Valsynthese

Sara Greco, R&D Chemist at Valsynthese, part of the SSE Group, covers the beneficial properties of polyimide materials and the key role that aliphatic anhydrides play in the enhancement of those properties.

Polyimide materials, as Kapton®, are widely used for flexible electronics substrates or as insulators, thanks to their wide range of thermal stability as well as excellent dielectric and mechanical properties. However, there are limitations in their processability and employment in new technologies due to their low solubility and deep amber staining, resulting from charge transfer interactions established between polymer rigid chains. Currently, researchers are focusing on designing resins with excellent thermal and chemical stability, transparent and colorless with a high processability in terms of viscosity and solubility. However, balancing among all those properties for this class of materials remains a big challenge today, as some of these properties seem to exclude others. In this episode, the focus will be on aliphatic anhydrides, which play a key role for the final polyimide’s properties enhancement. This will be explained by B.Sc. Sara Greco, a chemist working on this topic (as part of her master's thesis) in the R&D department of Valsynthese, a Swiss CDMO specialized in hazardous chemistry.

Dr. Luca Mantilli, an R&D chemist at Valsynthese, shares his insights into the company’s journey with phosgene, an exceptionally versatile reagent that offers various synthetic possibilities.

Dr. Luca Mantilli, R&D chemist at Valsynthese, the fine chemical unit of the Société Suisse des Explosifs Group (SSE), will guide you through the journey that Valsynthese as CDMO has done in phosgenation. The advantages and synthetic possibilities of phosgene, an extremely versatile reagent, will be highlighted with respect to other alternatives, same as the safety measures needed when working with such hazardous building blocks.

Dr. Erika Lüthi, R&D Senior Chemist at Valsynthese, the Fine Chemical Unit of Société Suisse des Explosifs Group, will take you through the evolution of Nitroglycerin, from its explosives origins to pharmaceutical applications. Nitroglycerin has been produced at SSE for over 125 years in a safely way and adapting its use to increasingly noble purposes.