1
|
Clothier GKK, Guimarães TR, Thompson SW, Howard SC, Muir BW, Moad G, Zetterlund PB. Streamlining the Generation of Advanced Polymer Materials Through the Marriage of Automation and Multiblock Copolymer Synthesis in Emulsion. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202320154. [PMID: 38400586 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202320154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Synthetic polymers are of paramount importance in modern life - an incredibly wide range of polymeric materials possessing an impressive variety of properties have been developed to date. The recent emergence of artificial intelligence and automation presents a great opportunity to significantly speed up discovery and development of the next generation of advanced polymeric materials. We have focused on the high-throughput automated synthesis of multiblock copolymers that comprise three or more distinct polymer segments of different monomer composition bonded in linear sequence. The present work has exploited automation to prepare high molar mass multiblock copolymers (typically>100,000 g mol-1) using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization in aqueous emulsion. A variety of original multiblock copolymers have been synthesised via a Chemspeed robot, exemplified by a multiblock copolymer comprising thirteen constituent blocks. Moreover, libraries of copolymers of randomized monomer compositions (acrylates, acrylamides, methacrylates, and styrenes), block orders, and block lengths were also generated, thereby demonstrating the robustness of our synthetic approach. One multiblock copolymer contained all four monomer families listed in the pool, which is unprecedented in the literature. The present work demonstrates that automation has the power to render complex and laborious syntheses of such unprecedented materials not just possible, but facile and straightforward, thus representing the way forward to the next generation of complex macromolecular architectures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Glenn K K Clothier
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Thiago R Guimarães
- Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques (LCPO), CNRS (UMR 5629), ENSCPB, Université de Bordeaux, 16 avenue Pey Berland, 33607, Pessac, France
| | - Steven W Thompson
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Shaun C Howard
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC, 3169, Australia
| | - Benjamin W Muir
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC, 3169, Australia
| | - Graeme Moad
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC, 3169, Australia
| | - Per B Zetterlund
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Clothier GKK, Guimarães TR, Thompson SW, Rho JY, Perrier S, Moad G, Zetterlund PB. Multiblock copolymer synthesis via RAFT emulsion polymerization. Chem Soc Rev 2023; 52:3438-3469. [PMID: 37093560 DOI: 10.1039/d2cs00115b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
A multiblock copolymer is a polymer of a specific structure that consists of multiple covalently linked segments, each comprising a different monomer type. The control of the monomer sequence has often been described as the "holy grail" of synthetic polymer chemistry, with the ultimate goal being synthetic access to polymers of a "perfect" structure, where each monomeric building block is placed at a desired position along the polymer chain. Given that polymer properties are intimately linked to the microstructure and monomer distribution along the constituent chains, it goes without saying that there exist seemingly endless opportunities in terms of fine-tuning the properties of such materials by careful consideration of the length of each block, the number and order of blocks, and the inclusion of monomers with specific functional groups. The area of multiblock copolymer synthesis remains relatively unexplored, in particular with regard to structure-property relationships, and there are currently significant opportunities for the design and synthesis of advanced materials. The present review focuses on the synthesis of multiblock copolymers via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization implemented as aqueous emulsion polymerization. RAFT emulsion polymerization offers intriguing opportunities not only for the advanced synthesis of multiblock copolymers, but also provides access to polymeric nanoparticles of specific morphologies. Precise multiblock copolymer synthesis coupled with self-assembly offers material morphology control on length scales ranging from a few nanometers to a micrometer. It is imperative that polymer chemists interact with physicists and material scientists to maximize the impact of these materials of the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Glenn K K Clothier
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Thiago R Guimarães
- MACROARC, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane City, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Steven W Thompson
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| | - Julia Y Rho
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Sébastien Perrier
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Graeme Moad
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC 3169, Australia
| | - Per B Zetterlund
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Shao Y, Hou B, Li W, Yan X, Wang X, Xu Y, Dong Q, Li W, He J, Zhang WB. Three-Component Bolaform Giant Surfactants Forming Lamellar Nanopatterns with Sub-5 nm Feature Sizes. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Shao
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Bo Hou
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Weiyi Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Xiaojin Yan
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoge Wang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Yuchun Xu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| | - Qingshu Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China
| | - Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China
| | - Jinlin He
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China
| | - Wen-Bin Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Research in fluorinated block copolymer/polystyrene blends with durable antifouling properties based on chain-entanglement. POLYMER 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2023.125780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
|
5
|
Clothier GKK, Guimarães TR, Moad G, Zetterlund PB. Expanding the Scope of RAFT Multiblock Copolymer Synthesis Using the Nanoreactor Concept: The Critical Importance of Initiator Hydrophobicity. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Glenn K. K. Clothier
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Thiago R. Guimarães
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Graeme Moad
- CSIRO Manufacturing, Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC 3169, Australia
| | - Per B. Zetterlund
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Thompson SW, Guimarães TR, Zetterlund PB. Multiblock copolymer synthesis via aqueous RAFT polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). Polym Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1039/d2py01005d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Employing RAFT PISA emulsion polymerization to synthesize high molecular weight hexablock multiblock copolymers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Steven W. Thompson
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Thiago R. Guimarães
- School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology (OUT), Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Per B. Zetterlund
- Cluster for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD), School of Chemical Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| |
Collapse
|