One-pot multistep reactions based on thiolactones: extending the realm of thiol-ene chemistry in polymer synthesis

The in situ generation of thiols by nucleophilic ring-opening of a thiolactone with amines, followed by a UV-initiated radical thiol-ene reaction in a one-pot fashion, has been evaluated as an accelerated and versatile protocol for the synthesis of several types of polymeric architectures. After elaboration of a model amine-thiol-ene conjugation reaction, a number of routes based on readily available thiolactone-containing structures have been developed to successfully assemble functional, linear polymers and networks via a mild and facile radical photopolymerization process.