With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Jeffrey Pyun and Professor Jon Njardarson from the University of Arizona (UA) will develop and advance novel synthetic methods to prepare monomers and polymers using deuterium chemistry. Deuterium is a naturally occurring stable isotope of hydrogen, the incorporation of which into polymers has the potential to create a revolutionary class of plastic optics with vastly improved transparency across the visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) spectrum. Currently, there remains a critical need in US defense and consumer sectors (automotive and construction) for low cost, optical glass materials that are transparent across the VIS-IR spectrum. State-of-the-art systems solely rely on heavy, expensive inorganic materials and would tremendously benefit from the creation of an alternative, low cost, light-weight plastic optical material. Hence, the UA team will explore new deuteration chemistry to prepare novel molecules and polymeric materials with the highly desirable combination of high transparency across the VIS-IR spectrum, lightweight, and robust mechanical properties over a range of temperatures. The broader impacts of the project are significant as the technological impacts of this work are far reaching, benefiting US defense systems reliant on IR optical systems, along with the pharmaceutical and nuclear energy sectors that are already heavily invested in new deut