Combining ATRP and ROMP with Thio‐Bromo, Copper‐Catalyzed, and Strain‐Promoted Click Reactions for Brush Copolymer Synthesis Starting from a Single Initiator/Monomer/Click Partner

Assembling Complex Macromolecules and Self-Organizations of Biological Relevance with Cu(I)-Catalyzed Azide-Alkyne, Thio-Bromo, and TERMINI Double "Click" Reactions

In 2022, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Bertozzi, Meldal, and Sharpless "for the development of click chemistry and biorthogonal chemistry". Since 2001, when the concept of click chemistry was advanced by Sharpless laboratory, synthetic chemists started to envision click reactions as the preferred choice of synthetic methodology employed to create new functions. This brief perspective will summarize research performed in our laboratories with the classic Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne click (CuAAC) reaction elaborated by Meldal and Sharpless, with the thio-bromo click (TBC) and with the less-used, irreversible TERminator Multifunctional INItiator (TERMINI) dual click (TBC) reactions, the last two elaborated in our laboratory. These click reactions will be used to assemble, by accelerated modular-orthogonal methodologies, complex macromolecules and self-organizations of biological relevance. Self-assembling amphiphilic Janus dendrimers and Janus glycodendrimers together with their biological membrane mimics known as dendrimersomes and glycodendrimersomes as well as simple methodologies to assemble macromolecules with perfect and complex architecture such as dendrimers from commercial monomers and building blocks will be discussed. This perspective is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Professor Bogdan C. Simionescu, the son of my (VP) Ph.D. mentor, Professor Cristofor I. Simionescu, who as his father, took both science and science administration in his hands, and dedicated his life to handling them in a tandem way, to their best.

Post-Polymerization Modification of Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)-Derived Materials Using Wittig Reactions

This communication describes our recent efforts to utilize Wittig olefination reactions for the post-polymerization modification of polynorbornene derivatives prepared through ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Polymerizing α-bromo ester-containing norbornenes provides polymers that can undergo facile substitution with triphenylphosphine. The resulting polymeric phosphonium salt is then deprotonated to form an ylide that undergoes reaction with various aryl aldehydes in a one-pot fashion to yield the respective cinnamates. These materials can undergo further modification through photo-induced [2 + 2] cycloaddition cross-linking reactions.

Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for the Preparation of Well-Defined Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Nanomaterials

Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) is a powerful tool that allows for the synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials with high potential applications in many disciplines. This review presents synthetic achievements and modifications of nanoparticles via SI-ATRP described in literature last decade. The work mainly focuses on the research development of silica, gold and iron polymer-grafted nanoparticles as well as nature-based materials like nanocellulose. Moreover, typical single examples of nanoparticles modification, i.e., ZnO, are presented. The organic-inorganic hybrid systems received according to the reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) approach with drastically reduced catalyst complex concentration indicate a wide range of applications of materials including biomedicine and microelectronic devices.

Flow-facilitated ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and post-polymerization modification reactions

Continuous flow facilitates ROMP reactions to prepare homopolymers and block copolymers and allows for in-line post-polymerization click modifications.