Themed collection Polymer Chemistry Most Popular 2021

This review critically addresses the most relevant and innovative techniques for obtaining polymers from tannins.

The introduction of dynamic covalent and physical crosslinks into diolefin-based elastomers improves mechanical and self-healing properties. The presence of dynamic crosslinks also helps in the reprocessing of elastomers.

Oxygenated block copolymers with biodegradable polyester segments can be prepared in one-pot through sequential or simultaneous addition of monomers. This review highlights the state of the art in this area.

Synthetic transformation of D-xylose into a four-membered cyclic ether allows for reactions with CO₂ leading to linear polycarbonates by either ring-opening copolymerisation directly or by isolation of a six-membered cyclic carbonate followed by ring-opening polymerisation.

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

“Secondary electron hyperspectral imaging (SEHI) is an innovative SEM-based analysis tool allowing spatially-resolved chemical analysis beyond elemental composition”.

Here we describe how different symmetries of RAFT agent act after growth. Asymmetric networks showed a pore-filling behaviour, while symmetric networks underwent mesh-expansion.

Partly bio-based thermoplastic poly(cycloacetal-urethane)s synthesized and melt-spun into textile fibres that can be potentially chemically recycled.

Metered additions of chain transfer agents are used to control molecular weight distribution (MWD) features in reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerizations, giving polymers with tailored MWD shapes and dispersities as high as 6.2.

Shape complementarity between polymers is a hallmark of biological systems (e.g. DNA base pairing and protein binding interactions). Here we explore the role of shape complementarity between sequence-defined N-alkyl peptoids in crystal lattices.

Photo-liberated amines for N-carboxyanhydride (PLANCA) ring-opening polymerization affords narrow molecular weights, chain-end retention, and the formation of block copolypeptides.

Biocompatible graft copolymers from bacterial poly(γ-glutamic acid) and poly(lactic acid) are realized using a “grafting to” approach combined with click chemistry.

Citric acid-based carbon dots (CDs) as nano-photoinitiating catalysts for 3D printing.

An online database created and curated by an IUPAC subcommittee is introduced.

Not only cross-linked structures but also a promoting effect on morphology transition has been observed during the in situ cross-linking PISA by RAFT dispersion copolymerization of 2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate and cystaminebismethacrylamide.

The key effects of polyethylene glycol units as a unique secondary coordination sphere in α-diimine Ni(II)-mediated ethylene polymerization are comprehensively disclosed.

Polyacrylamides glass transition temperature predictions from different models, where the GPR model is from the current study. The GPR model based on quantum chemical descriptors shows a high degree of accuracy.

A sulfonated perylene-based adsorbent is prepared for photo-enhanced uranium extraction from seawater. Owing to the photo-enhanced effect, the uranium extraction capacity of PyB-SO₃H in seawater reaches 1989 mg g⁻¹, with 90% extraction efficiency.

Benzoxazines with thioamide linkages were successfully prepared by the Willgerodt–Kindler route.

Iterative ATRAs and ADMET polymerization enabled the synthesis of sequence-regulated vinyl polymers without statistical distribution of monomer compositions and sequences.