Welcome to the Zhao Group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Our research involves the synthesis and study of stimuli-sensitive polymeric materials. These soft materials can undergo spontaneous structural changes and exhibit different properties in response to environmental variations. Most projects relate to one of three areas: thermosensitive water-soluble polymers, environmentally responsive polymer brushes, and supported catalysts. In general, we use "living"/controlled polymerization techniques (atom transfer radical polymerization, nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization, reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, ring-opening polymerization, etc.) to synthesize well-defined polymers and polymer brushes with controlled molecular weights, narrow polydispersities, and defined architectures. These soft materials have great potential in many technological applications. More information can be found on our research page.