Polymerization mechanisms articles within Nature Communications

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  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Chemical recycling of plastic enables renewed production of pristine materials, but generally comes at a high energy cost. This review focuses on light-driven approaches for chemically recycling and upcycling plastic waste, with emphasis on reduced energy consumption and selective transformations of challenging to recycle backbone structures.

    • Laura Wimberger
    • , Gervase Ng
    •  & Cyrille Boyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mask-free multi-photon lithography allows the straightforward fabrication of nanostructures, but high precision and good resolution can be challenging to achieve. Here, the authors report a combination of photo-inhibition and chemical quenchers for improved lithography performance.

    • Lingling Guan
    • , Chun Cao
    •  & Xu Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Well-defined multicrystalline multiblock polymers are essential model polymers for advancing the physics of crystallization but due to the different chain properties and incompatible synthetic methodologies, multicrystalline multiblock polymers with more than two crystallites are rarely reported. Here the authors combine polyhomologation, ring-opening polymerization and a catalyst switch strategy to synthesize a pentacrystalline pentablock quintopolymer.

    • Pengfei Zhang
    • , Viko Ladelta
    •  & Nikos Hadjichristidis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metal-based heterogeneous catalysts are widely employed in ring-opening polymerization (ROP) but up to now the exploration of metal-organic frameworks (MOF) as catalysts in ROP remains underdeveloped. Here, the authors report a MOF heterogeneous catalytic system for fast, controllable, air- and moisture-insensitive ring-opening polymerization of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides, and its seamless integration with hybrid material preparation.

    • Ying Liu
    • , Zhongwu Ren
    •  & Yugang Bai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alternating copolymerization of cyclic anhydrides and epoxides is an interesting platform for the synthesis of polyesters from renewable resources, but the near irreversibility of the copolymerization makes it challenging to develop chemically recyclable polyesters with easy-to-tune structure. Here, the authors develop a recyclable polyester library from alternating copolymerization of aldehyde and cyclic anhydride.

    • Xun Zhang
    • , Wenqi Guo
    •  & Xinghong Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Post-consumer plastic waste in the environment has driven the scientific community to develop deconstruction methods that yield valued substances from these synthetic macromolecules but depolymerization of highly crystalline engineering thermoplastics remains challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate that electrocatalysis can be used to depolymerize polyoxymethylene into repolymerizable monomer under ambient conditions.

    • Yuting Zhou
    • , Joaquín Rodríguez-López
    •  & Jeffrey S. Moore

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding the intermetallic synergy and the structure-performances relationships of catalysts remains challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate a relationship between both the rates, selectivity and the s-block metal acidity in a series of heterodinuclear catalysts based on Co(III) in combination with alkali and alkaline earth metals for three different polymerization reactios.

    • Francesca Fiorentini
    • , Wilfred T. Diment
    •  & Charlotte K. Williams

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High crosslinking and low shrinkage stress are difficult to reconcile in the preparation of performance-enhancing photopolymer materials. Here the authors report the mechanism of upconversion particles-assisted NIR polymerization in reducing shrinkage stress and enhancing mechanical properties of cured materials

    • Peng Hu
    • , Hang Xu
    •  & Ren Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polydopamine is a biomimetic self-adherent polymer, which can be easily deposited on a wide variety of materials but the polymerization mechanism and the key intermediate species formed during the deposition process are still controversial. Here, the authors report a systematic investigation of polydopamine formation on halloysite nanotubes.

    • Hamoon Hemmatpour
    • , Oreste De Luca
    •  & Petra Rudolf

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photopolymerization provides a safe and mild fabrication pathway towards polymeric particles but the implementation of photochemistry from solution to dispersed media to produce particles is far from trivial. Here, the authors demonstrate an additive-free step-growth photopolymerization with sunlight, exploiting the photoinduced Diels-Alder to fabricate micrometer sized polymeric particles.

    • Laura Delafresnaye
    • , Florian Feist
    •  & Christopher Barner-Kowollik

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photo-controlled living polymerization has received great attention in recent years but the reports on photo-controlled living cationic polymerization are limited. Here, the authors demonstrate a metal-free and visible light-controlled living cationic polymerization using a photocatalyst and a phosphate as the chain transfer agent for the polymerization of 4-methoxystyrene.

    • Lei Wang
    • , Yupo Xu
    •  & Yongfeng Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photo- and thermo-activated polymerization and melting processes are dominant in Additive Manufacturing (AM) while ultrasound activated sonochemical reactions have not been explored for AM so far. Here, the authors demonstrate 3D printing of structures using acoustic cavitation produced directly by focused ultrasound which creates sonochemical reactions in highly localized cavitation regions.

    • Mohsen Habibi
    • , Shervin Foroughi
    •  & Muthukumaran Packirisamy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Extension of nanostructure fabrication in the single-nm regime is a promising but fabrication of nanostructures with high aspect ratios remains challenging. Here, the authors use high energy charged particles to produce free-standing 1D organic nanostructures with extremely high aspect ratios and controlled number density.

    • Koshi Kamiya
    • , Kazuto Kayama
    •  & Shu Seki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photomediated-reversible-deactivation radical polymerisation has a limited scope of available photocatalysts due to multiple stringent requirements of properties. Here the authors show, an oxygen-mediated reductive quenching pathway for photoinduced electron transfer reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerisation.

    • Chenyu Wu
    • , Kenward Jung
    •  & Cyrille Boyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The folding-dependent catalytic behavior of enzymes is of fundamental biological importance, yet mechanistically underexplored. Here, the authors show that an α-helix, commonly found in proteins, can facilitate its own growth through the self-catalyzed polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride in solvents with low polarity.

    • Ziyuan Song
    • , Hailin Fu
    •  & Jianjun Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Poly(glycidyl azide) is an excellent energetic binder or plasticizer, however its production relies on post-modificaiton strategies. Here, the authors directly produced Poly(glycidyl azide) via anionic ring-opening polymerization of glycidyl azide monomer, which is additionally co-polymerized with CO2 and epoxides.

    • Senthil K. Boopathi
    • , Nikos Hadjichristidis
    •  & Xiaoshuang Feng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Superchiral light can be utilized to promote asymmetric photochemical reactions. Here the authors show that superchiral light imparts greater chiral bias to trigger asymmetric photo-polymerization reactions from initially achiral diacetylene monomers and enhanced optical dissymmetry in polydiacetylene films.

    • Chenlu He
    • , Guang Yang
    •  & Gang Zou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The stereoselective synthesis of polyesters has been achieved via various methods; however, all routes show limited side-chain group functionality. Here the authors synthesize stereoblock polyesters by photoredox ring-opening polymerization of racemic O-carboxyanhydrides that have abundant side-chain functionality.

    • Quanyou Feng
    • , Lei Yang
    •  & Rong Tong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Modulating the structural and transient characteristics of synthetic nanostructures can be achieved by temporal control of supramolecular assemblies. Here the authors show a biomimetic, ATP-selective and fuel-driven controlled supramolecular polymerization of a phosphate receptor functionalised monomer.

    • Ananya Mishra
    • , Divya B. Korlepara
    •  & Subi J. George

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Olefin and emulsion polymerizations are incompatible due to the water sensitivity of olefin polymerization catalysts and thus direct synthesis of semi-crystalline polyolefin latexes is difficult. Here, the authors encapsulate a catalyst precursor in micelles which act as nanoreactors for ethylene polymerization in water.

    • Camille Boucher-Jacobs
    • , Muhammad Rabnawaz
    •  & Damien Guironnet

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving sequence control in polymers is limited by the relative monomer reactivity and thus often statistically random copolymers are obtained. Here the authors show sequence control in radical polymerizations by immobilising the monomer on a porous coordination polymer and subsequent polymerization with a second free monomer.

    • Shuto Mochizuki
    • , Naoki Ogiwara
    •  & Takashi Uemura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Producing well-defined polymer compositions and structures facilitates their use in many different applications. Here the authors show the synthesis of well-defined asymmetric double-brushes by a one-pot concurrent atom transfer radical polymerization and Cu-catalyzed Click reaction.

    • Binbin Xu
    • , Chun Feng
    •  & Xiaoyu Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fluorinated poly(aryl thioethers), unlike their poly(aryl ethers) counterparts, have received little attention despite excellent physical properties displayed by many polysulfides. Here the authors show a highly efficient route to fluorinated poly(aryl thioethers) via an organocatalyzed nucleophilic aromatic substitution of silyl-protected dithiols.

    • Nathaniel H. Park
    • , Gabriel dos Passos Gomes
    •  & James L. Hedrick

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chemists increasingly seek to control monomer sequencing in aperiodic copolymers. Here, the authors show that the statistical nature of chain growth strongly limits the achievable control, and establish parameters for polymer design that balance precise control with simplicity of synthesis.

    • Guillaume Gody
    • , Per B. Zetterlund
    •  & Simon Harrisson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electropolymerization of aromatic monomers on bipolar electrodes is emerging as promising route to the surface modification of conductive objects. Here, the authors discover that some conducting polymers propagate as fibres, opening up the possibility of growing conductive polymer networks via a wireless process.

    • Yuki Koizumi
    • , Naoki Shida
    •  & Shinsuke Inagi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Complexes that form between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes may be solid or liquid. Here, Perry et al.show that chirality in polypeptides can determine the state of those complexes based on a propensity for hydrogen-bond formation.

    • Sarah L. Perry
    • , Lorraine Leon
    •  & Matthew Tirrell

  • Article |

    A wide diversity of surfaces patterned with microfibres is highly desirable for various applications as electrode materials. Demortière et al.develop a facile approach of producing polymer microfibres with controlled architectures via dynamic self-assembly under an alternating electric field.

    • Arnaud Demortière
    • , Alexey Snezhko
    •  & Igor S. Aranson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Copolymers prepared by controlled radical chain-growth polymerizations usually contain ill-defined monomer sequences. Here, successive feeds of donor and acceptor comonomers are used to control the primary structure of the synthesized copolymers with very high accuracy.

    • Mirela Zamfir
    •  & Jean-François Lutz

  • Article |

    Well-defined, monodisperse colloids of semiconducting polymers are required as new photonic and optoelectronic materials. Here, a Suzuki–Miyaura dispersion polymerization is used to produce monodisperse sub-micrometer particles of a range of semiconducting polymers.

    • Alexander J.C. Kuehne
    • , Malte C. Gather
    •  & Joris Sprakel

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