Themed collection Pioneering Investigators 2023

Professor Holger Frey and Professor Emily Pentzer introduce the 2023 Polymer Chemistry Pioneering Investigators collection.

Xanthene-modified 1,2-dioxetane (Xa-Ad) derivatives were designed and synthesized using a facile protocol, and their mechanical activity was identified for the first time to the best of our knowledge.

Constant current electrolysis of acrylamide copolymers promotes a mild and efficient electrochemical Hofmann rearrangement transforming the primary amide side-chains into O-methyl carbamate side-chains in methanol.

We report the synthesis and 3D printing of mechanically robust ketoenamine-crosslinked polyrotaxane hydrogels. These hydrogels are tagged with molecular probes to show fluorescent emission changes upon compression.

An oxygen tolerant, eosin Y/TEMED mediated, photoinduced polymerization approach was optimized to graft hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and responsive polymers from protein macroinitiators, avoiding conventional metal catalysts.

S,N-Heteroacene-type fused tetrathienophenanthroline monomer was synthesized via intramolecular cyclization, an alternative to the raditional benzodithiophene-4,8-dione units in high-performance photovoltaic materials.

Mediated by a bis-Zn catalyst, poly(lactic acid)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) diblock copolymers can be modified via controlled transesterification, leading to diverse copolymer structures.

A direct comparison between ROCOP and polycondensation to produce polyesters was made using PES, by evaluating the monomer preprocessing, polymerization technique, post-processing, and the properties of the produced polyesters.

We have demonstrated the successful transition from photoinitiated RAFT emulsion polymerization to photoinitiated RAFT dispersion polymerization by solely changing the solvent composition from water to water/ethanol.

Using crystallization-driven polymer assemblies in non-halogenated solvents allows for precise control of the 3D morphology of the photoactive layer, thus improving the efficiency and stability of all-polymer solar cells.

Ladder polymers with highly saturated backbones are prepared using a photoredox-catalyzed radical cation Diels–Alder polymerization.

The addition of a small amount of PLO to PLA by melt processing leads to a decrease in the PLA's Tg, Tm and degree of crystallinity as well as a remarkable increase in PLA films flexibility. The strong interactions between PLO and PLA is unveiled.

We report the synthesis and characterization of PS-b-PVA block copolymers (BCPs) with tailorable PVA block lengths via RAFT polymerization of an aromatic organoborane comonomer BN 2-vinylnaphthalene (BN2VN).

The thermoresponsive behaviour of poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) can be tuned when the polymer is placed in an aqueous-two phase system.

Thiol–ene photo-crosslinked poly-ε-caprolactone networks, exhibiting varying network architectures, were employed to fine-tune physico-chemical characteristics, while simultaneously exploring their potential application in digital light processing.

This contribution reports the development of a new and stable frustrated Lewis pair catalyst which is general for efficient/controlled polymerizations of inert biomass-derived acrylic monomers.

On-demand photoactivation of dynamic transesterification in cross-linked thiol–ene polymers manufactured by digital light processing 3D printing.

Garlic essential oil (GEO) was used as the monomer, solvent and initiator to form adhesives. Analysis of GEO and the resulting polysulfide properties improved our understanding of poly(GEO) providing a route to develop renewable, S-based materials.

In this article, we described a new group of cationic photoinitiators.

Schematic illustration of nitrile-induced molecules enabling balance between NIR-II FLI and PTT/PAI.

Oxygen-tolerant, alkylborane initiated RAFT has a partial order rate dependence of 1 for the acid concentration, supporting a homolytic substitution mechanism, and can be conducted with diminished deblocker concentrations when using stronger acids.

Two new poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline)-b-poly(2-methyl-2-oxazine) were prepared to investigate the relationship between total degree of polymerisation and heat-induced CDSA kinetics to prepare length-controlled biocompatible rod-shaped nanoparticles.

An artificial neural network model is described which is capable of predicting reactivity ratios in radical copolymerization solely based on monomer chemical structures. It outperforms classical approaches, enabling prediction without kinetic data.

Direct heteroarylation polymerization (DHAP) has been achieved for P(NDI2OD-T2) with a consistent molar mass using a modified A-B-A monomer and a recyclable heterogeneous SiliaCat Pd-DPP catalyst, for up to four consecutive reuses.

Donor–acceptor materials containing tris(triazolo)triazine (TTT) acceptors have recently gained attention as green to deep-blue fluorophores exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF).

We report the preparation of thermoresponsive block copolymers via the simultaneous RAFT polymerization and anionic ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of N-isopropylacylamide and ε-caprolactone respectively, in the absence of traditional solvents.

3D printing technologies can address many sustainability aspects of creating new materials, such as reduced waste and on demand production, which reduces the carbon footprint of transport and storage.

Polymer brush-grafted cellulose nanocrystals can be used as rod-like nanoreactors to produce carbon-coated titania nanocomposites for battery anodes.

A metal-free B(C₆F₅)₃-catalyzed step-growth polymerization strategy is developed for the synthesis of fluorescent poly(silyl indole)s with novel polymeric frameworks through the regioselective dehydrogenation silylation of indoles.