Efficient synthesis of multifunctional polymers via thiol-epoxy "click" chemistry

We demonstrate high efficiency and simplicity of the thiol-epoxy reaction towards preparation of a wide range of main-chain as well as end-chain multifunctional polymers.     

A versatile and modular approach to functionalisation of deep-cavity cavitands via"click" chemistry

The surface modification of deep-cavity cavitands has been demonstrated by using the azide-alkyne "click" coupling to attach dendritic macromolecules or linear polymers onto their periphery. The resulting set of macromolecular cavitands exhibited tuneable solubility yet retained the ability to encapsulate guest molecules.     

A convergent approach to biocompatible polyglycerol "click" dendrons for the synthesis of modular core-shell architectures and their transport behavior

Dendrimers are an important class of polymeric materials for a broad range of applications in which monodispersity and multivalency are of interest. Here we report on a highly efficient synthetic route towards bifunctional polyglycerol dendrons on a multigram scale. Commercially available triglycerol (1), which is highly biocompatible, was used as starting material. By applying Williamson ether synthesis followed by an ozonolysis/reduction procedure, glycerol-based dendrons up to the fourth generation were prepared. The obtained products have a reactive core, which was further functionalized to the corresponding monoazido derivatives. By applying copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, so-called "click" coupling, a library of core-shell architectures was prepared. After removal of the 1,2-diol protecting groups, water-soluble core-shell architectures 24-27 of different generations were obtained in high yields. In the structure-transport relationship with Nile red we observe a clear dependence on core size and generation of the polyglycerol dendrons.     

A citric acid-derived ligand for modular functionalization of metal oxide surfaces via "click" chemistry

Citric acid is a widely used surface-modifying ligand for growth and processing of a variety of nanoparticles; however, the inability to easily prepare derivatives of this molecule has restricted the development of versatile chemistries for nanoparticle surface functionalization. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a citric acid derivative bearing an alkyne group and demonstrate that this molecule provides the ability to achieve stable, multidentate carboxylate binding to metal oxide nanoparticles, while also enabling subsequent multistep chemistry via the Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. The broad utility of this strategy for the modular functionalization of metal oxide surfaces was demonstrated by its application in the CuAAC modification of ZnO, Fe(2)O(3), TiO(2), and WO(3) nanoparticles.     

Synthesis of novel aromatic ether polymers containing perfluorocyclobutyl and triazole units via click chemistry

The synthesis and characterization of a novel class of linear aromatic ether polymers containing perfluorocyclobutyl and triazole unites is described. These polymers were prepared from the click chemistry (the copper-catalyzed Huisgen's 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition) of new monomer 1,2-bis(4-azidomethylphenoxy) perfluorocyclobutane and bisethynyl compounds.     

Synthesis and self‐assembly of amphiphilic dendronized conjugated polymers

Two kinds of amphiphilic dendronized conjugated polymers, polyfluorene (PF) and poly(binaphthyl‐alt‐fluorene) (PBF), were synthesized by Suzuki polycondensation of hydrophobic macromonomers with two nonpolar octyloxy chains and hydrophilic macromonomers with two polar oligo(ethylene oxide) chains. In these polymers, PF possesses a linear rod‐like backbone structure, and PBF adopts a folded rigid backbone structure. The different configurations in the conjugated main chains result in different supramolecular self‐assembly morphologies. The optical and thermal properties of PF and PBF were also studied. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 574–584, 2008     

Synthesis of comb polymers via grafting‐onto macromolecules bearing pendant diene groups via the hetero‐Diels‐Alder‐RAFT click concept

Comb polymers were synthesized by the “grafting‐onto” method via a combination of Reversible Addition‐Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization and the hetero‐Diels‐Alder (HDA) cycloaddition. The HDA reactive monomer trans, trans‐hexa‐2,4‐dienylacrylate (ttHA) was copolymerized with styrene via the RAFT process. Crosslinking was minimized by decreasing the monomer concentration—whilst keeping monomer to polymer conversions low—resulting in reactive backbones with on average one reactive pendant diene groups for 10 styrene units. The HDA cycloaddition was performed between the diene functions of the copolymer and a poly(n‐butyl acrylate) (PnBA) prepared via RAFT polymerization with pyridin‐2‐yldithioformate, which can act as a dienophile. The coupling reactions were performed within 24 h at 50 °C and the grafting yield varies from 75% to 100%, depending on the number average molecular weight of the PnBA (3500 g mol^?1 < M_n < 13,000 g mol^?1) grafted chain and the reaction stoichiometry. The molecular weights of the grafted block copolymers range from 19,000 g mol^?1 to 58,000 g mol^?1 with polydispersities close to 1.25. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1773–1781, 2010     

Scalable preparation and direct visualization of cyclic polymers via self-folding cyclization technique

Cyclic polymers exhibit distinct properties compared with their linear counterparts due to the lack of chain ends.However,the scalable synthesis of cyclic polymers remains a major challenge,especially for ring-closure method.Herein,we report a novel strategy for large-scale preparation of cyclic polymers,which relies on the prior self-folding of anthracene-telechelic amphiphilic random copolymers(poly((oligo(ethylene glycol) acrylate)-co-(dodecyl acrylate)),P(OEGA-co-DDA)) into single-chain poly...     

Copper-catalyzed "click" reaction/direct arylation sequence: modular syntheses of 1,2,3-triazoles

Inexpensive copper catalysts enabled modular one-pot multicomponent syntheses of fully decorated triazoles through a sustainable "click" reaction/direct arylation sequence.     

Synthesis of unsymmetrical sulfamides and polysulfamides via SuFEx click chemistry

As hydrogen-bond donors and acceptors, N,N′-disubstituted sulfamides have been used in a range of applications from medicinal chemistry to anion-binding catalysis. However, compared to ureas or thioureas, the utilization of this unique moiety remains marginal, in part because of a lack of general synthetic methods to access unsymmetrical sulfamides. Specifically, polysulfamides are a virtually unknown type of polymer despite their potential utility in non-covalent dynamic networks, an intense area of research in materials science. We report herein a practical and efficient process to prepare unsymmetrical sulfamides via Sulfur(vi)-Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx) click chemistry. This process was then applied to synthesize polysulfamides. Thermal analysis showed that this family of polymers possess high thermal stability and tunable glass transition temperatures. Finally, hydrolysis studies indicated that aromatic polysulfamides could be recycled back to their constituting monomers at the end of their life cycle.

A general, practical, and efficient synthesis of N,N′-disubstituted sulfamides has been developed and applied to the preparation of polysulfamides, a virtually unknown class of polymers.     

Synthesis of degradable model networks via ATRP and click chemistry

A simple scheme involving atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from a bifunctional initiator, conversion of the bromine end groups of the resulting telechelic polymer to azides, and cross-linking of this azido-telechelic macromonomer with multi-acetylene functionalized small molecules via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition was employed to prepare the first tert-butyl acrylate model networks. This general scheme is wide in scope, enabling synthesis of model networks possessing defined pore size from any monomer polymerizable by ATRP. Introduction of an olefin moiety into the ATRP initiator enabled degradation of the materials by ozonolysis to yield star polymer products bearing three or four arms depending on which cross-linker was employed in the parent network. Size-exclusion chromatography of the ozonolysis products confirmed the pore size of the parent network and yielded insight into the number of unreacted functionalities. Model networks derived from a trifunctional alkyne were found to be more completely cross-linked than those derived from a tetrafunctional alkyne, presumably due to less steric hindrance in the former system.     

Molecular batteries: ferrocenylsilylation of dendrons, dendritic cores, and dendrimers: new convergent and divergent routes to ferrocenyl dendrimers with stable redox activity

The ferrocenylsilylation of the phenol triallyl dendron 2, of the phenol nonaallyl dendron 4, and of the 9-, 27-, 81-, and 243-allyl dendrimers 7-10 (monitored by the disappearance of the signals of the olefinic protons in 1H NMR spectra) has been achieved using ferrocenyldimethylsilane 1 and Karstedt's catalyst in diethyl ether at 40 degrees C, yielding the corresponding ferrocenyl dendrons and dendrimers. An alternative convergent synthesis of the nonaferrocenyl dendron 5 was carried out by reaction of the triferrocenyl dendron 2 with a protected triododendron followed by deprotection. Reaction of the nonaferrocenyl dendron 5 with hexakis(bromomethyl)benzene gave the 54-ferrocenyl dendron 6. All the ferrocenyl dendron and dendrimers produce a chemically and electrochemically reversible ferrocenyl oxidation wave at seemingly the same potential. Stable platinum electrodes modified with the high ferrocenyl dendrimers were fabricated. The soluble orange-red ferrocenyl dendrimers can also be oxidized in CH2Cl2 by [NO][PF6] to the insoluble deep blue polyferrocenium dendrimers. For instance, the 243-ferrocenium dendrimer has been characterized by its Mossbauer spectrum, which is of the same type as that of ferrocenium itself. The ferrocenium dendrimers can be reduced without any decomposition back to the ferrocenyl dendrimer, indicating that these multielectronic redoxstable dendrimers behave as molecular batteries.     

Synthesis of sulfur-containing aryl and heteroaryl vinyls via Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling for the preparation of SERS-active polymers

The preparation of sulfur-containing aryl and heteroaryl vinyl co-monomers via Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling between the corresponding mercaptomethyl arylboronates and in situ-generated vinyl bromides is described. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) studies of the target compounds on gold nanoparticles confirmed their potential as spectroscopic tags in the fabrication of SERS-encoded polymers for combinatorial screening and biomedical diagnostics.     

Cyclodextrin-centred star polymers synthesized via a combination of thiol-ene click and ring opening polymerization

The synthesis of cyclodextrin-centred star polymers via thiol-ene addition of per-6-thio-β-cyclodextrin (CD-(SH)(7)) with vinyl terminated polymers is described. The obtained thiol-ene product was employed as an initiator for ring opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL).     

Synthesis of fluorinated polymers via ROMP: a review

This review is concerned with the work conducted in the Durham group during the last twenty years. It is specifically concerned with ROMP of fluorinated monomers with classical and well-defined initiators, with the synthesis of stereoregular polymers, block and stereoblock copolymers.     

Synthesis and postfunctionalization of well‐defined star polymers via “double” click chemistry

In this article, the synthesis and the functionalization of well‐defined, narrow polydispersity (polydispersity index < 1.2) star polymers via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization is detailed. In this arm first approach, the initial synthesis of a poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) polymer, and subsequent, cross‐linking using bis‐acrylamide to prepare star polymers, has been achieved by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. These star polymers were functionalized using a variety of amino functional groups via nucleophilic substitution of pentafluorophenyl activated ester to yield star polymers with predesigned chemical functionality. This approach has allowed the synthesis of star glycopolymer using a very simple approach. Finally, the core of the stars was modified via thiol‐ene click chemistry reaction using fluorescein‐o‐acrylate and DyLigh 633 Maleimide. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

DNA-programmed modular assembly of cyclic and linear nanoarrays for the synthesis of two-dimensional conducting polymers

Nanometer-scale arrays of conducting polymers were prepared on scaffolds of self-assembling DNA modules. A series of DNA oligomers was prepared, each containing six 2,5-bis(2-thienyl)pyrrole (SNS) monomer units linked covalently to N4 atoms of alternating cytosines placed between leading and trailing 12-nucleobase recognition sequences. These DNA modules were encoded so the recognition sequences would uniquely associate through Watson-Crick assembly to form closed-cycle or linear arrays of aligned SNS monomers. The melting behavior and electrophoretic migration of these assemblies showed cooperative formation of multicomponent arrays containing two to five DNA modules (i.e., 12-30 SNS monomers). The treatment of these arrays with horseradish peroxidase and H(2)O(2) resulted in oxidative polymerization of the SNS monomers with concomitant ligation of the DNA modules. The resulting cyclic and linear arrays exhibited chemical and optical properties typical of conducting thiophene-like polymers, with a red-end absorption beyond 1250 nm. AFM images of the cyclic array containing 18 SNS units revealed highly regular 10 nm diameter objects.