10/27/2026
By Ertan Agar

As part of the Alfred A. Donatelli Endowed Chemical Engineering Seminar, Dr. Metin Karayilan of Case Western Reserve University will present “From Architecture to Function: Controlling Polymer Flow and Degradability.”

  • Date: Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026
  • Time: 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
  • Location: Ball Hall 214

Abstract

Macromolecular topology provides an additional, powerful design variable for controlling material behavior and functionality. This seminar will highlight our recent efforts to establish quantitative relationships between polymer architecture, molecular accessibility, solution behavior and stimuli responsiveness using structurally tunable hyperbranched polymers (HBPs). We employ reversible-deactivation radical polymerization techniques, including atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, to synthesize HBPs with systematically controlled branching densities and functional-group distributions. Through comparisons with compositionally and molecular-weight-matched linear analogs, we investigate how branching influences hydrodynamic dimensions, solution viscosity, flow behavior, and thermoresponsive phase transitions. These studies demonstrate that increased branching promotes compact macromolecular structures and reduces solution viscosity while maintaining tunable temperature-dependent responsiveness.

Beyond controlling physical properties, we introduce chemical degradability directly into the polymer architecture through a lipoic acid-derived RAFT transmer containing cleavable ester and disulfide functionalities. Incorporating these motifs into branching junctions enables chemically triggered changes in macromolecular connectivity, offering new opportunities to couple polymer topology with controlled degradation. Furthermore, automated and semi-batch polymerization strategies are being integrated with advanced characterization techniques to regulate branching-unit incorporation and functional-group distribution, enabling systematic investigations of architecture–property relationships. Together, these studies demonstrate that macromolecular topology is not merely a structural characteristic but a tunable design parameter governing polymer conformation, processability, responsiveness, and degradation. Understanding these relationships provides a foundation for the rational design of architecturally complex polymers for emerging applications in responsive soft materials, biomaterials, and molecular transport.

Biography

Dr. Metin Karayilan is an assistant professor of chemistry at Case Western Reserve University, where he leads a research group focused on sequence- and architecture-controlled polymer synthesis, automated and high-throughput experimentation, and macromolecular engineering to develop functional polymeric materials for biomedical and sustainability-related applications. He is also affiliated with the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Cluster within the university’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB). He earned his B.S. in chemistry from Middle East Technical University (METU) and his M.S. in chemical engineering from Koç University, both in Turkey. He subsequently received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Arizona in 2019 and completed postdoctoral research at Duke University before joining the faculty at Case Western Reserve University in 2022.

For more information, contact Ertan Agar.