Precisely Controlled Polymer Architectures

Activated Ester Containing Polymers: Opportunities and Challenges for the Design of Functional Macromolecules

“…Rapidly growing demand of functional polymers in various interdisciplinary areas of research has accentuated the need for modern synthetic tools to develop advanced polymers featuring a variety of functional groups. Lutz, Sumerlin, and Matyjaszewski stated recently in their editorial to the special issue on precisely controlled polymer architectures "Indeed, controlled polymerization techniques, new routes for post-polymerization functionalization, and the ability to control macromolecular self-assembly have provided access to complex polymer structures that were previously considered inaccessible", 1 thereby highlighting the modern developments in synthesis of functional polymers. While controlled polymerization techniques have found wide acceptance as valuable and sophisticated synthetic tools, the aspect of postpolymerization modification has not been recognized as equally important.…”

Upconverting nanocomposites dispersed in urea-containing acrylics

“…Most importantly, the nanoscale phase separated block copolymer morphology provides a template for nanoparticle organization, locating the nanoparticles in specific sequences containing the urea sites for coordination and creating new compositional options for macromolecular composites whose architecture is controlled by polymer chemistry. [24][25][26] In addition to using these nanocomposites as an upconverting coating for solar cells, these composites could also prove useful for fabricating hybrid nanocomposite structures where upconverting particles are suspended near a metal surface 27,28 or other metal nanoparticles, 7,29 in self-aligned chains or layers where the particle density and orientation are controlled by an external chemical matrix similar to what has been done with semiconductor nanoparticles 26,30,31 or in planar structures constructed using nano-imprint lithography. 28 These hybrid structures take advantage of the surface plasmon resonance in the nearby metal to enhance either the emission or absorption by the UCNPs in the hybrid material.…”

Mechanochemical Post-Polymerization Modification: Solvent-Free Solid-State Synthesis of Functional Polymers

“…The installation of chemical groups that are not compatible with the polymerization method is another important merit of postpolymerization modification. As a result of the remarkable advances in modern chemical synthesis, the boundaries of the postpolymerization modification have rapidly expanded. − …”