Javier Read de Alaniz

About

Javier Read de Alaniz is a Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California Santa Barbara and serves as the Director of BioPACIFIC MIP. He was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and completed his B.S. degree at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, in 1999, where he conducted undergraduate research under Professor William R. Bartlett. He earned his Ph.D. in 2006 at Colorado State University under Professor Tomislav Rovis, focusing on asymmetric catalysis. Following his doctoral studies, he worked in total synthesis with Professor Larry E. Overman at the University of California, Irvine, before beginning his independent career at UCSB in 2009. His research interests encompass a broad spectrum of fundamental and applied chemistry, including the development of new synthetic transformations and organic photochromic materials. His work is highly interdisciplinary, involving the functionalization of organic molecules, synthesis from non-edible biomass, development of photochromic materials, and approaches to functionalized polymers.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Polymer science
• Organic chemistry
• Polymer chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Selected publications

• Light-Mediated Synthesis and Reprocessing of Dynamic Bottlebrush Elastomers under Ambient Conditions

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2021-06-25 · 169 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  We introduce a novel grafting-through polymerization strategy to synthesize dynamic bottlebrush polymers and elastomers in one step using light to construct a disulfide-containing backbone. The key starting material-α-lipoic acid (LA)-is commercially available, inexpensive, and biocompatible. When installed on the chain end(s) of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), the cyclic disulfide unit derived from LA polymerizes under ultraviolet (UV) light in ambient conditions. Significantly, no additives suc…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Dynamic Bottlebrush Polymer Networks: Self-Healing in Super-Soft Materials

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2020 · 165 citations

  We introduce a design strategy to expand the range of accessible mechanical properties in covalent adaptable networks (CANs) using bottlebrush polymer building blocks. Well-defined bottlebrush polymers with rubbery poly(4-methylcaprolactone) side chains were cross-linked in formulations that include a bislactone and strong Lewis acid (tin ethylhexanoate). The resulting materials exhibit tunable stress-relaxation rates at elevated temperatures (160-180 °C) due to dynamic ester cross-links that un…

  DOI

• Chemical and Mechanical Tunability of 3D-Printed Dynamic Covalent Networks Based on Boronate Esters

  ACS Macro Letters · 2021-06-23 · 87 citations

  article

  As the scope of additive manufacturing broadens, interest has developed in 3D-printed objects that are derived from recyclable resins with chemical and mechanical tunability. Dynamic covalent bonds have the potential to not only increase the sustainability of 3D-printed objects, but also serve as reactive sites for postprinting derivatization. In this study, we use boronate esters as a key building block for the development of catalyst-free, 3D-printing resins with the ability to undergo room-te…

  PublisherDOI

• Precision Photochemistry: Every Photon Counts

  Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2025-08-04 · 22 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Photochemistry is undergoing a precision transformation. Through technological advancements, such as the advent of light emitting diodes and monochromatic lasers, chemists are now able to use photons not only as an energy source but also as a tool for directing photochemical processes with both wavelength and spatiotemporal precision. Enabled by these technologies, the discovery that photochemical action often does not align with molar extinction has catalysed the growth of the research field th…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Enhanced Degradation of Vinyl Copolymers Based on Lipoic Acid

  Journal of Polymer Science · 2025-01-17 · 22 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  ABSTRACT The introduction of degradable units into the backbone of commodity vinyl polymers represents a major opportunity to address the societal challenge of plastic waste and polymer recycling. Previously, we reported the facile copolymerization of α ‐lipoic acid derivatives containing 1,2‐dithiolane rings with vinyl monomers leading to the incorporation of degradable S–S disulfide bonds along the backbone at relatively high dithiolane monomer feed ratios. To further enhance the recyclability…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: New Advances in the Cascade Rearrangement of Furylcarbinols for Complex Molecular Synthesis

  NSF · $573k · 2011–2017

• SusChEM: Copper-Catalyzed Radical Reactions of Nitroso Compounds for the Synthesis of Carbon-Nitrogen Bonds

  NSF · $420k · 2016–2020

• New advances in cyclopentadiene based materials

  NSF · $495k · 2022–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Craig J. Hawker

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  107 shared

• Emre H. Discekici

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  44 shared

• Leoni I. Palmer

  35 shared

• Nicolas J. Treat

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  29 shared

• Neil D. Dolinski

  University of Chicago

  29 shared

• André H. St. Amant

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  27 shared

• Christopher M. Bates

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  27 shared

• In‐Hwan Lee

  Sungkyunkwan University

  26 shared

Similar researchers at University of California, Santa Barbara

• Guillermo C. Bazanh-141
• Martin Moskovitsh-108