Sezer Özenler

I am a polymer chemist working on functional polymer architectures to translate molecular design into function. My work focuses on soft materials on solid substrates through surface chemistry, solid polymer electrolytes, and single-chain polymeric nanoparticles (SCPNs) for sensing platforms, Li-ion batteries, and biomedical applications. During my PhD at İzmir Institute of Technology, I developed surface-assisted polymerization strategies, including an isocyanate–gold interaction-based approach to construct a polyurethane brush, along with polythiophene nanowires on a gold substrate, electroactive nanogels, and gradient polymer coatings. As a visiting researcher at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, I investigated the self-assembly of porphyrin and cationic polythiophene systems. At the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, I expanded my work into solid polymer electrolytes based on acrylate-derived polymeric ionic liquids for lithium-ion batteries, focusing on the interplay between ionic conductivity and mechanical stability. Currently, I develop modular post-functionalized polyesters as a degradable and traceable SCPN platform for drug delivery at Eindhoven University of Technology.