Chasnee Tinnin
MIT Department: Chemistry
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Tim Swager
Research Supervisors: Collette Gordon, Jesús Castro Esteban
Undergraduate Institution: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Hometown: North Carolina
Website: LinkedIn
Biography
Chasnee Tinnin is a rising junior Chemistry major at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. At NC A&T, Chasnee conducts undergraduate research within Prof. Prokofjevs’ organic chemistry lab. The research focuses on synthesizing B- and N- doped
polyaromatic hydrocarbons to observe the effect of dopant placement on the electronic
properties of the molecule. Chasnee aims to further her studies by obtaining a Ph.D. in
Chemistry. Outside of work, Chasnee enjoys doing nails & cooking with her friends.
Abstract
Employing LCST and Conductive Polymers for Selective Capture and Detection of
Environmental Analytes
Chasnee B. Tinnin,1,2 Arinze C. Ejiofor,1 Collette T. Gordon,1 Jesús Castro Esteban1, Timothy M. Swager1
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Instute of Technology
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
LCST (Lower Critical Solution Temperature) polymers are polymers that precipitate upon a
heating in temperature due to a weakening of hydrogen bonding. With a wide array of applications in industry including water purification systems, temperature-sensitive drug release, and some packaging and cosmetics there is a high demand for LCST polymers. Recently, there has been a garnered interest in LCST polymers for the capture of environmental analytes from wastewater due to their toxicity and harmful impact on the environment as well as the human body. While LCST polymers have been developed for the capture of environmental analytes, limited studies have explored the impact of the hydrophobicity and hydrophilic functionalization of LCST polymers for the selective capture of environmental analytes. This work aims to employ an increase in hydrophilic functionality in LCST polymers to evaluate the selective PFAS capture. In order to detect environmental analytes, this work aims to employ conductive polymers, such as polyethylene dioxythiophene (PEDOT), which encourages facile oxidation and an increase in conductivity, upon introduction to an environmental analyte. An evaluation of the impact of non-polar groups on environmental analyte capture and detection will be explored to offer, insight on the selective PFAS detection and capture.
