Themed collection Polymer Chemistry 15th anniversary regional spotlight collection: Europe

A selection of dynamic chemistries is highlighted, with a focus on the reaction mechanisms of molecular network rearrangements, and on how mechanistic profiles can be related to the mechanical and physicochemical properties of polymer materials.

In this mini-review, we discuss multi-stimuli-responsive polymers, which exhibit upper critical solution temperature (UCST) behavior mainly in aqueous solutions, and focus on examples where counter ions, electricity, light, or pH influence the thermoresponsiveness of these polymers.

Innovative polymers with redox properties are highlighted in this manuscript together with their actual applications in the energy, materials science and biomedical fields.

The position of the monomers within the polymer chain and the 3D structure of the polymer affect the thermoresponsive properties.

In this review we describe advances in the design of self-immolative linkers and their application in polymeric reporting systems.

We explore the design and synthesis of hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering from the perspective of the underlying polymer chemistry. The key polymers, properties and architectures used, and their effect on tissue growth are discussed.

Chemical recycling of plastics offers a green method to deal with plastic waste. In this review, we highlight the recent advances made by applying organocatalysts to chemically degrade polymers as a promising tool to reach a circular plastic economy.

A comprehensive survey of the recent developments of metal-based catalysts for the ROcoP of lactide with another lactone is presented.

This review surveys relevant scientific papers and patents on the development of crosslinked epoxies and also photo-curable polymers based on multifunctional acrylates with improved toughness.

The ongoing research activities in the field of lignocellulosic biomass for production of value-added chemicals and polymers that can be utilized to replace petroleum-based materials are reviewed.

The integration of several responsive moieties within one polymer yields smart polymers exhibiting a multifaceted responsive behaviour.

The present review is concerned with catalytic reactions that can help to transform carbohydrates and vegetable oils into biodegradable materials.

In this review, recent developments in controlled polymerisation techniques which can be used to improve and tailor the properties of polymer therapeutics are highlighted. In particular, alternatives to PEG based systems are emphasised.

This paper highlights the well-established routes and recent advances in the end group modification of polymers synthesised by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation.

Eosin Y is used as a photocatalyst for the acceleration of the depolymerization of polymethacrylates.

The customized fabrication of soft active devices with self-healing function is demonstrated by 3D printing with vitrimeric thiol–acrylate photopolymers.

A dual-dynamic bio-based epoxy building block (DDBB) with both imine and disulfide bonds synthesized from cystamine and vanillin showed accelerated dynamic exchanges in disulfide vitrimer formulations.

The usefulness of seven different tin catalysts, bismuth subsalicylate and titan tetra(ethoxide) for the polycondensation of ethyl L-lactate (ELA) was examined at 150 °C for 6 d.

An artificially intelligent flow-reactor platform equipped with online NMR and GPC enables autonomous polymerisation optimisation utilising a machine learning algorithm to map the trade-off between monomer conversion and dispersity.

Polarity-induced effects in dynamic covalent polyimine CANs were studied, revealing a three-step stress relaxation process.

This paper reports the development of the first vitrimer based on polybenzoxazines containing disulfide bonds and cardanol.

Uniformly dispersed iron oxide–cellulose ferromagnetic nanocomposites were successfully obtained by ultrasonication, as a clean and energy-saving method.

The effect of crosslinker, functional monomer and extraction on the long-term performance and degradation of molecularly imprinted polymers was investigated through adsorption studies, NMR, SEM, TGA and BET.

Network-coordinated Zn²⁺ ions activate carbonyls, promote alkoxides and hold reactants close to each other for transesterification.

Disulfide crosslinks introduced into an ENR matrix enable the thermo-activated reprocessing of the chemically crosslinked rubber, studied in terms of stress relaxation and adhesion experiments.

Copper-mediated radical polymerization of acrylates was carried out in micro- and milliscale UV continuous flow reactors in the absence of conventional photoinitiators.

New thermoset systems based on disulfide bonds were synthesized with self-healing capabilities.

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) based on electron-withdrawing 1,3,5-triazine nodes show surface areas of up to 995 m² g^¬1, enhanced carbon dioxide uptakes compared to non-triazine CMPs, and optical band gaps that can be engineered by copolymerization.

A new photoinitiating system able to generate both a radical and a cation as an initiating species is presented.

The polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) at low temperatures is controlled and allows the synthesis of a variety of well-defined polypetides.