Design and Synthesis of Polymers

Dear Colleagues,

It is well-known that polymer functions strongly depend on their design and structure. The design and synthesis of polymers are very important for desired properties. Commonly, most polymers are synthesized by the following methods: radical, anionic, cationic, condensation, ring opening, and coordination polymerizations. Unfortunately, these synthetic polymer structures are not well-controlled compared with biopolymers, such as polypeptide, DNA, RNA, and so on. We cannot precisely control molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, monomer sequence, and tacticity. Recently, controlled polymerization methods have been developed to achieve well-controlled structured polymers with defined molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution. However, this is unsatisfactory compared with biopolymers. Especially, monomer sequence and tacticity controls constitute difficult challenges. Additionally, there are various design of polymers, such as linear polymer, random copolymer, alternative copolymer, block copolymer, branched polymer, graft copolymer, star-shape copolymer, mikto−arm copolymer, dendrimer, and so on. These designs are the key points of the functions.

This collection is concerned with the design and synthesis of polymers. We hope to share new concept designs of polymers, polymer synthesis methods, and analysis of polymerization mechanisms. Both original contributions and reviews are welcome.

Prof. Shin-ichi Yusa
Collection Editor

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