From macromonomers to bottlebrush copolymers with sequence control: synthesis, properties, and applications

Abstract

Bottlebrush polymers (BBPs) are a type of comb-like macromolecule with densely grafted polymeric sidechains attached to the polymer backbones, and many intriguing properties and applications have been demonstrated due to their unique architecture. Moreover, a ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) technique using Grubbs catalysts allows a precise control of various structural parameters in BBPs, such as the sidechain length, backbone length, and sidechain microstructures. This review mainly highlights recent advances of BBPs prepared by ROMP, from synthesis efforts to properties and applications.