The generation of polymer brushes by surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization (SI-CRP) techniques has become a powerful approach to tailor the chemical and physical properties of interfaces and has given rise to great advances in surface and interface engineering. Polymer brushes are defined as thin polymer films in which the individual polymer chains are tethered by one chain end to a solid interface. Significant advances have been made over the past years in the field of polymer brushes. This includes novel developments in SI-CRP, as well as the emergence of novel applications such as catalysis, electronics, nanomaterial synthesis and biosensing. Additionally, polymer brushes prepared via SI-CRP have been utilized to modify the surface of novel substrates such as natural fibers, polymer nanofibers, mesoporous materials, graphene, viruses and protein nanoparticles. The last years have also seen exciting advances in the chemical and physical characterization of polymer brushes, as well as an ever increasing set of computational and simulation tools that allow understanding and predictions of these surface-grafted polymer architectures. The aim of this contribution is to provide a comprehensive review that critically assesses recent advances in the field and highlights the opportunities and challenges for future work.

Hydrophilic polymer brushes grown via surfaceinitiated polymerization from silicon oxide surfaces can detach or degraft in aqueous media. Degrafting of these chain endtethered polymers is believed to involve hydrolysis of bonds at the polymer-substrate interface.Degrafting so far has not been reported for hydrophobic polymer brushes in non-aqueous media. This study has investigated the degrafting and swelling properties of poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA) brushes in different water-miscible,organic solvents,viz. DMF,acetone and THF.Inthe presence of asufficient quantity of water in the organic solvent, degrafting was also observed for PtBMA brushes.M ore importantly,h owever,t he rate of degrafting depended on the nature of the organic solvent and the apparent initial rate constant of the degrafting reaction was found to correlate with the swelling ratio of the polymer brush in the different solvents.T his correlation is first, direct evidence in support of the hypothesis that degrafting is facilitated by atension that acts on the bond(s) that tether the polymer chains to the surface and whichi sa mplified upon swelling of the polymer brush.Scheme 1. Preparation of PtBMA brushes via SI-ATRP.

a b s t r a c tWe studied chelate effects on castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) growth. These effects included Cd and Pb accumulation in plant tissues and the chemical behavior of Cd and Pb in the plant rhizosphere and nonrhizosphere. Tests were conducted in a glasshouse using the rhizobag method. Two castor bean cultivars (Zibo-3 and Zibo-9) were grown in soil contaminated with 3.53 mg/kg Cd and 274 mg/kg Pb. The soil was treated with citric acid (CA), ethylenediamine disuccinic acid (EDDS) or ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) (5 mmol/kg). EDDS-treated soil produced 28.8% and 59.4% greater biomass for Zibo-3 and Zibo-9 respectively. In contrast, CA and EDTA inhibited the growth of the two cultivars. Zibo-9 had greater tolerance than Zibo-3 to chelate toxicity. Based on Cd and Pb plant uptake, EDDS could substitute for EDTA for phytoremediation of Cd in soil. EDTA was the most effective of the three chelates for Pb phytoremediation but it is less suitable for field use due to toxicology environmental persistence. Acid extractable Cd and Pb in the rhizosphere or reducible Cd and Pb in the non-rhizosphere of soil were the main influences on Cd and Pb accumulation in castor bean.

Optically active polymers bearing chiral units at the side chain were prepared via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization in the presence of 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN)/benzyl dithiobenzoate (BDB), using a synthesized 6‐O‐p‐vinylbenzyl‐1,2:3,4‐Di‐O‐isopropylidene‐D‐galactopyranose (VBPG) as the monomer. The experimental results suggested that the polymerization of the monomer proceeded in a living fashion, providing chiral group polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions. The optically active nature of the obtained poly (6‐O‐p‐vinylbenzyl‐1,2:3,4‐Di‐O‐isopropylidene‐D‐galactopyranose) (PVBPG) was studied by investigating the dependence of specific rotation on the molecular weight of PVBPG and the concentration of PVBPG in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The results showed the specific rotation of PVBPG increased greatly with the decrease of the concentration of the PVBPG homopolymer. In addition, the effect of block copolymers of PVBPG on the optically active nature was also investigated by preparing a series of diblock copolymers of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)‐b‐PVBPG, polystyrene (PS)‐b‐PVBPG, and poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA)‐b‐PVBPG. It was found that both the homopolymer and the diblock copolymers possessed specific rotations. Finally, the ability of chiral recognition of the PVBPG homopolymer was investigated via an enantiomer‐selective adsorption experiment. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3788–3797, 2007

The functionalization and application of nano‐objects generated using a polymerization induced self‐assembly (PISA) procedure is becoming a focus in recent years. In this contribution, using ethanol as solvent, poly(oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate) (POEOMA) as macro‐initiator/stabilizer, and 2‐(perfluorohexyl)ethyl methacrylate (PFHEMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as comonomers, the initiators for continuous activator regeneration atom transfer radical polymerization (ICAR ATRP)‐based PISA is realized. The lower GMA content system tends to form spheres with large diameters and heavy contrast, while the lower PFHEMA content system tends to form the spheres or short worms with small diameters. However, the system with further increased GMA content results in the failed ICAR ATRP PISA procedure with the formation of precipitates by the cross‐linking reaction between pendant epoxy groups. Furthermore, using the efficient reaction between the epoxy group on GMA and thiol group on mercapto‐succinic acid agent, the carboxyl groups can be introduced into the inner cavity of the nano‐objects and used for incorporation with the Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions, and the organic–inorganic nanoparticles Fe3O4@POEOMA are finally prepared in the presence of a reductant.