Themed collection Polymer Chemistry Most Popular 2025 Articles

A concise overview of soft-templated ordered mesoporous carbon films is provided, discussing the key morphology-specific aspects of their synthesis, characterization and applications.

This review highlights the integration of smart, stimuli-responsive polymers with 3D printing to enable advanced applications. It discusses material design, printing strategies, and emerging opportunities for adaptive, multifunctional systems.

Controlled coordination polymerization of olefins and 1,3-dienes enables macromolecular engineering and, in particular, the design of new thermoplastic elastomers with high mechanical properties.

This review aims to guide polymer chemists in adopting enzymatic catalysis for sustainable polymer synthesis, highlighting enzymes as powerful tools.

AI-driven polymer science: a structured perspective on integrating machine learning for data analysis, property prediction, and automated research workflows.

Ionogels with novel properties draw inspiration from the outstanding covalent designs of hydrogels and covalent adaptable networks.

π-Conjugated polymers containing heavier group 13 elements are emerging materials applicable to optoelectronic devices and inorganic synthesis. This review presents an overview of synthesis and optical properties of these polymers.

Poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (SMAnh) is a petroleum-based copolymer that finds utility in both industrial and academic fields. Well-defined bioderived alternatives to SMAnh were synthesized via RAFT-mediated copolymerization.

The straightforward incorporation of labile β-amino ester moieties into the main backbone of industrially relevant thermoplastic polyurethane allows for a catalyst-free synthesis and chemical degradation under mild conditions.

Polymerization-induced microphase separation (PIMS) is a versatile technique for manufacturing nanostructured materials.

Fully biobased thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) via RAFT polymerization with terpenoid methacrylates glassy blocks. Demonstrating the efficacy in producing high-performance, sustainable TPEs offering a viable alternative to conventional TPE materials.

A bio-based benzoxazine resin with balanced performance was synthesized based on a “rigid conjugated dynamic dihydrazone bond + bio-based synergy” strategy.

Using poly(α-L-lysine)-based polycationic/polyzwitterionic polymers as the outermost layer of a 5-layer SMIL capillary coating, the EOF for CE separation of proteins can be precisely controlled by adjusting the degree of functionalization.

Poly((−)-dihydrocarvide) is synthesized via yttrium-mediated ring-opening polymerization. Block copolymerization and functionalization yield semi-crystalline and brush polymers, highlighting its versatility in copolymer design.

Carotenoids are ideal building blocks for degradable π-conjugated polymers due to their intrinsic single-molecule conductance and well-documented degradation pathways.

The abundance of glycerol associated with biofuel production makes it an interesting substrate for a variety of new molecules. Partly generated with AI.

Disulfide-based epoxy vitrimers enable full relaxation without excess amine. Introducing up to 32% non-dynamic epoxy enhances material properties while maintaining dynamic features like repairability, recyclability, and reprocessability.

α-Lipoic acid, and its ester ethyl lipoate, were copolymerised with n-butyl acrylate and a crosslinker to install labile disulfide bonds within the strands of the resulting polymer networks enabling their degradation, reformation and self-healing.

Amphiphilic polymer conetworks were mechanically reinforced with a combination of peptide blocks and cellulose nanocrystals, resulting in transparent, water-swellable and hexane-swellable gels with excellent mechanical properties.

Multifunctional dithiolane monomers were prepared, polymerized, printed across multiple length scales, and recycled.

A radical promoted cationic reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of various vinyl ethers under NIR light was developed and applied in photocuring.

A self-driving laboratory, combining automated synthesis, characterisation, and cloud-based AI, was developed to optimise the synthesis of polymer nanoparticles by RAFT dispersion polymerisation.

A modular approach to install functional chain-end groups through a redox-responsive disulfide linkage is utilized to fabricate a targeted delivery system using self-assembly.

A polymethylene with cage silsesquioxane in the side chain was synthesized to suppress crystallization via a densely tethered structure. Unlike its polyacrylate counterpart, which formed a turbid film, this polymer gave a clear, uniform film.

By implementing a sulfur-substitution approach, the resulting polythioester P(tCL) exhibited excellent chemical recyclability and high-performance properties such as high crystallinity, excellent gas barrier, and polyolefin-like mechanical property.