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Polymer chemistry

Sacrificial synthesis

Nature volume 445, pages 271–272 (2007)Cite this article

The size and uniformity of polymer molecules makes it difficult to modify them at just one selected site. But a single chemical group can be attached at the end of a polymer if part of the starting material is forfeited.

Chemists are remarkably proficient at directing the synthesis of small molecules, but fine-tuning the structures of large molecules, such as polymers, is far more taxing. Despite many years of research, the field of macromolecular engineering — the preparation of large molecules with strict control over their size and chemical groups — has many mountainous challenges yet to overcome. But Kilbinger and colleagues1 have just conquered a particularly troublesome peak. Reporting in Angewandte Chemie, they describe an innovative approach for preparing polymer chains with just one chemical group attached at the end, with excellent control over the chain length. Such molecules are much sought-after for potential applications in nanotechnology.

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Figure 1: Sacrificial polymers.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Colour and Polymer Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Sébastien Perrier & Xiaosong Wang

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  1. Sébastien Perrier
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  2. Xiaosong Wang
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Perrier, S., Wang, X. Sacrificial synthesis. Nature 445, 271–272 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/445271a

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