Cyclopolymerization of Disiloxane-Tethered Divinyl Monomers To Synthesize Chirality-Responsive Helical Polymers

Chiral Transfer of Linear Polysiloxane with Preferred-Handed Helical Conformation

We report the preparation of chiral silica using a linear polysiloxane main chain with a preferred-handed helical structure as the template. Poly(methylvinyl siloxane) (PMVS) with a cysteine derivative side chain designated as PMVS-Cys was prepared using anionic polymerization and an ene-thiol reaction. PMVS-Cys forms a helical conformation in both solution and film via hydrogen bonding between amide groups at side chains. The helical structure remains during the calcination process, resulting in silica with helical structure. The silica with a helical structure shows optical activity.

Synthesis and Selective Au(III) Adsorption of Ureido Polymers Containing Large Repeating Rings

Two polymers (polyBAUEE and polyBAUP) containing 25- and 20-membered rings are synthesized by the cyclopolymerization of bifunctional monomers 1,2-bis(acryloyloxyethyl-ureidoethoxyl)-ethane (BAUEE) and 1,3-bis(acryloyloxyethylureido)propane (BAUP) and studied for the adsorption of precious metal ions. PolyBAUEE and polyBAUP selectively adsorb Au(III) with the adsorption efficiencies above 99.0% after adsorption equilibrium. PolyBAUEE adsorbed faster than polyBAUP, and the Au(III) adsorption is selective in the presence of nine interfering metal ions with similar concentrations (ca. 1 mg/L) in an aqueous solution including Pd(II) and Pt(II). The maximum Au(III) adsorption capacities of polyBAUEE and polyBAUP are 37.6 and 31.8 mg/g, respectively. Au(III) is reduced to Au(0) nanoparticles during the adsorption process. The selective adsorption behavior depends on the controlling regioselective recognition of the ring structure and the ureido groups.

Complex polymer architectures through free-radical polymerization of multivinyl monomers

The construction of complex polymer architectures with well-defined topology, composition and functionality has been extensively explored as the molecular basis for the development of modern polymer materials. The unique reaction kinetics of free-radical polymerization leads to the concurrent formation of crosslinks between polymer chains and rings within an individual chain and, thus, free-radical (co)polymerization of multivinyl monomers provides a facile method to manipulate chain topology and functionality. Regulating the relative contribution of these intermolecular and intramolecular chain-propagation reactions is the key to the construction of architecturally complex polymers. This can be achieved through the design of new monomers or by spatially or kinetically controlling crosslinking reactions. These mechanisms enable the synthesis of various polymer architectures, including linear, cyclized, branched and star polymer chains, as well as crosslinked networks. In this Review, we highlight some of the contemporary experimental strategies to prepare complex polymer architectures using radical polymerization of multivinyl monomers. We also examine the recent development of characterization techniques for sub-chain connections in such complex macromolecules. Finally, we discuss how these crosslinking reactions have been engineered to generate advanced polymer materials for use in a variety of biomedical applications.

Precision AABB-type cyclocopolymers via alternating cyclocopolymerization of disiloxane-tethered divinyl monomers

Free radical cyclocopolymerization of divinyl monomers bMA and bSt in the presence of ZnCl₂ yields a cyclocopolymer with an AABB-type chain sequence.

Chiral helical substituted polyacetylene grafted on hollow polymer particles: preparation and enantioselective adsorption towards cinchona alkaloids

Hollow polymer particles tethering chiral helical polymer chains and functional carboxyl groups were prepared and applied in enantioselective adsorption.

Cyclopolymerizations: Synthetic Tools for the Precision Synthesis of Macromolecular Architectures

Monomers possessing two functionalities suitable for polymerization are often designed and utilized in syntheses directed to the formation of cross-linked macromolecules. In this review, we give an account of recent developments related to the use of such monomers in cyclopolymerization processes, in order to form linear, soluble macromolecules. These processes can be activated by means of radical, ionic, or transition-metal mediated chain-growth polymerization mechanisms, to achieve cyclic moieties of variable ring size which are embedded within the polymer backbone, driving and tuning peculiar physical properties of the resulting macromolecules. The two functionalities are covalently linked by a "tether", which can be appropriately designed in order to "imprint" elements of chemical information into the polymer backbone during the synthesis and, in some cases, be removed by postpolymerization reactions. The two functionalities can possess identical or even very different reactivities toward the polymerization mechanism involved; in the latter case, consequences and outcomes related to the sequence-controlled, precision synthesis of macromolecules have been demonstrated. Recent advances in new initiating systems and polymerization catalysts enabled the precision syntheses of polymers with regulated cyclic structures by highly regio- and/or stereoselective cyclopolymerization. Cyclopolymerizations involving double cyclization, ring-opening, or isomerization have been also developed, generating unique repeating structures, which can hardly be obtained by conventional polymerization methods.

Optically active helical vinylbiphenyl polymers with reversible thermally induced stereomutation

A series of novel chiral vinylbiphenyl monomers, (+)-2-[(S)-alkoxycarbonyl]-5-(4′-hexyloxyphenyl)styrene (S-(+)-I-Mm, m = 0, 1, 2, 3)/(−)-2-[(R)-sec-butyloxycarbonyl]-5-(4′-hexyloxyphenyl)styrene (R-(−)-I-M0), were designed and synthesized to search for new building blocks of optically active helical polymers.