Themed collection Polymer Chemistry Open Access Spotlight 2026

In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview on design strategies and chemistries of poly(ethylene oxide)-based solid-state electrolytes.

Here we report a facile strategy to prepare dual-dynamic networks (DDNs) comprising Diels–Alder (DA) covalent bonds and non-covalent hydrogen bonds which combine excellent mechanical properties and creep resistance with facile processability.

DNA adaptors identified by codon domains bind opposite strands of a palindromic duplex template. Reactants linked to like (3′ or 5′) adaptor termini are brought together in a constant reaction environment suitable for programmed multistep synthesis.

We report herein the living polymerization of an amphiphilic, helical aramid diblock copolymer made possible by the utilization of the reagent PHOS3.

Self-assembly of block copolymer P(BA₅₀-PDSA₅)-b-PEO₁₂₅-N₃ under variation of solvent composition, polymer concentration, and water addition rate revealed kinetic formation of diverse morphologies and indentified key parameters of shape control.

This article presents a kinetic study on the RAFT polymerisation of pentafluorostyrene as well as the subsequent precise control over the post-polymerisation modification via para-fluoro thiol reaction by virtue of continuous flow.

A designed synthetic platform enables access to poly(1,2-disulfonimide)s. Practical observations, together with theoretical insights, pave the way for disulfonimide chemistry as a foundation for next-generation high-performance polymers.

Base-assisted degradable methacrylic polymer microcapsules were synthesized via interfacial radical polymerizations using 4,4-dimethyl-2-methylene-1,3-dioxolan-5-one (DMDL) as a monomer to provide degradable units in the obtained microcapsule shell.

A cyclic xanthate is shown to undergo thiocarbonyl addition-ring-opening (TARO) homo- and copolymerization, affording a labile dithiocarbonate backbone functionality. Both C–S bonds are cleavable through aminolysis and hydrolysis.

This study reveals a radical-mediated pathway in the KCTP of glycolated thiophenes. Adding MgCl₂ suppresses inactive aggregates to promote a productive and more controlled polymerization.

The hydrazine reduction of a poly(3-methoxythiophene)–iron chloride complex, without any complication, afforded the magnetic conducting nanocomposite poly(3-methoxythiophene)/Fe₃O₄.