Themed collection Celebrating The Five-Year Anniversary of Polymer Chemistry

This review focuses on combining surface topography and surface chemical modification by the grafting of polymers to develop optimal material interfaces with synergistic properties and functions for biological and biomedical applications.

We introduce a mild photochemically driven strategy for the synthesis of fluorescent cellulose copolymers in solution using filter paper as the starting material.

RAFT dispersion polymerization (RAFTDP) is used to prepare reactive nanoparticles via the incorporation of Passerini-derived methacrylic comonomers containing pentafluorophenyl (PFP) groups.

This communication describes the fabrication of diselenide-containing supramolecular polymers.

We describe a facile synthesis of an n-butyl substituted choline phosphate monomer (MBP), and its polymerization to afford polyMBP and its copolymers. PolyMBP provides access to water-soluble choline phosphate polymers that by cell culture analysis exhibit low toxicity and immunogenicity.

This communication describes supramolecular polymers fabricated by thiol–ene click polymerization from supramonomers.

A facile method for post-functionalization of polymers with side olefin groups was developed by visible light-mediated atom transfer radical addition (ATRA) employing a photoredox catalyst, fac-Ir(ppy)₃.

In this work, we demonstrate the use of organophotoredox catalysts under visible light to perform photoinduced electron transfer-reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) for the polymerization of methacrylate monomers.

One-pot sequential organocatalytic polymerization reactions of 5-alkyl δ-lactones and monosubstituted epoxides were carried out using the base→acid “catalyst switch” strategy, leading to well-defined polyether–polyester block copolymers with various alkyl substituents.

A novel method for synthesis of polymeric nano-objects via polymerization-induced self-assembly in a CO₂-expanded medium has been developed.

Ultrafast, inversely temperature dependent aqueous SET-LRP with “in situ” generated Cu(0) yields quantitative chain-ends demonstrating surface mediated activation and termination.

A remarkably efficient and versatile procedure for the preparation of multiblock copolymers is presented.

A series of novel, well-defined triblock and pentablock terpolymers of n-butyl vinyl ether (nBVE), 2-chloroethyl vinyl ether (CEVE) and tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethylene glycol vinyl ether (SiEGVE) were synthesized by sequential base-assisted living cationic polymerization.

Amphiphilic/fluorous random copolymers bearing poly(ethylene glycol) chains and perfluorinated alkane pendants were developed as novel non-cytotoxic polymeric materials for protein conjugation.

Five R-group di-functional dithiobenzoates have been prepared and used in the reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of 2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone.

The present article reports the preparation of a novel class of switchable amphiphilic diblock copolymers with a temperature switchable linkage.

For the first time SET-LRP of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl acrylate, 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluorobutyl acrylate, 1H,1H,5H-octafluoropentyl acrylate and 1H,1H,5H-octafluoropentyl methacrylate in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol as the solvent at 25 °C for acrylates and at 50 °C for methacrylate was accomplished.

Water-soluble keto-polymers: facile synthesis in methanol on irradiation with visible light at 25 °C, sequence-tuned thermoresponsive behaviours and reaction-induced reorganization.

A synergistic effect of photothermal and chemotherapy of cancers was demonstrated using redox-responsive core cross-linked micelles fabricated from cypate and cisplatin prodrugs-conjugated block copolymers.

Cyclodextrin-cored star copolymers exhibit dual functions of gene delivery vectors and magnetic resonance imaging contrast enhancement.

The synthesis of protein-labelled, degradable nanogels, which are loaded with hydrophobic guest molecules, is shown. These conjugate nanomaterials may be useful for targeted drug delivery applications.

α-Shaped polystyrene origamis with variable sizes and loop diameters were synthesized by intramolecular folding of sequence-controlled reactive polymers containing precisely localized alkyne and activated ester functions.