In this context, by combining atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with thiol–epoxy‘click’ chemistry, Khan and co-workers described a general and effient synthetic scheme, free from the usual protection/deprotection requirement of organic synthesis, for installation of two different types of functional groups at a polymer chainend. This strategy also allowed for total control over the number of the chain-end functionalities. In essence, the present strategy established a novel, modular and efficient route to chain-end multifunctional polymers with chemically complex yet molecularly precise structures and is expected to impact the current design of functional soft materials targeted for sophisticated applications.
Protecting-group-free synthesis of chain-end multifunctional polymers by combining ATRP with thiol–epoxy ‘click’ chemistry by Ikhlas Gadwal and Anzar Khan, Polym. Chem., 2013, 4, 2440-2444.
Julien Nicolas is a guest web-writer for Polymer Chemistry. He currently works at Univ. Paris-Sud (FR) as a CNRS researcher.
