LASHONDA T. CURETON

124 Davidson Hall

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA 24060

Tel: 540-231-9503

E-mail : clashon@vt.edu

Education

Ph.D. in Polymer Organic Chemistry

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (August 2005- Present)

B.S. in Chemistry

Clemson University (August 2000- May 2005)

Research and Professional Experiences

August 2006- Present

Graduate Research Assistant

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Department of Chemistry

Synthesis of impact resistant block copolymers     

August 2005- July 2006

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Department of Chemistry

Analytical Chemistry Laboratory for the Life Sciences/Organic Chemistry Laboratory

May 2003- August 2005

Undergraduate Research Student

Clemson University Department of Chemistry

Determination of concentrated species by way of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

Functionalize Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Synthesis and Characterization of Lactide-Based Copolymers for Fiber and Film Applications

Spring 2003, Fall 2003 & Summer 2004 

Quality Assurance Laboratory Department Co-op     

Honeywell International, Hopewell Plant, Hopewell, Virginia

Research and Development, Data processing and managements, and auditing distribution reports

Computer Skills and Proficiencies

EndNote X                                                                                                                SciFinder 7.0

Microsoft Office 2003                                                                                              Adobe Page Maker 7.0       

SPSS for Windows 10.1                                                                                          Minitab 14.0                                         

Publications

Haynes, Dahlia; Cureton, LaShonda; Smith, D. W., Jr.  “Modification of biodegradable polylactide with perfluoropolyether as a macroinitiator” Polymer Preprints (American Chemical Society, Division of Polymer Chemistry) (2006), 47(1), 173-174.

Fernando, K. A. S.; Lin, Y.; Wang, W.; Kumar, S.; Zhou, B.; Xie, S.-Y.; Cureton, L. T.; Sun, Y.-P.  “Diminished Band-Gap Transitions of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Complexation with Aromatic Molecules” J. Am. Chem. Soc. Commun., 2004, 126, 10234-10235.

Pathak, P.; Meziani, M.J.; Li, Y.; Cureton, L.T.; Sun, Y.-P.  “Improving photoreduction of CO₂ with homogeneously dispersed nanoscale TiO₂ catalysts” Chem. Commun., 2004, (10), 1234 – 1235.

Vander Mey, Brenda, Cureton, LaShonda T., Hicks, Kelly L., et al.  “Chilly Climate Peer Institute Study.” Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, January 2003.

Research Objective

Research focus involves synthesizing block copolymers using various derivatives of poly(arylene ether sulfone)s with polydimethylsiloxane that demonstrate tough, chemically resistant, transparent, and colorless properties for use in various applications as impact resistant materials.  Since poly(arylene ether sulfone)s are brittle, by incorporating an elastomer such as polydimethylsiloxane, impact resistance performance is dramatically improved.  Though polydimethylsiloxane and poly(arylene ether sulfone) are incompatible, the soft domains in the continuous poly(arylene ether sulfone) phase can stop the growth of cracks in the materials due to their liquid state, which improves the impact resistance.  It is important to control the size and distribution of the soft rubber domains in the already transparent poly(arylene ether sulfone); otherwise, large size rubber domains (comparable to the wavelength of visible light) can scatter visible light, and result in hazy or opaque materials.  These segmented block copolymers have been shown to form regular and small sized domains, which enhances the potential of transparency.

The synthetic scheme of the segmented block poly(arylene ether sulfone)-polydimethylsiloxane (3) is shown in Scheme 1.  Reaction between the hydroxyl end groups of the poly(arylene ether sulfone)  oligomer (1) and dimethylamino end groups of the polydimethylsiloxane oligomer (2) with the elimination of dimethylamine will be done to form the segmented block copolymers which have enhanced impact resistance.  Also,  previous literature has identified that the addition of the polydimethylsiloxane oligomer enhances toughness of the poly(arylene ether sulfone).  We will also use other bisphenols such as 6F and biphenol in the poly(arylene ether sulfone) segment to attempt to enhance properties and match the refractive indexes of the poly(arylene ether sulfone) and polydimethylsiloxane phases.

Scheme 1

References:
1.             Noshay, A.; McGrath, J. E., Block Copolymers:  Overview and Critical Survey. Academic Press, Inc.: New York, NY, 1977; p 509.

2.             Noshay, A.; Matzner, M.; Merriam, C. N., J. Polym. Sci., Part A-1: Polym. Chem. 1971, 9, 3147-3159.

3.             Noshay, A.; Matzner, M.; Williams, T. C., Ind. Eng. Chem. Prod. Res. Develop. 1973, 12, 268-277.

4.             Bouzid, D.; Gaboriaud, F.; McKenna, T. F., Macromolecular Materials and Engineering 2005, 290, 565-572.

5.             Matsuo, M.; Nozaki, C.; Jyo, Y., Polym. Eng. Sci. 1969, 9, 197-205.

6.             Matsuo, M.; Ueda, A.; Kondo, Y., Polym. Eng. Sci. 1970, 10, 253-260.