Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xin Liu, Lili Wang, Ivan Gitsov
Summary: This study introduces the first enzyme-mediated polymerization of dendritic macromonomers. The enzyme substrates, prepared by click conjugation, are defect-free and polymerize into dendronized polymers under benign conditions catalyzed by laccase, forming amphiphilic denpols that self-assemble in aqueous solutions with generation-dependent morphologies.
Article
Polymer Science
Xin Wang, Yichen Sun, Xing-Qi Yao, Yan Xu, Jianbo Wang
Summary: A simple and efficient strategy was developed to access diverse end-functionalized polymers using diazoacetates as a new terminating agent in living ring-opening metathesis polymerization. This strategy allows for the rapid introduction of specific functionalities at the chain end and enables various postpolymerization modifications.
Article
Polymer Science
Xin Wang, Yichen Sun, Xing-Qi Yao, Yan Xu, Jianbo Wang
Summary: In this study, a simple and efficient strategy using diazoacetates as terminating agents was reported to access diverse end-functionalized polymers from a living ring-opening metathesis polymerization process. The chain-end ruthenium carbenes react with diazoacetates to form a C=C bond, leading to the rapid construction of a unique alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl motif at more than 95% of the chain end within 5 minutes. Various easily accessible and diversely substituted diazoacetates could be employed to introduce additional useful functionalities at the polymer chain end. Diverse postpolymerization modifications, including Michael addition, click reaction, and chain extension, were also demonstrated.
Article
Polymer Science
Ke Wang, Jialu Zhang, Meiyu Si, Zilong Wang, Liru An, Guiyan Liu, Yongfei Zeng
Summary: A series of temperature/pH/CO2/redox-quadruple-responsive ferrocene-containing homopolymers were synthesized and their responsive behavior and self-assembly properties were investigated. These homopolymers exhibited excellent response and modulation performance under multiple stimuli, offering great potential for various applications.
Article
Polymer Science
Yanyao Zhang, Yusheng Tang, Junliang Zhang, Simon Harrisson
Summary: The fluorescence properties of the copolymer can be adjusted by rationally designing the copolymer structure. The asymmetric diblock copolymer shows a gradual increase in fluorescent intensity as the environmental pH decreases, in contrast to the limited and stepwise change of its symmetric block counterpart.
Article
Polymer Science
Toshiki Sonoda, Shingo Kobayashi, Masaru Tanaka
Summary: The successful utilization of regioselective ring-opening metathesis polymerization to synthesize polymers modified with tertiary amino groups has demonstrated unique properties in hydration, crystallization, and coating stability under physiological aqueous environment.
Article
Polymer Science
Erika L. Calubaquib, Pooneh Soltantabar, Hanghang Wang, Heejin Shin, Alfonso Flores, Michael C. Biewer, Mihaela C. Stefan
Summary: Amphiphilic homopolymers capable of self-assembly into micelles in a polar environment were studied, including non-ionic poly(gamma-oligo(ethylene glycol)-epsilon-caprolactone) homopolymers and a novel poly(N-dodecyl-N-(2-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl)-7-oxoxepane-4-carboxamide) homopolymer. These self-assembling homopolymers exhibited thermoresponsivity and were explored for drug encapsulation, showing promise for a wide range of applications, especially in the biomedical field.
Article
Polymer Science
Wangmeng Hou, Xiuzhe Yin, Yao Chen, Jianzhong Du, Yongming Chen, Yi Shi
Summary: A novel aqueous ring-opening metathesis polymerization method named ME-ROMP is proposed. It involves injecting a small amount of a CH2Cl2 solution of the Grubbs' third-generation catalyst into the aqueous solution of water-soluble monomers, allowing high efficiency and controlled polymerization without deoxygenation. This method enables the synthesis of well-defined water-soluble polynorbornenes with various compositions and architectures.
Article
Polymer Science
Sergey Khatuntsev, Anastasiia Fanova, Petr Fetin, Leonid I. Kaberov, Nina Girbasova, Alexey A. Lezov, Ivan Zorin, Alexander Bilibin
Summary: In this study, dumbbell-like linear-dendritic copolymers based on polyethylene glycols with aspartic dendrons were synthesized. The ionic complexes of these oppositely charged copolymers exhibited self-assembly in water and methanol and formed gels in low polar solvents. Various characterization techniques indicated a lamellar structure of the PEG-copolymer complexes, with the thickness, degree of order, and crystallinity of the PEG microphase determined by the structure of the branched block.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Indradip Mandal, Ankita Mandal, Md Atiur Rahman, Andreas F. M. Kilbinger
Summary: In this study, the metathesis activity of conjugated 1,3 diene derivatives in ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using Grubbs' 3rd generation catalyst (G3) was investigated. Monosubstituted 1,3 dienes showed similar reactivities towards G3-alkylidenes as norbornene derivatives, making them suitable for chain transfer agents in catalytic ROMP. This unprecedented reactivity allowed for the synthesis of mono-end-functional poly(norborneneimide)s on a large scale. Additionally, more complex architectures such as star-shaped polymers could be synthesized catalytically via ROMP. This method was also utilized for the synthesis of ROMP block copolymers and ROMP-PEG diblock copolymer.
Article
Polymer Science
Ryota Sujita, Sahori Imai, Makoto Ouchi, Hiroyuki Aoki, Takaya Terashima
Summary: By utilizing microphase separation, we have successfully achieved the creation of sub-4 nm lamellar structures in cationic polymers. These materials exhibit controllable domain spacing and can maintain stable lamellar structures at high temperatures.
Article
Polymer Science
Tianqi Zhang, Xuelin Sui, Will R. Gutekunst
Summary: This report discusses the use of enyne-containing branching agents in synthesizing star and miktoarm star polymers through a convergent synthesis pathway using ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). By introducing these agents into a living ROMP, control over the degree of polymerization of the star arms, the number of star arms, and chain extension can be achieved to produce functional asymmetric miktoarm star polymers.
Article
Polymer Science
Ke Wang, Qi Liu, Ganghui Lu, Yi Zhang, Yuanhong Zhou, Siqi Chen, Qian Ma, Guiyan Liu, Yongfei Zeng
Summary: The research synthesized a novel acid-labile temperature-responsive homopolymer with unique dissolution temperature characteristics and prepared an acid-induced phase transition copolymer, providing new ideas for the design of multi-stimuli responsive polymers.
Article
Polymer Science
Hao Zhang, Zhou Zhou, Xiaofan Chen, Bo Yu, Zhenyang Luo, Xiang Li, Md Anisur Rahman, Ye Sha
Summary: Sequence-controlled organometallic polymers with side-chain metal functions such as ferrocene and ruthenocene have been prepared through regioselective ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). The properties of these polymers can be finely tailored by the metallocene sequence along the polymer chain, providing fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationship. This highly efficient chain-growth polymerization is expected to incorporate a variety of metal moieties into a single organometallic polymer for potential applications in electrochemical sensing, information processing, and magnetic materials.
Article
Polymer Science
Emmanouil Vereroudakis, Ki-Taek Bang, Maria Karouzou, Antonela Ananiadou, Jinkyung Noh, Tae-Lim Choi, Benoit Loppinet, George Floudas, Dimitris Vlassopoulos
Summary: Dendronized polymers (denpols) are investigated for their structure and dynamics, revealing no entanglement for fourth and fifth generations in the melt. Stress relaxation analysis shows different modes of dendron interpenetration and backbone motion, with third generation denpols exhibiting a unique viscoelastic relaxation spectrum. The interplay of dendron interdigitation and backfolding influences the terminal relaxation time, highlighting the complexity of thick polymers in polymer dynamics research.