(May 4, 2020) A collaborative team led by Prof. John Matson and including Prof. Diego Troya has been selected for funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemistry Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry program. The 3-year, $450,000 grant will support the project titled, “Self-amplified depolymerizable polymers.” Depolymerizable polymers are designed to unzip into small molecules upon addition of a specific stimulus which can range from a specific chemical or enzyme to the application of light. Self-amplification refers to the small molecules from the original depolymerized polymer initiating depolymerization of other polymer chains, resulting in an amplification from a small amount of stimulus to complete depolymerization of the polymer sample. The research will focus on creating a new class of depolymerizable polymers and exploring different stimuli to trigger the process that can lead to self-amplification. This project and the resulting discoveries could be significant to solving the environmental problem of plastic recycling and could advance the emerging field of degradable polymers.