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Macromolecular Design via Controlled Polymerization

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2019)

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Interests: controlled/living polymerization; multivinyl monomer polymerization; knotted/cyclized polymers; branched polymers; wound healing; recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa; non-viral gene therapy; highly branched poly(beta-amino ester); tissue engineering; cell therapy; injectable hydrogels; 3D bio-printing; tissue adhesives

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Charles Institute of Dermatology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: controlled/living polymerization; non-viral gene therapy; non-viral gene vectors; knotted/cyclized polymers; highly branched poly(beta-amino ester); recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Design and synthesis of macromolecules with defined composition, structure and functionalities have been extensively explored for several decades, but remain a great challenge. The great progress on controlled polymerization technologies provides a versatile, as well as flexible, platform to manipulate macromolecular chain topology and functionalities, and thus the design and synthesis of diverse structurally and functionally complex macromolecules is possible; applications of these macromolecules have also been widely explored. This Special Issue aims at publishing cutting-edge original research papers and reviews in the main areas where macromolecular design, synthesis and application via controlled polymerization techniques are under development, including, but not limited to, new controlled polymerization strategies, new macromolecular characterization methodologies, new macromolecular structure/function design, new polymer structure-function relationship understanding, new applications of macromolecules, etc.

Prof. Wenxin Wang
Dr. Dezhong Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Controlled polymerization
  • Macromolecular structure
  • Macromolecular function
  • Macromolecular structure-function relationship
  • Macromolecular characterization
  • Application of macromolecules

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 1318 KiB  
Article
PET-RAFT Polymerization Catalyzed by Small Organic Molecule under Green Light Irradiation
by Huazhen Tao, Lei Xia, Guang Chen, Tianyou Zeng, Xuan Nie, Ze Zhang and Yezi You
Polymers 2019, 11(5), 892; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11050892 - 15 May 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6984
Abstract
Photocatalyzed polymerization using organic molecules as catalysts has attracted broad interest because of its easy operation in ambient environments and low toxicity compared with metallic catalysts. In this work, we reported that 4,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (DTBT) can act as an efficient photoredox catalyst for photoinduced [...] Read more.
Photocatalyzed polymerization using organic molecules as catalysts has attracted broad interest because of its easy operation in ambient environments and low toxicity compared with metallic catalysts. In this work, we reported that 4,7-di(thiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (DTBT) can act as an efficient photoredox catalyst for photoinduced electron transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization under green light irradiation. Well-defined (co)polymers can be obtained using this technique without any additional additives like noble metals and electron donors or acceptors. The living characteristics of polymerization were verified by kinetic study and the narrow dispersity (Đ) of the produced polymer. Excellent chain-end fidelity was demonstrated through chain extension as well. In addition, this technique showed great potential for various RAFT agents and monomers including acrylates and acrylamides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromolecular Design via Controlled Polymerization)
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11 pages, 2125 KiB  
Communication
Degradable Polymer Stars Based on Tannic Acid Cores by ATRP
by Julia Cuthbert, Saigopalakrishna S. Yerneni, Mingkang Sun, Travis Fu and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski
Polymers 2019, 11(5), 752; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11050752 - 28 Apr 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7033
Abstract
Degradable polymers are crucial in order to reduce plastic environmental pollution and waste accumulation. In this paper, a natural product, tannic acid was modified to be used as a polymer star core. The tannic acid was modified with atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) [...] Read more.
Degradable polymers are crucial in order to reduce plastic environmental pollution and waste accumulation. In this paper, a natural product, tannic acid was modified to be used as a polymer star core. The tannic acid was modified with atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators and characterized by 1H NMR, FT-IR, and XPS. Twenty-five arm polymer stars were prepared by photoinduced ATRP of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or poly(oligo(ethylene oxide) methacrylate) (molar mass Mw = 300 g/mol) (P(OEO300MA)). The polymer stars were degraded by cleaving the polymer star arms attached to the core by phenolic esters under mild basic conditions. The stars were analyzed before and after degradation by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Cytotoxicity assays were performed on the P(OEO300MA) stars and corresponding degraded polymers, and were found to be nontoxic at the concentrations tested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromolecular Design via Controlled Polymerization)
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11 pages, 3358 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Electrospinning of Polycaprolactone from an Aluminium-Based Catalyst: Influence of the Ancillary Ligand and Initiators on Catalytic Efficiency and Fibre Structure
by Ioannis K. Kouparitsas, Elisa Mele and Sara Ronca
Polymers 2019, 11(4), 677; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11040677 - 13 Apr 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4188
Abstract
In the present study, we investigated the catalytic performance of a 2,2′-methylenebis(6-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol) (MDBP)–aluminium complex for the ring-opening polymerisation (ROP) of ε-caprolactone in combination with various alcohols as initiators. Three different alcohols were investigated: 1-adamantanemethanol (A), 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluoro-1-octanol (F) [...] Read more.
In the present study, we investigated the catalytic performance of a 2,2′-methylenebis(6-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol) (MDBP)–aluminium complex for the ring-opening polymerisation (ROP) of ε-caprolactone in combination with various alcohols as initiators. Three different alcohols were investigated: 1-adamantanemethanol (A), 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluoro-1-octanol (F) and isopropanol (I). Samplings of polycaprolactone (PCL) at various reaction times showed a linear increase in the polymer molecular weight with time, with very narrow polydispersity, confirming the living nature of the catalytic system. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of electrospun PCL fibre mats produced from 30 wt % dichloromethane/dimethyl sulfoxide solutions showed a high level of surface porosity with a reasonable homogeneity of fibre diameters. The values of the liquid absorption and water contact angle were measured for the electrospun mats, with the F-capped PCL consistently showing absorption values up to three times higher than those of PCL samples capped with the other two alcohols, as well as increased hydrophobicity. The nature of the alcohol can influence the surface hydrophobicity and absorption ability of electrospun fibres, demonstrating the possibility of tailoring material properties through controlled polymerisation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Macromolecular Design via Controlled Polymerization)
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