Dr. Li Jia
Title: Professor of Polymer Science and Chemistry
Dept/Program: School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering
Office: GDYR 603
Phone: 330-972-7511
Fax: 330-972-5290
Email: ljia@uakron.edu
Website: https://blogs.uakron.edu/jialab/
Biography
Dr. Jia is a Professor in the School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering at The University of Akron. His research group focuses on synthesis of novel polymer materials. Prior to joining the university, he was an industrial researcher at Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials and an Assistant Professor at Lehigh University. He obtained his Ph.D. from Northwestern University, and his B.Sc. from Lanzhou University in China.
Honors
NSF CAREER Award
DuPont Young Professor Award
Lindback Minority Junior Faculty Award
Professional Affiliations
American Chemical Society
Research
Organometallic chemistry, catalysis for synthesis of polymers and organic molecules, chemistry and processes for
plastics and rubber recycling, vulcanization and reinforcement of rubber, and synthesis and self-assembly of
polyimides for aerospace applications.
The research in the Jia laboratory is the most properly characterized as applied fundamental research. We endeavor
to discover efficient synthetic methodologies and sustainable polymer materials through understanding the
mechanisms of chemical and physical processes and the structure-property relationships of materials. Chemical
synthesis is an essential element of all our research projects. Most of our projects involves a component of studying
materials properties. Supramolecular self-assembling concepts are often a trait in the materials and processing
methods that we develop. Sustainability of commodity chemicals and polymers is a perennial theme of our
research.
Publications
- Srivastava, A.; Zhao, Y.; Meyerhofer, J.; Jia, L.;* Foster, M. D.* “Design of Interfacial Crowding for Elastomeric
Reinforcement with Nanocrystals”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021, 13, 10349-10358. - Sun, Y.; Fan, C.; Zhao, Y.; Jia, L.* “Peroxide-Cured Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber Composite: Methacrylate
Coagent and Enhanced Mechanical Properties by In Situ Formed Methacrylate Domains”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.
2021, 60, 2728-2735. - Dai, Y.; Lou, J.; Liu, T.; Jia, L.* “Dual-Site Catalysis for Sustainable Polymers to Replace Current Commodity
Polymers – Carbonylative Copolymerization of Ethylene, Ethylene Oxide, and Tetrahydrofuran”, Chem.
Commun. 2020, 56, 15341-15344. - Sun, Y.; Yan, X.; Liang, H.; Böhm, G.; Jia, L.* “Rubber Recycling: Mending the Interface between Ground Rubber
Particles and Virgin Rubber”, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 47957–47965. - Sun, Y.; Fan, C.; Wei, B.; Wesdemiotis, C.; Jia, L.* “Activated Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber Synthesis, Peroxide
Cure, and Mechanical Properties”, ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2020, 2, 5163–5172. - Tan, X.; Zhao, Y.; Qian, M.; Hamed, G. R.; Jia, L.* “Reinforcement of Rubber Using Reactive Oligo(b-alanine)
Supramolecular Fillers”, RUBBER CHEM. TECHNOL. 2019, 92, 198-217. - Dai, Y.; He, S.; Peng, B.; Crandall, L. A.; Schrage, B. R.; Ziegler, C. J.; Jia, L.*Zwitterionic Design Principle of Ni(II)
Catalysts for Carbonylative Polymerization of Cyclic Ethers,” Angew Chem., Int. Ed. 2018, 130, 14111-14115. - Zhao, Y.; Fu, L.; Jia, L.*“Synthesis, characterization, and mechanical and dynamic mechanical studies of β-
alanine trimer-grafted SBR”, Polymer 2018, 136, 62-70. - Yan, X.; Hamed, G. R.;* Jia, L.* “Urushiol-derived non-silane coupling agent”, Polymer 2017, 125, 172-181.
- Tan, X.; Zhao, Y.; Shang, M.; Hamed, G. R.;* Jia, L.* “Supramolecular Reinforcement of Styrene-Butadiene
Rubber Composites”, Polymer 2017, 122, 242-248. - Jia, X.; Zhang, M.; Li, M.; Pan, F.; Ding, K.; Jia, L.;* Crandall, L. A.; Engle, J. T.; Ziegler, C. J.* “Zwitterionic Nickel(II)
Catalysts for CO-Ethylene Alternating Copolymerization”, Organometallics 2017, 36, 1122-1132.
Education
- 1996 Ph.D. in chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
- 1991 B.Sc. in organic chemistry, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China