Themed collection Chemistry of polymers - Chemical Science symposium collection

Resolving the anonymity of plastic materials is critical for safeguarding the well-being of our natural environments and human health.

Terms used for mechanisms of polymer growth are varied and problematic; we detail here our concerns with the terms “step-growth” and “chain-growth.” Ultimately, we seek terms that are simple, accurate, and attractive to the polymer community.

Light-driven synthetic techniques have revolutionized polymer–biomacromolecule conjugation. This Perspective discusses the benefits of photochemistry for polymer–protein ligation and considerations when designing a new light-driven conjugation approach.

Conjugated polymer (CP) microstructure plays a crucial role in determining the characteristics of a target device. Here, we provide an overview of the key aspects of the CP microstructure-property relationship carried out in our group.

This review summarizes recent progress in smart multicompartment particles based on PVP-containing block copolymers, including their preparation strategies, properties, and applications.

Demonstrated is the successful A₂ + B₂ RAFT step-growth polymerization of bis-acrylamides. The synthesized poly(acrylamides) can be degraded by simply adding excess ethanolamine or PBu₃.

Halogen-bonded (XB) supramolecular polymers from two heteroditopic, emissive hydroxyquinoline-based structural isomers displayed distinctly different crystal packing & stimuli-responsive morphologies, due to the varying XB directionality & strength.

A series of poly(ester-b-carbonate) electrolytes are prepared by a one-pot procedure and structure–property relationships are observed. The polymer was used as a composite cathode binder with excellent discharge capacity and capacity retention.

An efficient type I zwitterionic photosensitizer MPD-O was constructed by an oxidization strategy, providing a new guideline for the development of AIE-active type I photosensitizers.

Radical ring-opening copolymerization of isoprene and dibenzo[c,e]oxepane-5-thione via free-radical and controlled radical polymerizations led to degradable polyisoprene under basic, oxidative and physiological conditions with application to prodrug nanoparticles.

Fully oxygen-tolerant photoinduced atom transfer radical polymerization (photo-ATRP) allowed the synthesis of well-defined polymers using a Cu catalyst and eosin Y at ppm levels in both aqueous and organic media.

A loading efficiency of up to 86% is achieved for silica nanoparticles encapsulated within crosslinkable redox-sensitive thermoresponsive diblock copolymer vesicles in water at 50 °C; triggered release is also demonstrated for this system.

A heterodinuclear Al(III)/K(I) organometallic ring-opening copolymerization catalyst shows exceptional rates, end-group selectivity and good loading tolerance to deliver monodisperse polyesters with molar masses up to 91 kg mol⁻¹.

Chain extension of linear AB diblock copolymer vesicles by seeded RAFT aqueous dispersion polymerization using a hydrophilic monomer C leads to polymerization-induced disassembly to form lower-order thermoresponsive ABC triblock copolymer nano-objects.

The use of a Cu cathode in eATRP allows exploiting the synergistic effect between electrochemical and chemical stimuli to halt or accelerate polymerizations, reduce energy consumption and achieve control in challenging systems.

A membrane-targeting photosensitizer TBMPEI with AIE properties was synthesized via a new acceptor, and it was utilized as a necroptosis inducer during imaging-guided photodynamic therapy.

Carbon dioxide-based multiblock polymers are synthesised, in one-pot, from a mixture of monomers using a highly selective and active heterodinuclear Co(II)Mg(II) catalyst.

Synthetic chemists have spent considerable effort optimizing the synthesis of nitrogen and oxygen containing compounds through a number of methods; however, direct introduction of N- and O-functionality remains challenging.

We predict that the orientationally-averaged Young's modulus of mmen–Zn₂(dobpdc) increases by 112% compared to Zn₂(dobpdc), a remarkable increase.

A series of aromatic polythioamides with high gold extraction efficiency and high refractive index have been synthesized through the KOH-assisted multicomponent polymerization of elemental sulfur, aromatic diamines and aromatic dialdehydes.

In this contribution, the influence of regioisomerism in covalent dynamic polymer materials is discussed and highlighted for light-stabilised dynamic materials, which motivated the development of a completely regioselective bonding/debonding system.

We develop a series of poly(triarylamine)-based polymers with hydrophilic OEG side chains. The DEG-PTAA-based perovskite solar cell shows the highest efficiency of 22.26% with superior operational stability to the other devices.

Aqueous emulsion copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 5,6-benzo-2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane (BMDO) leads to stable particles of PMMA bearing in-chain ester units that can be cleaved under basic conditions.

An ink based on azodyes is presented, allowing fabrication of light activatable 4D shape memory geometries with spatiotemporal response control.

Aqueous formulations of self-assemblies containing the nucleobase analogue 2,6-diacylaminopyridine have been obtained by seeded RAFT polymerization in water with different morphologies depending on the polymerization conditions.

A 500 nm charge-stabilized latex is converted into 40 nm sterically-stabilized nanoparticles via reverse sequence polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA).

Efficient exchange of Br in iron-catalyzed ATRP in anisole provided well-controlled polymers with low dispersity as opposed to the Cl-based initiating system, which resulted in large dispersities due to the slower activation/deactivation with Cl.

The role of anion character in the photostationary state, magnitude of conductivity, and light-responsive properties of diarylethene-containing polymeric ionic liquids was investigated.

Radical ring-opening copolymerization-induced self-assembly (rROPISA) was successfully applied to the synthesis of core-, surface- or surface plus core-degradable nanoparticles in heptane, leading to site-specific degradability by rROPISA.

Synergistic killing of Gram negative bacteria by polymers that disrupt bacterial membranes and translocate and precipitate cytosolic proteins and nucleic acids.

One-pot syntheses of bis-benzimidazole and bis-benzoxazole from poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste bottles were successful through two-step nucleophilic attacks promoted by TBD.

Dipolar interaction driven dimerization of a merocyanine (MC) dye has been exploited to achieve non-covalently crosslinked stable micelles in water and reverse micelles in toluene with emissive properties from a MC-pendant amphiphilic block copolymer.

We describe the development of a technique to transfer micrometer patterns of organic thin films with sub-50 nm edge resolution and sub-20 nm pattern fidelity.

We explore and comment on a key development using advanced mass spectrometric methods coupled with advanced algorithmic learning that can assist in analysing complex copolymers.