Polymer Chemistry Blog

Prof. Rebekka S. Klausen carried out graduate studies in organic synthesis with Prof. Eric N. Jacobsen (Ph.D. 2011, Harvard University) and postdoctoral research in single molecule electronics with Prof. Colin Nuckolls (2011-2013, Columbia University). In 2013, she joined the Johns Hopkins University Department of Chemistry as an Assistant Professor and is now the Second Decade Society Associate Professor. Her research program has been recognized with awards including the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (2021) and the ACS Macro Letters / Biomacromolecules / Macromolecules Young Investigator Award (2022). Rebekka’s research interests broadly encompass polymer synthesis, with unique contributions in the areas of the development of organometallic polymers of the main group, control of polymer tacticity, and the synthesis of functional materials inaccessible from traditional feedstocks. Read about more of Rebekka’s research on her lab website.

She has given her thoughts on future of the polymer chemistry field and the role of Polymer Chemistry:

“Postpolymerization functionalization is an area where I see a lot of creative new directions. I’m excited about the potential for exploiting native functionalities in polymers for synthetic diversification. Another growth area is the “transformable monomer” concept, in which a monomer with privileged polymerization reactivity serves as a replacement for a more challenging monomer by way of postpolymerization transformation to another functional group, which allows access to polymers that are hard to make from traditional feedstocks. Postpolymerization functionalization is also going to grow as a central component in enabling sustainable polymers, whether through upcycling of post-consumer plastics or through chemical degradation. By joining the Polymer Chemistry editorial board, I hope to showcase the very best scientific research on these themes.”

Professor Klausen’s favourite recent Polymer Chemistry articles

Professor Klausen has selected some recent publications in Polymer Chemistry that she has found particularly interesting or insightful. These articles are all free to read until 10 November 2023.

Photoinduced SET to access olefin-acrylate copolymers

John B. Garrison , Rhys W. Hughes , James B. Young and Brent S. Sumerlin

Polym. Chem, 2022, 13, 982-988

An electrochemical Hofmann rearrangement on acrylamide copolymers

Muzhao Wang and Paul Wilson.

Polym. Chem., 2023, 14, 3057-3062

Light-accelerated depolymerization catalyzed by Eosin Y

Valentina Bellotti, Kostas Parkatzidis, Hyun Suk Wang, Nethmi De Alwis Watuthanthrige, Matteo Orfano, Angelo Monguzzi, Nghia P. Truong, Roberto Simonutti and Athina Anastasaki

Polym. Chem., 2023, 14, 253-258

Read Professor Klausen’s Polymer Chemistry articles

RAFT Polymerization of an Aromatic Organoborane for Block Copolymer Synthesis

Sophia J. Melvin, Braden A. Mediavilla, Em G. Ambrosius, Qifeng Jiang, Fan Fang, Yuyang Ji, Tushita Mukhopadhyaya, Howard E. Katz and Rebekka S. Klausen

Polym. Chem., 2023, Advanced Article

Effect of polycyclosilane microstructure on thermal properties

Qifeng Jiang, Sydnee Wong & Rebekka S. Klausen
Polym. Chem., 2021, 12, 4785-4794

Metallocene influence on poly(cyclosilane) structure and properties

Carlton P. Folster & Rebekka S. Klausen
Polym. Chem., 2018, 9, 1938-1941

All the highlighted articles are currently FREE to read until 10 November 2023!

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dominik Konkolewicz (Miami University, USA) has joined the Editorial Board of Polymer Chemistry as an Associate Editor

Dominik Konkolewicz is currently a Professor of Chemistry at Miami University in Oxford Ohio (USA). He earned a PhD from the University of Sydney in 2011, advised by Prof. Sébastien Perrier, and completed postdoctoral work at Carnegie Mellon University, in the group of Prof. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski. Dr. Konkolewicz has led a team of 10-15 polymer chemists and materials scientists at Miami University since 2014. His research interests lie at the intersection of polymerization kinetics, macromolecular engineering, biohybrids, and responsive materials. The Konkolewicz group designs polymer materials from a mechanistic perspective, with research efforts across dynamic covalent and non-covalent chemistry, biomaterials and bioconjugates, and light driven polymerization and degradation reactions. Particular focus areas are at the intersection of polymer science and sustainability, and polymers interacting with biomolecules.

Check out our interview with Dominik below:

What are you most looking forward to about your role as a Board member for Polymer Chemistry?

Overall I am excited to work with the team of editors, authors and reviewers to discover the newest developments in polymer science. I am especially excited to work with the multidisciplinary team at Polymer Chemistry to highlight the best and most exciting work in new macromolecules and applications of polymer materials.

What are your thoughts on the future of the polymer chemistry field and the role of Polymer Chemistry?

Certainly there are many important directions for the field of polymer chemistry. One that is important societally is sustainable use of polymers and plastics. I am looking forward to excellent papers in Polymer Chemistry that will develop practical solutions towards this substantial challenge.

Also we are already seeing the emergence of polymers in healthcare, and with milder polymerization methods and better controlled polymer synthesis, I anticipate that polymers impact on health science will continue to grow.

Would you be able to select a few of your favourite recent articles in Polymer Chemistry that you find particularly interesting or insightful?

It is hard to identify just a few papers, but I am excited about several different areas in Polymer Chemistry. There has been a lot of interest in recovering monomers post polymerization, which could have substantial impacts on sustainability. There are some great papers from the Anastasaki group on light driven depolymerization and bulk polymerization and depolymerization of caprolactone (DOI: 10.1039/D2PY01383E) which can be bio sourced from the Wang group (DOI: 10.1039/D2PY00953F)

Harrisson wrote a thought provoking paper on control, variability and dispersity in polymers, focusing on standard deviation as an important metric of precision (DOI: 10.1039/C8PY00138C)

I am also very excited to see design of polymers impacting the material’s final properties, the the impact of composition, blending and architecture on thermal properties from the Lawrence group (DOI: 10.1039/D2PY00819J), using new chemistry to stabilize nano-objects from the Blasco group (DOI: 10.1039/D1PY00032B), and the complex networks made by combining cationic and radical polymerization from the Satoh and Takeoka groups (DOI: 10.1039/D2PY00554A)

Read Dominik’s Editor’s Choice articles here

Light-accelerated depolymerization catalyzed by Eosin Y
Valentina Bellotti, Kostas Parkatzidis, Hyun Suk Wang, Nethmi De Alwis Watuthanthrige, Matteo Orfano, Angelo Monguzzi, Nghia P. Truong, Roberto Simonuttia and Athina Anastasaki
Polym. Chem., 2023, 14, 253-258, DOI: 10.1039/D2PY01383E

Closed-loop chemical recycling of poly(ε-caprolactone) by tuning reaction parameters
Jiafeng Su, Guangqiang Xu, Bingzhe Dong, Rulin Yang, Hongguang Sun and Qinggang Wang
Polym. Chem., 2022, 13, 5897-5904, DOI: 10.1039/D2PY00953F

Versatile strategies to tailor the glass transition temperatures of bottlebrush polymers
Michael Dearman, Nduka D. Ogbonna, Chamberlain A. Amofa, Andrew J. Peters and Jimmy Lawrence
Polym. Chem., 2022, 13, 4901-4907, DOI: 10.1039/D2PY00819J (Featured in our ‘Tailoring dispersity and shape of molecular weight contributions’ themed collection)

One-pot synthesis of structure-controlled temperature-responsive polymer gels
Tomoki Sakai, Nagisa Ito, Mitsuo Hara, Takahiro Seki, Mineto Uchiyama, Masami Kamigaito, Kotaro Satoh, Taiki Hoshino and Yukikazu Takeoka
Polym. Chem., 2022,13, 4230-4240, DOI: 10.1039/D2PY00554A (Featured in our ‘Polymer Networks’ themed collection)

Stabilizing self-assembled nano-objects using light-driven tetrazole chemistry
Martina Nardi, Torsten Scherer, Liang Yang, Christian Kübel, Christopher Barner-Kowollik and Eva Blasco
Polym. Chem., 2021,12, 1627-1634, DOI: 10.1039/D1PY00032B

The downside of dispersity: why the standard deviation is a better measure of dispersion in precision polymerization
Simon Harrisson
Polym. Chem., 2018, 9, 1366-1370, DOI: 10.1039/C8PY00138C

These articles are FREE to access until 28 February 2023

We were delighted to announce Dominik as the recipient of the 2022 Polymer Chemistry Lectureship. Check out some of his recent work in our Lectureship winners collection

If you know someone as deserving as Dominik for the 2023 Polymer Chemistry Lectureship, nominate them before 28 February. More details here

Please join us in welcoming Dominik to the Editorial Board of Polymer Chemistry!

Submit your best work to Dominik and our team of fantastic Associate Editors on Polymer Chemistry now! Check out our author guidelines for information on our article types or find out more about the advantages of publishing in a Royal Society of Chemistry journal.

Athina Anastasaki completed her PhD studies at the University of Warwick under the supervision of Professor Dave Haddleton and received the Jon Weaver Award for the best PhD thesis in Polymer Chemistry in the United Kingdom. She then commenced a Monash-Warwick post-doctoral appointment between Monash University (with Professor Tom Davis) and the University of Warwick (with Professor Haddleton). In 2016, she was awarded an Elings fellowship and a Global Marie Curie Fellowship to conduct research at the University of California in Santa Barbara working alongside Professor Craig Hawker. She is now an Assistant Professor at the Materials Department of ETH Zurich and has published 100 peer-reviewed articles and she recently received the 2020 Hanwha-Total IUPAC Young Scientist Award and an ERC Starting Grant. Her research focuses on controlled radical polymerization, self-assembly of polymeric materials, polymerization mechanisms and complex materials of different dispersities and architectures. You can follow her on Twitter @AthinaAnastasa1.

Check out our themed collections on ‘Sustainable polymers’ and ‘Plastics in a circular economy’ to read some of the exciting work we have published in this area.

Athina’s favourite Polymer Chemistry articles

Here are four publications that Athina has chosen as her favourite recent articles in Polymer Chemistry.

Sustainable thermoplastic elastomers produced via cationic RAFT polymerization
Scott Spring, Red Smith-Sweetser, Stephanie Rosenbloom, Renee Sifri and Brett Fors
Polymer Chemistry, 2021, 12, 1097-1104

Thermoresponsive dynamic BAB block copolymer networks synthesized by aqueous PISA in one-pot
Pauline Biais, Marie Engel, Olivier Colombani, Taco Nicolai, François Stoffelbach and Jutta Rieger
Polymer Chemistry, 2021, 12, 1040-1049

Diselenide–yne polymerization for multifunctional selenium-containing hyperbranched polymers
Xiaofang Lin, Sisi Chen, Weihong Lu, Ming Liu, Zhengbiao Zhang, Jian Zhu and Xiangqiang Pan
Polymer Chemistry, 2021, 12, 3383-3390

The block copolymer shuffle in size exclusion chromatography: the intrinsic problem with using elugrams to determine chain extension success
Kai Philipps, Tanja Junkers and Jasper Michels
Polymer Chemistry, 2021, 12, 2522-2531

All these articles are currently FREE to read until 15 November 2021!

We are delighted to announce Professor Zhibo Li (Qingdao University of Science and Technology,) as a new Associate Editor for Polymer Chemistry!

Zhibo Li obtained his B.S. (1998) and Master (2001) degree from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He then completed his Ph.D. working on self-assembly of triblock copolymers in the Chemistry Department, University of Minnesota in 2006. After that, he spent two and half years in UCLA as a postdoctoral scholar. In 2009, he became a professor in the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and moved to the Qingdao University of Science and Technology in 2015. He was winner of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (2012), and became the Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (2018). His research interests include design and synthesis of stimuli-responsive polypeptides, preparation of biodegradable polyesters from biobased monomers, developing organocatalysts and phosphazene  superbase for ring opening (co)polymerization of cyclic esters and epoxides, and studying the self-assembly of copolymers with multi-hydrogen bonding interactions.

Read some of his recent articles below for FREE until 17th January!

Self-crosslinking assemblies with tunable nanostructures from photoresponsive polypeptoid-based block copolymers
Jirui Wei,   Jing Sun,   Xu Yang,   Sifan Ji,   Yuhan Wei  and  Zhibo Li
Polym. Chem., 2020, Advance Article (Part of our 2020 Emerging Investigators issue)

Fast, selective and metal-free ring-opening polymerization to synthesize polycarbonate/polyester copolymers with high incorporation of ethylene carbonate using an organocatalytic phosphazene base
Chuanzhi Wei,   Xinhui Kou,   Shaofeng Liu  and  Zhibo Li
Polym. Chem., 2019,10, 5905-5912

Phosphazene superbase catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of cyclotetrasiloxane toward copolysiloxanes with high diphenyl siloxane content
Jinfeng Shi,   Na Zhao,   Shuang Xia,   Shaofeng Liu  and  Zhibo Li
Polym. Chem., 2019,10, 2126-2133

A facile method to prepare high molecular weight bio-renewable poly(γ-butyrolactone) using a strong base/urea binary synergistic catalytic system
Yong Shen,    Zhichao Zhao,   Yunxin Li,   Shaofeng Liu,   Fusheng Liu  and  Zhibo Li
Polym. Chem., 2019,10, 1231-1237

Schiff base and reductive amination reactions of α-amino acids: a facile route toward N-alkylated amino acids and peptoid synthesis
Xiaohui Fu,   Zheng Li,   Jirui Wei,   Jing Sun  and  Zhibo Li
Polym. Chem., 2018,9, 4617-4624

Preparation of biorenewable poly(γ-butyrolactone)-b-poly(l-lactide) diblock copolyesters via one-pot sequential metal-free ring-opening polymerization
Yong Shen,   Jinbo Zhang,   Na Zhao,   Fusheng Liu  and  Zhibo Li
Polym. Chem., 2018,9, 2936-2941

As a Polymer Chemistry Associate Editor, Zhibo will be handling submissions to the journal.

Why not submit your next paper to his Editorial Office?

We are delighted to announce Professor Rongrong Hu (South China University of Technology) as a new Associate Editor for Polymer Chemistry!

Rongrong Hu received her B.S. degree from Peking University and her PhD degree from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She is currently a Professor of the State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices at South China University of Technology.

She has published over 110 peer-reviewed articles and reviews. Her research interests include (1) the development of alkyne or isocyanide-based multicomponent polymerization methodology through the combination of organic and polymer synthesis, and (2) luminescent polymers with diverse structures and applications. Her current research focuses on the development of multicomponent polymerizations of elemental sulfur and sulfur-containing functional polymers.

Read some of her recent articles below for free until the 17^th January!

Room temperature multicomponent polymerizations of alkynes, sulfonyl azides, and N-protected isatins toward oxindole-containing poly(N-acylsulfonamide)s
Liguo Xu,   Fan Zhou,   Min Liao,   Rongrong Hu*  and  Ben Zhong Tang*
Polym. Chem., 2018,9, 1674-1683, Paper (Part of our 2018 Emerging Investigators series)

Red-emissive azabenzanthrone derivatives for photodynamic therapy irradiated with ultralow light power density and two-photon imaging
Qiguang Zang,   Jiayi Yu,   Wenbin Yu,   Jun Qian,   Rongrong Hu*  and  Ben Zhong Tang*
Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 5165-5171, Edge Article

Fluorescence visualization of crystal formation and transformation processes of organic luminogens with crystallization-induced emission characteristics
Chao Zheng,   Qiguang Zang,   Han Nie,   Weitao Huang,   Zujin Zhao,   Anjun Qin,   Rongrong Hu*  and  Ben Zhong Tang*
Mater. Chem. Front., 2018,2, 180-188, Research Article

Thermoresponsive AIE polymers with fine-tuned response temperature
Tingzhong Li,   Sicong He,   Jianan Qu,   Hao Wu,   Shuizhu Wu,   Zujin Zhao,   Anjun Qin,   Rongrong Hu*  and  Ben Zhong Tang*
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2016,4, 2964-2970, Paper

As a Polymer Chemistry Associate Editor, Rongrong will be handling submissions to the journal.

Why not submit your next paper to her Editorial Office?

Filip graduated from his postgraduate studies in macromolecular chemistry from Ghent (Belgium) and Lehigh (USA) University in 1996, after which he carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Montpellier and at Ghent University (UGent). In 1999, he ultimately became research leader of the Polymer Chemistry Research group (PCR) within the Centre of Macromolecular Chemistry (CMaC) at Ghent University, where he now leads a research group of 25 researchers and the UGent valorization consortium Chemtech as full professor.

Filip’s current research focuses on the development of new polymer structures, the exploration of powerful polymer functionalization methods and the design of polymer materials for high-value applications. His team uses a highly interdisciplinary approach to develop in some cases industrially applicable polymer materials. The main research themes of his research are on 1) polymer functionalization to absolute control, 2) dynamic and self-healing polymeric materials such as vitrimers and 3) increasing the functionality of renewable polymers.

Read some of his recent Polymer Chemistry articles below!

Polycycloacetals via polytransacetalization of diglycerol bisacetonide
Andrea Hufendiek,  Sophie Lingier,  Pieter Espeel,  Stefaan De Wildeman  and  Filip E. Du Prez
Polym. Chem., 2018, Advance Article

ADMET and TAD chemistry: a sustainable alliance
L. Vlaminck,  K. De Bruycker,  O. Türünç  and  F. E. Du Prez 
Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 5655-5663

Polydimethylsiloxane quenchable vitrimers
Tyler Stukenbroeker,  Wendi Wang,  Johan M. Winne,  Filip E. Du Prez,  Renaud Nicolaÿ  and  Ludwik Leibler
Polym. Chem., 2017, 8, 6590-6593

Holger Frey is a chaired Professor at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the author of 350 peer-reviewed original publications and reviews in different areas of current Polymer Science. He has been an Editorial Board member for Polymer Chemistry since June 2017 and has now moved role to become an Associate Editor.

His scope of interests is broad and comprises ionic polymerization techniques in general, hyperbranched materials (polyethers, polyesters, polycarbonates), silicon-based polymers, multifunctional poly(ethylene glycol)s, block copolymers and polymer nanostructures for drug transport. The current research interest of his group is centered on new functional polymers prepared via oxyanionic ring-opening polymerization, new approaches utilizing CO₂ as a monomer, and non-conventional approaches in carbanionic polymer synthesis to generate gradient and multiblock structures, for instance as dispersants or for thermoplastic elastomers.

 Read some of his recent articles below!

“Clickable PEG” via anionic copolymerization of ethylene oxide and glycidyl propargyl ether
Jana Herzberger,  Daniel Leibig,  Jens Langhanki,  Christian Moers,  Till Opatz  and  Holger Frey
Polym. Chem., 2017, 8, 1882-1887

Tunable dynamic hydrophobic attachment of guest molecules in amphiphilic core–shell polymers
Jörg Reichenwallner,  Anja Thomas,  Lutz Nuhn,  Tobias Johann,  Annette Meister,  Holger Frey  and  Dariush Hinderberger
Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 5783-5798

Water-soluble and redox-responsive hyperbranched polyether copolymers based on ferrocenyl glycidyl ether
Arda Alkan,  Rebecca Klein,  Sergii I. Shylin,  Ulrike Kemmer-Jonas,  Holger Frey  and  Frederik R. Wurm
Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 7112-7118

As Polymer Chemistry Associate Editors, Filip and Holger will be handling submissions to the journal. Why not submit your next paper to their Editorial Office?

We are delighted to welcome Professor Tanja Junkers (Monash University) and Professor Jeremiah A. Johnson (MIT) as Associate Editors for Polymer Chemistry!

Professor Tanja Junkers studied chemistry and graduated with a PhD in physical chemistry from Göttingen University. In January 2018 she became full professor at Monash University in Melbourne, she remains guest professor at Hasselt University and her group is currently active at both locations.

Her main research interests are precision polymer synthesis, use of continuous flow chemistry approaches, light-induced chemistries, polymer surface modification and investigations on kinetics and mechanisms of radical reactions. To find out more about her research read some of her recent publications below!

Visible light-induced iniferter polymerization of methacrylates enhanced by continuous flow
Maarten Rubens,  Phanumat Latsrisaeng  and  Tanja Junkers
Polym. Chem., 2017,8, 6496-6505

RAFT multiblock reactor telescoping: from monomers to tetrablock copolymers in a continuous multistage reactor cascade
Evelien Baeten,  Joris J. Haven  and  Tanja Junkers
Polym. Chem., 2017,8, 3815-3824

Professor Jeremiah Johnson is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at MIT. He was previously an Editorial Board member for Polymer Chemistry.

His research focuses on researching molecular design in three primary areas: nano-scale materials synthesis, macro-scale materials synthesis, and development of new chemical methods for modifying interfaces between bulk and nanoscale objects (surface chemistry). The tools of traditional organic and organometallic synthesis, synthetic polymer chemistry, photochemistry, surface science, and biopolymer engineering are combined to realize the design of target materials. To find out more about his research read some of his publications below!

Improving photo-controlled living radical polymerization from trithiocarbonates through the use of continuous-flow techniques
Mao Chen  and  Jeremiah A. Johnson
Chem. Commun., 2015,51, 6742-6745

Tailoring the structure of polymer networks with iniferter-mediated photo-growth
Awaneesh Singh,  Olga Kuksenok,  Jeremiah A. Johnson  and  Anna C. Balazs
Polym. Chem., 2016,7, 2955-2964

As Polymer Chemistry Associate Editors, Tanja and Jeremiah will be handling submissions to the journal. Why not submit your next paper to their Editorial Office?