History CMPW PAN

The Centre for Polymer and Carbon Materials of the Polish Academy of Sciences was established on 1 January 2007 as a result of the merger of the Centre of Polymer Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Zabrze and the Department of Carbochemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gliwice – institutions of the Polish Academy of Sciences, which have been working on the production and study of the properties of macromolecular polymer and carbon materials for years.

The history of both institutions dates back to 1954, when the first chemical branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Silesia, i.e. the Petrochemistry Laboratory of the Department of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, headed by Professor Włodzimierz Kisielow, was established in Gliwice.

Fot.3 Professor Zbigniew Jedliński

Fot.4 Building of the Polymer Plant in Zabrze

In the early 1990s, the research topics of the Department of Carbon Chemistry gradually changed towards research on various types of carbon materials and new polymer materials with controlled structure. Materials research topics dominated the Department of Carbon Chemistry until it merged with the Centre of Polymer Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where research work of both basic and applied nature included synthesis, structure, properties and possibilities of using new polymers. This research focused on biodegradable polymers for applications in medicine, the packaging industry and environmental protection, as well as bioresorbable polymers for medical purposes, mainly as drug carriers. In 1998, the Department of Solid State Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences was incorporated into the Centre of Polymer Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, which enabled the extension of the scope of research conducted at the Centre to new polymers with potential applications in electronics and optoelectronics. The growing importance of interdisciplinary research, using the achievements of various scientific disciplines and creating new directions of science and technology, has resulted in the establishments that in the past separated from one research institution to focus on the development of separate fields of science, being merged in 2007 into the Centre for Polymer and Carbon Materials of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The newly established facility conducts interdisciplinary research, combining elements of chemistry, physics, biology and medicine. It includes research on the synthesis of new polymer materials with controlled structure and their application in the construction of nano- and microdevices, in the processes of selective transport and controlled release of biologically active substances, in the construction of materials for optoelectronics and molecular electronics, as well as research on the technology of applying thin layers, the synthesis of nanomaterials and porous carbon materials with specific thermal, electrical and mechanical properties, and the production of polymer materials from renewable raw materials and biodegradable materials. This work is consistent with the research priorities of the European Union in the areas that form the foundations of a modern knowledge-based economy.

Since 1 January 2011, the Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Zabrze has been an institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences.