Brian K. Long
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Brian K. Long
Professor
Brian (BL) studied chemistry as an undergraduate at North Georgia College & State University (now UNG) and completed his B.S. degree in 2003. During his undergraduate career, he conducted research under the guidance of Prof. Dan Thompson at UNG, and as a participant in Furman University’s NSF-REU program where he worked in the research groups of Profs. John Wheeler and Noel A. P. Kane-Maguire. BL began his doctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin where he worked under the guidance of Prof. C. Grant Willson and was co-advised by Prof. Christopher W. Bielawski. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2009, BL pursued his postdoctoral studies at Cornell University under the supervision of Prof. Geoffrey W. Coates. BL began as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville (UTK) in 2011, and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2018 and full Professor in 2023. His research and teaching efforts have been recognized through the Ffrancon Williams Endowed Faculty Award, an Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, a Department of Energy Early Career Research Program Award, and he was named the Gleb Mamantov Professor of Chemistry in 2020.
Education
B.S., North Georgia College & State University (2003)
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin (2009)
Postdoc, Cornell University (2009-2011)
Research
Research efforts in the Long Group are highly interdisciplinary and utilize the tools of organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, organometallic design, and even polymer science and engineering to address fundamental problems with real-world impact. Our research is divided into two main thrusts: (1) the design and synthesis of functional polymeric materials, and (2) the development and utilization of next-generation polymerization catalysts. To find out more about each of these thrusts and current projects within the Long Research Group, please click on the “Group Website” link to the right.
Selected Publications
Selected Publications:
Workman, C.E.; Bag, P.; Cawthon, B.; Ali, F. H.; Brady, N. G.; Bruce, B. D.; Long, B. K. “Alternatives to Styrene- and Diisobutylene-based Copolymers for Membrane Protein Solubilization via Nanodisc Formation” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, accepted. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202306572
Annamraju, A; Rajan, K.; Zuo, X.; Long, B. K.; Pingali, S. V.; Elder, T. J.; Labbé, N. “Atomic Level Interactions and Suprastructural Configuration of Plant Cell Wall Polymers in Dialkylimidazolium Ionic Liquids” Biomacromolecules 2023, 24, 2164. DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00047
Wenger, L.E.; Shawver, N.M.; Koby, R.F.; Brennessel, W.W.; Long, B.K.; Hanusa, T.P. “Heteroleptic Aluminum Allyls as Initiators for Lactide Polymerization” Organometallics 2022, 41, 3718. DOI: 10.1021/acs.organomet.2c00482
Shawver, N.M.; Doerr, A.M.; Long, B. K. “A perspective on redox-switchable ring-opening polymerization” J. Polym. Sci. 2022, 1. DOI: 10.1002/pol.20220585
Kaiser, J.M.; Burroughs, J.M.; Long, B. K. “Development of Photoinduced Initiation of Olefin Polymerization and its Application” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 21206. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c08548
*Featured in Nature 611, 638 (2022), DOI: 10.1038/d41586-022-03709-1
Workman, C.E.; Cawthon, B.; Brady, N. G.; Bruce, B. D.; Long, B. K. “Effects of Esterified Styrene-Maleic Acid Copolymer Degradation on Integral Membrane Protein Extraction” Biomacromolecules 2022, 23, 4749. DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00928
O’Connell, C.E.; Sabury, S.; Jenkins, J.E.; Collier, G.S.; Sumpter, B.G.; Long, B.K.; Kilbey II, S.M. “Highly Fluorescent Purine-Containing Conjugated Copolymers with Tailored Optoelectronic Properties” Polym. Chem. 2022, 13, 4921. DOI: 10.1039/d2py00545j
Wang, X.‡; Wilson, T. J. ‡; Maroon, C.R.; Laub, J.A.; Rheingold, S.E.; Vogiatzis, K.D.; Long, B. K. “Vinyl-Addition Fluoroalkoxysilyl-Substituted Polynorbornene Membranes for CO2/CH4 Separation” ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2022, 4, 7976. DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.1c01833
‡ These authors contributed equally
Doerr, A.M.; Curry, M.R.; Chapleski, R.C.; Burroughs, J.M.; Lander, E.K.; Roy, S.; Long, B. K. “Redox Potential as a Predictor of Polyethylene Branching Using Nickel α-Diimine Catalysts” ACS Catalysis 2022, 12, 73. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c03646
Wang, X.; Jeong, Y. L.; Love, C.; Stretz, H.; Stein, G.E.; Long, B. K. “Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Vinyl-addition Polynorbornenes with Tunable Thermal Properties” Polym. Chem. 2021, 12, 5831. DOI: 10.1039/D1PY01050F
Brady, N. G.; Workman, C. E.; Cawthon, B.; Bruce, B. D.; Long, B. K. “Protein Extraction Efficiency and Selectivity of Esterified Styrene–Maleic Acid Copolymers in Thylakoid Membranes” Biomacromolecules 2021, 22, 2544. DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.1c00274
Wang, X.‡; Wilson, T. J.‡; Alentiev, D.; Gringolts, M.; Finkelshtein, E.; Bermeshev, M.; Long, B. K. “Substituted polynorbornene membranes: a modular template for targeted gas separations” Polym. Chem. 2021, 12, 2947. DOI: 10.1039/D1PY00278C
‡ These authors contributed equally
Koby, R. F.; Doerr, A. M.; Rightmire, N. R.; Schley, N. D.; Brennessel, W. W.; Long, B. K.; Hanusa, T. P. “Mechanochemical Formation, Solution Rearrangements, and Catalytic Behavior of a Polymorphic Ca/K Allyl Complex” Chem. Eur. J. 2021, 27, 8195. DOI: 10.1002/chem.202100589