Themed collection Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigators Series

Recent developments and challenges in covalent adaptive networks with repairable, reprocessable, reconfigurable, recyclable, and re-adhesive (5R) performance via dynamic isocyanate chemistry are summarized in this review article.

Stimuli-responsive polymers are a new category of smart materials used in water treatment via a stimuli-induced purification process and subsequent regeneration processes.

The ongoing research activities in the fields of bottom-up synthesis of thermally conductive polymers and thermal transport mechanisms in polymers are reviewed. Perspectives on developing polymers with high thermal conductivities are discussed.

This review highlights recent developments in the preparation of organic–inorganic hybrid nanomaterials via polymerization-induced self-assembly.

Synthesis of semifluorinated polymers containing fluorous groups on the backbone or as side chains is an increasingly popular field of research.

We used acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) chemistry to prepare variably threaded pseudopolyrotaxanes. We find that the melting enthalpy decreases as the number density of macrocycles is increased.

Targeted prodrug activation within the acidic tumour microenvironment using pH-responsive photocatalytic nanomaterials.

A new Tröger's base containing fluorenone organic polymer (TB-FL-COP) was synthesized and used as a fluorescence sensor for discriminative sensing of antibiotics in water.

Pyridinonorbornenes, a unique family of ROMP monomers, were synthesized via the intermediacy of 2,3-pyridynes. Modulation of the steric hindrance about the nitrogen allowed a living ROMP process and the production of polymers with high T_g and T_d.

A modular synthetic strategy to fold single polymer chains upon deprotection of pendent cysteine terminal peptides is reported. The one step deprotection initiates both folding and catalytic activity of the macromolecular architectures.

Supramolecular polymeric nanotubes self-assembled from cyclic peptide–polymer conjugates are employed as general scaffolds to fabricate supramolecular FRET systems with tailorable and responsive luminescence.

This work describes the effect of varying crosslink density and plasticizer loading on covalent adaptable networks that have equal amounts of reactive functionalities.

Our polyvinyl alcohol feedstock was prepared through carbic anhydride functionalization, UV curing during direct ink writing, and base treatment. The scaffold exhibited mechanical properties similar to pelvic floor tissue.

We reported a methodology for the reducing agent mediated poly(disulfide)s nanonetwork formation from lipoic acid based monomer in water as a highly stable potential delivery vehicle for chemotherapeutic applications.

The intelligent coating possesses a crack monitoring function in real time, with desirable shear strength and self-healing, and exhibits rapid degradation ability.

Recombinant protein engineering accelerated the synthesis of sequence-defined, calcium-responsive biopolymers. A mutation panel of repeats-in-toxin (RTX) proteins revealed sequence-dependent disorder, calcium sensitivity, and structural transitions.

A strategy that tailors propagating species in situ using trivalent phosphorus enables thiyl radical polymerizations to be controlled by the RAFT agent, thereby facilitating the production of polymers with well-defined architectures.

PET-RAFT polymerization was used to modify STEM organogels, while degradable linkers enabled the characterization of the resulting block copolymers.

Incorporating self-aggregated quaternized pyridine cross-links into the middle block of poly(styrene)-b-poly(butadiene)-b-poly(styrene) triblock copolymer enables preparation of dual-domain thermoplastic elastomers with bond-exchangeable subdomains.

Inspired by the reversible deformation of pine cones, a thermo-responsive layered hydrogel actuator with asymmetric structural layers was prepared by crafting Vc-triggered interfacial radical polymerization from a stiff hydrogel.

Heterografted molecular brushes comprising three different brushes were synthesized based on the Br-acrylate-epoxide multivalent monomer strategy, which enabled the fabrication of 2D platelets and the stabilization of different emulsions.

This article describes the synthesis and characterization of a UV-crosslinked Eosin Y-photocatalytic gel and studies its performance in the oxidation of thioanisole in batch and flow reactors.

A vanillin monomer featuring a carbonate linkage in its center was synthesized and used to prepare degradable biobased polymer networks.

A dual-dynamic bio-based epoxy building block (DDBB) with both imine and disulfide bonds synthesized from cystamine and vanillin showed accelerated dynamic exchanges in disulfide vitrimer formulations.

Hydrazine-responsive block copolymer nanoparticles with a phthalimide core are synthesized via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-mediated dispersion polymerization-induced self-assembly.

By introducing soluble and supported Lewis acids, homogeneous and heterogeneous nickel-catalyzed ethylene (co)polymerization was designed and studied.

Cycloalkyl-strapped repeat units hinder inter-chain interactions and guide the imine condensation polymerization of A₂ + B₃ monomers into solution-dispersible and processable π-conjugated hyperbranched polymers instead of an insoluble network.

The influence of the cleavable bond location on degradation and reformation of poly(n-butyl acrylate) networks synthesised by RAFT polymerisation was investigated and revealed that cleavable backbones lead to more efficient network reversibility.

Installation of TORC core-crosslinks in polymer nanogels is accomplished in a single pot using photo-controlled atom transfer radical polymerization-induced self-assembly (PhotoATR-PISA) resulting in nanogels with AND-gate cargo release behavior.

Graft polymers with various sidechain lengths and grafting densities are prepared using trans-cyclobutane-fused cyclooctene macromonomers; the solvent-free depolymerization of these graft polymers in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst is studied.

Different synthetic strategies are explored to functionalize alginate with thiol and alkene groups. In this way an innovative full-alginate ink for digital light processing printers, based on the more biocompatible thiol–ene chemistry, is proposed.

The ring-opening terpolymerisation of phthalic thioanhydride with CO₂ and epoxides leads to the formal incorporation of (photo)chemically labile thioester breaking points into the parent poly(ester-carbonate) backbone.

Unlocking surface nitrones on green silica for innovative polymer grafting: Exploring "grafting from" and “grafting to” via enhanced spin capturing polymerization (ESCP) and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition.

We present a [Ru(bpy)₂(dmbpy)]²⁺- and pyrene-based photocatalytic PMMA that enables photoredox-energy transfer to achieve the C–H arylation of electron deficient aryl bromides.

In this work, two water soluble fluorescent non-conjugated polymers have been designed and synthesized.

A new family of neutral salicylaldiminato nickel(II) catalysts enables ethylene polymerization to produce diverse polyethylene materials including polyethylene plastic, elastomer, wax and oil.

A 2H-bis-napthopyran (2H-BNP) mechanophore generates an unusually stable bis-merocyanine product upon mechanical activation.

We present the polystyrene block post-polymerization modification of PS-b-PMMA through Friedel–Crafts alkylation with adamantanols to modulate its microphase-separated morphology and dimensions.

A crosslinked alpha diimine ligand supporting a nickel metal center polymerizes ethylene to produce polyethylene with controlled microstructures, high activities, and can be removed from the product.

The N-oxide containing conjugated semiconducting polymer is synthesized by direct (hetero)arylation polymerization and exhibit enhanced electron mobility compared to its non-oxide analogous polymer.

Self-healing hydrogels have attracted widespread attention due to their excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties, and reparability.

Luminescent shape memory polymeric nanocomposite sensors prepared using poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) and polyvinyl alcohol for cold chain logistics information monitoring.

Naphthalenediimide dye was used to fabricate polymeric 3D printed colorimetric sensors for bases, to detect aqueous, vapor and organic phases.

A high-index thermoset was prepared under thiol-free conditions where the refractive index can be controlled over the range of 1.70–1.75.

Solid-state stretchable ionic conductors with enhanced mechanical strength and toughness without compromising the ionic conductivity were fabricated by seamlessly incorporating layered double hydroxide nanosheets into a poly(ionic liquid) matrix.

Traditionally-cationic poly(β-amino ester)s with two anionic sulfonate groups per tertiary amine display non-monotonic solution behavior as a function of pH.

A two-step method to modify trans-1,4-polyisoprene (TPI): first, TPI is crosslinked by γ-ray; then, the crosslinked TPI is grafted with n-dodecanethiol by thiol–ene click chemistry. The modified TPI shows high elasticity.

Epoxy resins were prepared with an enhanced intrinsic thermal conductivity of 0.42 W (m K)⁻¹ using a biphenyl mesogen-containing co-curing agent.

Triblock copolymer, PEG-b-PDMAEMA-b-PDPA, simultaneously encapsulated doxorubicin and Bcl-2 siRNA for delivery to cancer cells, thus achieving combination chemotherapy and gene therapy.

Study of the composition, lenght and chemical structure of surface-active statistical copolymers in low-energy miniemulsions.

A novel redox-triggered bioinspired hydrogel platform that offers high control over gelation onset and kinetics is presented. This platform is suitable for the development of injectable matrices.

The use of a polar additive efficiently triggers chain walking copolymerization of ethylene with a broad scope of fundamental polar monomers, which is long-sought in an α-diimine Pd(II) system.

A versatile, stable, and highly air-tolerant triplet–triplet annihilation up-conversion system based on block copolymer micelles was designed and fabricated.

Polysulfides cross-linked with cyclosiloxanes were synthesized, characterized and tested as solvent sorbents.

Thorough studies of RAFT copolymerization in a continuous flow to gain deeper insights into kinetics, reactivity, and applicability were conducted with monomers and solvents utilizable for chemically amplified resist systems.

Producing block polymers in continuous flow offers significant advantages in terms of versatility, efficiency and scalability.

The size and stability of p(PEG)-b-p(MMA) block copolymer particles is tuned. Robust particles between 33–176 nm are formed and the use of a PEG methacrylate monomer with a methyl ether end group results in the most well defined and stable particles.

TADF donor-acceptor conjugates were applied as photosensitizers for organocatalyzed organic atom transfer radical polymerization. A donor-modification strategy was found to dramatically improve the control over the polymerization.

The combination of loose chain packing and high fluoro content endows PFCB-containing polyimides with excellent optical transparency and dielectric properties.

Well-defined (isotactic) linear polyglycerols and glycerol-based copolyethers are obtained by controlled and chemoselective ring-opening (co)polymerizations of glycidyl butyrates.

A photo-controlled cationic degenerate chain transfer polymerization of vinyl ethers has been developed by using a bisphosphonium organophotocatalyst.

The droplet viscosity, surface tension, and hydrophobicity is tuned to explore the parameters that enable successful ring-opening polymerization in an aqueous dispersion.

Stereoselective aliphatic polyester biomaterials were synthesized through ring opening copolymerization using a tin catalyst, which could then be crosslinked using thiol–ene or free radical methods to tailor physical properties.

Chromium complexes bearing phenoxy-imine-amine NNO-tridentate ligands are superior toward ethylene polymerization, exhibiting unprecedented activity and excellent thermal stability but requiring a small amount of MAO as a cocatalyst.

Aldehyde end-capped CO₂-based polycarbonates were prepared to serve as a green platform for the construction of diverse functional polymers.

An artificially intelligent flow-reactor platform equipped with online NMR and GPC enables autonomous polymerisation optimisation utilising a machine learning algorithm to map the trade-off between monomer conversion and dispersity.

The impact of reversible deactivation in photo-inifierter RAFT polymerization on control and livingness of the process is investigated. The findings are used to create multiblock copolymers with high molecular weight and efficient chain extension.

Barbier polymerization is realized at room-temperature with single-atom polymerization and polymerization-induced emission characteristics, which exhibits capability on sensitive explosive detection and artificial light-harvesting system fabrication.

The organocatalyst 1,3-bis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]urea (U–O) accelerates the ring-opening polymerization of α-amino acid N-substituted N-carboxyanhydrides (NNCAs) for the rapid synthesis of polypeptoids bearing bulky sidechains.