Facile synthesis and versatile topological transformation of mono-cleavable symmetric starlike terpolymers

Abstract

A straightforward strategy involving a RAFT process and ring-opening polymerization was used to construct symmetric reduction-responsive amphiphilic A_2mB_2nC₂ (m ≈ n ≈ 3) starlike terpolymers with precise microstructure, which could be efficiently converted into thiol-functionalized telechelic stars, degraded A_mB_nC miktoarm stars and comblike-linear multiblock copolymers via postmodification.