1039/D0PY01271H

"Lowering the interfacial resistance in Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂|poly(ethylene oxide) composite electrolytes."
Kuhnert, E.; Landenstein, L.; Jodlbauer, A.; Slugovc, C.; Trimmel, G.; Wilkening, H. M. R.; Rettenwander, D. Cell Reports Physical Science 2020, 1, 100214.
DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2020.100214

"Solvent‐ and catalyst‐free aza‐Michael addition of imidazoles and related heterocycles."
Kodolitsch, K.; Gobec, F.; Slugovc, C. Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2020, 19, 2973-2978.
DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.202000309