Highly branched “bottlebrush”
polymers are a class
of macromolecules characterized by side chains that are densely grafted
from a backbone that is typically linear. Their unique and often-desirable
properties stem from steric repulsion between side chains, which stiffens
the molecular contour and increases interchain spacing. There has
been a renaissance in both our fundamental understanding, practical
synthesis, and application of these materials, due to synergistic
advances in all branches of polymer science. In this perspective,
we outline how a wide variety of new functional bottlebrush materials
have emerged from the convergence of insights from the entire materials
design process; the integration of synthesis, characterization, processing,
and modeling has demonstrated the promise of these branched macromolecules
as a versatile platform for molecular engineering. We discuss how
this platform may be further developed to exhibit novel material properties
in and out of equilibrium and put into practice due to the next generation
of synthetic, analytical, processing, and computational tools in materials
chemistry.