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2026 Polymer Chemistry Lectureship awarded to Professor Eva Blasco

30 Apr 2026

We are delighted to announce Professor Eva Blasco (Heidelberg University, Germany) as the recipient of the 2026 Polymer Chemistry lectureship!

This award, now in its twelfth year, honours an early-career researcher who has made a significant contribution to the polymer chemistry field. The recipient is selected by the Polymer Chemistry Editorial Board from a list of candidates nominated by the community.

Eva Blasco studied chemistry at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), where she also completed her doctorate. She then received an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in 2014, with which she carried out her research in the groups of Prof. C. Barner-Kowollik (Polymer Chemistry) and Prof. M. Wegener (Physics) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany. During this time, she spent a research stay in Brisbane (Australia) and subsequently worked as a group leader at KIT. In October 2020, she started as Junior Professor at Heidelberg University and in January 2023 she was appointed W3 Professor at the newly founded Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM).

She has published more than 125 publications and has been awarded several prizes including the Ernst-Haage and Dr.-Hermann-Schnell (GDCh) prizes in 2022, the Young Investigator Award of the Spanish Chemical Society in 2023 and the 2024 Advance Science Young Innovator Award.

Her research interests include the development of new functional and sustainable polymer materials for 3D and 4D printing, especially on the micro- and nanoscale.

To learn more about Professor Blasco’s research, have a look at her most recent open access publication in Polymer Chemistry “High resolution light-based 3D printing of a bio-sourced monomer with tuneable depolymerisation”. You can also check articles from our previous lectureship winners in our lectureship winners collection.

“My first first-author paper was published in Polymer Chemistry, which makes this recognition particularly meaningful.”

Read our interview with Professor Blasco below:

How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

My first first-author paper was published in Polymer Chemistry, which makes this recognition particularly meaningful. Since then, our research has evolved from a strong focus on polymer synthesis toward more application-driven work. However, the core philosophy remains the same: using the tools of macromolecular chemistry to design advanced materials. Today, we are especially excited to translate these materials into solutions that address societal challenges.

What excites you most about your work and what has been the most exciting moment of your career so far?

I feel very fortunate to work with a dynamic and talented team. What excites me most is not only the big breakthroughs, but also the everyday progress, the small steps in the lab, the moment when an experiment finally works, or when a student gains confidence in their ideas. Seeing the continuous development of my students and postdocs, from their first experiments to becoming independent scientists, is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in your field of research?

Polymers are everywhere, and one of the key challenges is to better understand and control the relationship between molecular design and material function. At the same time, developing more sustainable and functional materials, and translating them into real-world applications, remains in my opinion a central question in the field.

How do you feel about Polymer Chemistry as a place to publish research on this topic?

Polymer Chemistry has a special place in my career, as it was the journal of my first first-author publication. I consider it a leading platform for high-quality and cutting-edge research in polymer science, and it continues to be an important venue for the community.

Which of your Polymer Chemistry publications are you most proud of and why?

It is difficult to choose, as every publication has its own story and significance. However, the first one is always special as it marked an important milestone in my career and my connection to the journal.

In which upcoming conferences or events (online or in person) may our readers meet you?

I am planning to attend several conferences this year, starting with the Bordeaux Polymer Conference 2026, held in June in Bordeaux. I will then attend the Gordon Conference on Additive Manufacturing of Soft Materials in July, followed by ESP2026 in Vienna in September. I always welcome the opportunity to connect and discuss research in person.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with early career scientists?

Stay curious and follow your ideas with passion. Science is a long-term journey, and resilience is just as important as creativity.

How do you spend your spare time?

I enjoy spending time with my family and staying active through sports.

We would like to thank everyone who nominated a candidate for the 2026 Polymer Chemistry Lectureship. The Editorial Board had a very difficult task in choosing a winner from the many excellent and worthy candidates.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Blasco on winning this award!

We are also delighted to announce that the 2027 Polymer Chemistry Lectureship is now open for nominations! Do you know an early-career researcher who deserves recognition for their contribution to the polymer chemistry field?

Head to our website now to read the full nomination criteria and find out how to nominate someone: Nominate your 2027 Polymer Chemistry lectureship candidate

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Polymer Chemistry 15th Anniversary Regional Spotlights

14 Apr 2025

Polymer Chemistry 15th anniversary Regional Spotlights

Showcasing a selection of our most popular articles from regions across the world

As part of our 15^th anniversary celebrations of Polymer Chemistry, we have collated a series of Regional Spotlight collections to showcase some of our most popular articles from some of our key regions across the world. We are pleased to share with you our collections spotlighting a selection of popular articles published over the last 15 years in Polymer Chemistry by corresponding authors based in five key regions: Europe, America, China, Asia-Pacific and, Africa and the Middle East.

We invite you to browse the collections to discover just some of the excellent research that has been published in Polymer Chemistry over the past 15 years. Click the buttons below to explore the collections.

We hope that you have enjoyed browsing the exciting research in our special anniversary Regional Spotlight collections. We are honoured to have published outstanding research from our global community and look forward to many more years showcasing materials science from our authors based all over the world!

We would be delighted to receive your future work to Polymer Chemistry. Check out the scope and requirements on our platform and submit your next work now!

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Paper of the Month: A facile and versatile platform for preparing uniform π-conjugated nanofibers with controlled length and varying shells

16 Dec 2024

Xiang et al. developed a facile and versatile platform for preparing uniform π-conjugated-polymer-based nanofibers (CPNFs) with controlled length and varying functionalities.

The development of controlled π-conjugated polymer nanofibers (CPNFs) represents a significant breakthrough in polymer chemistry due to their wide-ranging applications in electronics, nanomedicine, and catalysis. However, achieving precise control over their length, composition, and surface properties has been a persistent challenge.

To address this, Xiang et al. developed a novel and efficient platform combining activated-ester/amine chemistry with the self-seeding approach of living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA). This method enables the fabrication of uniform CPNFs with controllable dimensions and diverse functionalities. Using poly(pentafluorophenyl methacrylate) (PPFMA) as a precursor, the authors synthesized corona-forming polymers featuring 18-crown-6 (18C6) and dimethylamino (DMA) functionalities, which were subsequently coupled with an oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (OPV₅) π-conjugated core. This approach facilitated the creation of diblock copolymers capable of forming monodisperse fiber-like micelles through self-seeding. By systematically employing the annealing conditions, uniform fiber-like micelles with tunable and precise length were achieved. Furthermore, the functionality of the corona-forming segments was exploited for a variety of applications. For instance, the 18C6 coronas were complexed with sodium and potassium ions, significantly enhancing the stability of seed micelles. The incorporation of chiral amines introduced helicity to the fibers, as evidenced by circular dichroism analysis. The versatility of the platform was further demonstrated through the functionalization of DMA-containing coronas with metal ions, nanoparticles, and porphyrins. These modifications not only enriched the structural diversity of the fibers but also expanded their potential in catalysis and photonic applications.

In summary, this work provides a facile and efficient platform for constructing π-conjugated nanofibers with precise dimensional and functional control. This work opens a facile and general platform for generating distinct CPNFs for diverse applications ranging from nanomedicine to (photo)catalysis.

Tips/comments directly from the authors:

Versatile precursor chemistry enabled efficient post-polymerization modifications, allowing the seamless introduction of diverse functional groups into the shell of nanostructures.
Combined with the precise control over nanofiber length and morphology offered by living CDSA, this methodology exemplifies the possibility of controlled self-assembly for precision preparation of π-conjugated nanostructures with diverse functionalities and designed architecture.

Citation of the paper: A facile and versatile platform for preparing uniform π-conjugated nanofibers with controlled length and varying shells, Polym. Chem., 2024, 15, 4231-4243, DOI: 10.1039/d4py00979g

Link to the paper: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2024/PY/D4PY00979G

Portrait photo of Kelly Velonia

Dr. Kelly Velonia is an Advisory Board Member and a Web Writer for Polymer Chemistry. She joined the Department of Materials Science and Technology at the University of Crete in 2007. Research in her group focuses on the synthesis and applications of bioconjugates and biopolymers. You can follow Kelly on twitter @KellyVelonia.

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Emerging Investigator Series – Elizabeth Elacqua

08 Dec 2023

Beth received her B.S. Degree in Chemistry and Biology from Le Moyne College where her research focused on the total synthesis of natural products. She spent a year at SUNY-Environmental Science and Forestry at the Michael Szwarc Polymer Research Institute, then went to the University of Iowa. Beth worked in the research group of Leonard R. MacGillivray, and received her Ph.D. in 2012. After graduation, Beth started as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at New York University working alongside Marcus Weck at New York University from 2013 – 2017. In 2017, she joined the faculty at Penn State. The Elacqua group works at the interface of organic synthesis and polymer chemistry, focusing on grand challenges that lie at the interface of the two fields, and has been supported by the Doctoral New Investigator Award of the ACS and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, along with an NSF Center of Chemical Innovation and NSF CAREER award. Beth’s work has also been recognized by the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry’s Young Academic Investigator Award and the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Early Stage Investigator Award, along with the Rustum and Della Roy Materials Innovation Award at Penn State.

Read Beth’s Emerging Investigator article, Synthesis and characterization of a ruthenium-containing copolymer for use as a photoredox catalyst, DOI D3PY00428G.

Read our interview with Beth below:

How do you feel about Polymer Chemistry as a place to publish research on this topic?

Our group works on a diverse array of research that spans over polymer chemistry, organic synthesis, and catalysis. We often feel that the broad readership of Polymer Chemistry comprises scientists that are interested in all aspects of our group’s work which is often centered in fundamental polymer synthesis and a little less on applications. Thus, it is often a perfect place to submit papers that we feel are exciting from an overall polymer perspective and we know the readership will benefit from these findings.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Honestly, all of our group’s main projects have been things that were not necessarily in my wheelhouse when I started academia. With that said, I think my advice would be to not shy away from learning new things that are exciting you and/or your group. New areas and directions can always be bolstered by collaborations and discussions with colleagues as well. It’s genuinely more fun to do the science that excites you and have that be boundless (within reason of course), then it is to feel limited by your background or exposure.

Keep up to date with all of Beth’s research by going to her website or following her on X @beth_elacqua.

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Paper of the Month: Geared photochemistry: an interdependent heterogeneous near-infrared catalytic system using up-conversion glass and g-CN for CuAAC chemistry

07 Feb 2023

Kocaarslan et al. employ a heterogeneous near-infrared catalytic system using up-conversion glass (UCG) and g-CN to synthesize (macro)molecules via click chemistry.

The efficiency and accessibility of “click” chemistry, and more specifically the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC), have been valorized in synthetic macromolecular chemistry via a plethora of approaches. In this synthetic arena, photochemical process have been shown to efficiently achieve the in situ reduction of air-stable copper(II) species to the active copper(I) species catalyzing CuAAC.

Expanding the scope of current CuAAC photocatalysis, Yagci and coworkers developed a “geared photochemistry” approach for NIR induced CuAAC click chemistry using a dual-heterogeneous photocatalyst that generates light emission in upconversion materials combined with graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN). To achieve this, it is shown that Tm³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ion-doped zinc-tellurite glass that absorbs laser irradiation at 975 nm and is capable of emitting blue light at 475 nm, can photocatalytically activate g-CN via an internal light emitting process. For the CuAAC process, this visible light excitation of g-CN in the presence of CuCl₂/PMDETA was proven to generate active copper(Ι) species able to catalyze a CuAAC click reaction between various azide and alkyne compounds. This system was proven efficient in click reactions between macromolecular chains such as azide functional polystyrene (PS-N₃) and alkyne functional poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL-alkyne) yielding block copolymers with structurally different segments. In the same vein, photoinduced crosslinking could also be achieved upon irradiation of multifunctional click components (such as bisphenol A di(3-azido-2-hydroxy propan-1-ol) ether and 1-(prop-2-yn-1-yloxy)-2,2-bis((prop-2-yn-1yloxy)methyl) butane) with a 875 nm laser in the presence of mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-CN) and CuCl₂/PMDETA under open air conditions within 2 hours. Importantly, the heterogeneous catalyst prepared via the combination of graphitic carbon and UCG could be successfully used several times enhancing the applicability of the system.

The interdependent heterogeneous system using UCG in conjunction with g-CN under NIR light presented in this study, offers a highly efficient click methodology for (macro)molecules in synthetic (polymer) chemistry.

Tips/comments directly from the authors:

Our group’s research activities focus on the development of new photoinitiating systems for macromolecular synthesis. In this line, many photoinitiators acting at wide wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum were developed. “Geared photochemistry”, introduced for the first time in this paper, reflects the light-triggered reaction sequence that interdependently proceeds . In this approach, up-conversion glass absorbs light at NIR region and convert it to visible light. Upon absorption of the emitted visible light graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-CN) in the reaction media creates electron and hole pairs. The copper (II) complex, which has no absorbance at these two wavelengths, is reduced from copper II to copper I by the released electrons. After all this gear-like system, copper I ions catalyze the click reaction between azide and alkyne compounds to form a triazole ring. We are happy to publish this work in an important journal in polymer science, Polymer Chemistry.
This approach will open new horizons not only for click chemistry, but also for many synthesis procedures involving electron transfer reactions. It should be considered that the change of absorbance with upconversion glasses is important for many light-activated photocatalysts.

Citation to the paper: Geared photochemistry: an interdependent heterogeneous near-infrared catalytic system using up-conversion glass and g-CN for CuAAC chemistry, Polym. Chem., 2022,13, 6393-6399, DOI: 10.1039/D2PY01075E

Link to the paper:

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/py/d2py01075e

Kelly Velonia is saddened to hear about the passing of Prof. Yusuf Yagci, an exceptional scientist and person. Condolences to his family and loved ones. The polymer community will certainly miss him.

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Polymer Chemistry Overview of 2022

20 Jan 2023

Now that 2022 has come to an end, join us as we look back at some of the highlights of last year and forward to our upcoming activities in 2023!

Polymer Chemistry Top Picks of 2022

We have selected some of the most cited, most downloaded and most shared articles published in Polymer Chemistry from the last year for our Most Popular 2022 collection.

All articles in this collection are FREE to read until 28 February 2023.

Congratulations to all featured authors!

Editorial Board

We would like to thank Professor Wei You for his support of Polymer Chemistry as he stepped down from his role on the Editorial Board at the end of 2022.

Polymer Chemistry Lectureship

The Polymer Chemistry Lectureship 2022 was awarded to Professor Dominik Konkolewicz (Miami University, USA). This annual award was established in 2015 to honour an early-stage career scientist who has made a significant contribution to the polymer field. The Konkolewicz group explores a range of topics in polymer chemistry, including radical polymerisation mechanisms, dynamically bonded polymer materials, light driven reactions, bioconjugates and polymer based self-assembly. Find out more about Dominik and his research on our Lectureship winner blog post. You can check out articles from Dominik and our previous winners in the Lectureship winners collection.

Did you know that nominations for the Polymer Chemistry Lectureship 2023 are now open? If you know an outstanding early career researcher in polymers, nominate them before the 28 February 2023.

Full details about eligibility and the nominations process can be found here

Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigators

Polymer Chemistry is proud to spotlight our ongoing Emerging Investigators Series. Our Emerging Investigators are at the early stages of their independent careers and invited for this collection in recognition of their potential to influence future directions in the field. Congratulations to all the featured researchers on their important work so far!

Read the collection

Meet the Scientists

Themed collections

Polymer Chemistry is delighted to have featured some of your best work in our themed collections in 2022.

We promoted themed collections on ‘Molecularly defined polymers: synthesis and function’ Guest Edited by Jeremiah Johnson, Filip Du Prez and Elizabeth Elacqua, ‘Sustainable Polymers’ Guest Edited by Antoine Buchard and Tanja Junkers, ‘Photopolymer science’ dedicated to Prof. Ewa Andrzejewska and ‘Synthetic Methodologies for Complex Macromolecular Structures’ in honour of Prof. Yusuf Yagci’s 70^th birthday

Check out some of these ongoing collections:

‘Tailoring dispersity and shape of molecular weight contributions’ Guest Edited by Athina Anastasaki and Brett Fors
‘Chalcogen-containing polymers’ Guest Edited by Justin Chalker, Rongrong Hu and Jeffrey Pyun
‘Polymer Networks’ with companion journal, Soft Matter, Guest Edited by Matsumoto Akira, Alfred Crosby, Jianping Gong, Akira Kagugo and Yukikazu Takeoka
‘Trends in Thermoresponsive Polymers: from Chemistry to Applications’ Guest Edited by Theoni Georgiou, Richard Hoogenboom and Akihiko Kikuchi

Browse all past collections on our platform and see our upcoming collections on our calls for submissions page. We will be announcing more collections during the year, so keep a look out!

HOT articles

Remember to check out our ongoing Polymer Chemistry HOT articles collection featuring articles highlighted by our Editors and referees. All articles in the collection are FREE to read until 28 February 2023.

Paper of the Month blogs

Our Web Writer and Advisory Board member Dr Kelly Velonia publishes a blog highlighting an interesting publication of her choice each month. She summarises the work and interviews the authors for tips and comments about their work.

Check out the ‘Paper of the Month’ blogs for 2022 here

Open Access

The Royal Society of Chemistry has announced that all 31 fully-owned hybrid journals, including Polymer Chemistry, have been approved as “Transformative Journals” with cOAlition S, an international consortium of research funding and performing organisations. Find out more about our strive towards 100% Open Access here.

#RSCPoster: Save the date

#RSCPoster is a global Twitter Poster Conference, held entirely online over the course of 24 hours. The event brings together the global chemistry community to network with colleagues across the world and at every career stage, share their research and engage in scientific debate.

The 2023 #RSCPoster Twitter Conference will be held from 12:00 (UTC) 28 February 2023 to 12:00 (UTC) 1 March 2023.

How you can help…

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you in addition to our authors, reviewers and readers for their support throughout 2022. Here are some of the ways in which you can continue to make a positive contribution to Polymer Chemistry:

Submit to one of our open themed collections and encourage your colleagues to submit.

If you are organising a conference or virtual event, please do let us know if you would like to arrange mutual promotion between the conference and Polymer Chemistry. We can offer poster prizes, social media and blog promotion, and adverts in the journal and on the journal web page.

Read our recent articles and follow the latest news on the Polymer Chemistry blog and on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Send your best research to Polymer Chemistry.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of Polymer Chemistry. We look forward to seeing what 2023 brings!

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Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigator- Guoming Liu

03 Jan 2023

Guoming Liu received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS) (2011). Since then, he has been working at ICCAS, where he is currently Professor. From 2016 to 2018, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, as a Newton International Fellow of the Royal Society. His research interests include structure-property relationships of polymers, polymer crystallization and relaxation in confined space, and structure characterization by X-ray and neutron scattering.

Read Guoming’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Achieving High Elasticity of Trans-1, 4-Polyisoprene with a Combination of Radiation Crosslinking and Thiol-ene Grafting’, DOI: 10.1039/D2PY01218A

Check out our interview with Guoming below:

1. How do you feel about Polymer Chemistry as a place to publish research on this topic?

Polymer Chemistry is one of the top journals in polymer science with a focus on polymer synthesis and applications of polymers. It has established high criteria for paper quality and a good reputation among authors and readers. I definitely would like to publish my next research paper in Polymer Chemistry.

2. In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

One of the most important questions is how to develop sustainable polymer materials economically. This may require new monomers from renewable resources, new chemistry for polymerization/depolymerization, and new processing technologies.

3. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

It is important to establish unique expertise in the field, either by setting up new tools or developing new methods or technologies.

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Paper of the month: Ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone through water

03 Feb 2021

Atta et al. demonstrates a simplified ROP protocol which operates in the absence of any inert gas and without the need of drying any of the reaction’s reagents.

Ring Opening Polymerization (ROP) is arguably one of the most popular methodologies to synthesize biodegradable materials such as polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly (lactic acid) (PLA). However, a major drawback of this approach which severely limits its applicability is that it typically operates under completely moisture-free conditions, as water is well-known to deactivate the catalyst and terminate the propagating chains. To avoid water contamination, highly specialized equipment (e.g., Schlenk lines or glove boxes) as well as anhydrous reagents have to be employed which makes the process particularly tedious for both experts and non-experts. To overcome this, Gormley and co-workers have developed two elegant and simple methods that allow for the facile synthesis of PCL through ROP in a laboratory oven and without using any inert gas or dry reagents. In the first technique, a vacuum oven was employed to evaporate water from a traditional ROP reaction with stannous octoate as the catalyst while in the second approach titanium isopropoxide was utilized to simultaneously quench residual water and catalyze ROP. Impressively, and despite the simplicity of those methodologies, a range of chain lengths could be synthesized (degree of polymerization 25-500) with relatively good control over the molecular weight distributions of PCL (Đ < 1.5 for all cases). It is highlighted that a large excess of water impurities (750 ppm) could be tolerated by both methods yielding well-defined polymers at quantitative conversions. This work represents a great example of a simplified ROP which operates in the absence of complicated reactions set ups and can be performed in any laboratory. As the authors also remark, targeting even higher molecular weights or achieving even lower dispersity values will be the next challenge to address and we very much look forward to the next developments by the Gormley group.

Tips/comments directly from the authors:

The rational goal of this work is to enable the ROP reaction in an oven without inert gas environment and without drying or purifying the reagents.
The most exciting aspect of this work is to enable non-experts to synthesize custom polymers.
TTIP plays multiple roles in this ROP reaction. It not only initiates and catalyzes the polymerization reaction but also eliminates water from the reaction medium.
It is important for the audience that we should perform this experiment with minimal mixing time (within 1-5 sec) as water present in the air can contaminate CL.
The purity of CL can be easily checked by TTIP. A precipitate of TiO₂ was formed when the water content of CL was above 750 ppm, and a cloudy solution was observed.

Citation to the paper: Ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone through water, Polym. Chem., 2021,12, 159-164, DOI: 10.1039/D0PY01481H

Link to the paper: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2021/py/d0py01481h

Dr. Athina Anastasaki is an Editorial Board Member and a Web Writer for Polymer Chemistry. Since January 2019, she joined the Materials Department of ETH Zurich as an Assistant Professor to establish her independent research group.

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Paper of the month: Enzyme-responsive polymeric micelles with fluorescence fabricated through aggregation-induced copolymer self-assembly for anticancer drug delivery

08 Jan 2021

Yan et al. develop new enzyme-responsive polymeric micelles with potential applications in cancer therapy.

One of the most exciting and fast-growing topics in polymer chemistry is the synthesis of amphiphilic copolymers that can self-assemble into nanoparticles. Hydrophobic compounds such as cancer drugs can be encapsulated in the core of these self-assembled nanoparticles, thus protecting them from degradation or unwanted interactions with healthy cells. In addition, advances in polymer end-group functionalization allow the conjugation of special ligands on the nanoparticle surface which are responsible for directing the nanoparticles to cancer cells. Upon reaching the tumours (or being taken up by cancer cells), the nanoparticles must release the encapsulated drugs in order to kill the cancer cells. This drug release step requires the use of stimuli-responsive smart polymers that can switch from hydrophobic to hydrophilic upon exposure to stimuli. Temperature, pH, and enzyme-responsive polymers are therefore developed to release drugs on-demand. In this work, Zhao and co-workers further advance the field by synthesizing new fluorescent nanoparticles which can release a cancer drug (doxorubicin) while simultaneously turning off the fluorescent signal when the drug is released. This was achieved by efficiently coupling a tetraphenylethene moiety onto poly(acrylic acid). The hydrophobic property of the tetraphenylethene moiety induces the self-assembly of the resulting diblock copolymers into fluorescent nanoparticles via an aggregation-induced self-assembly mechanism. Upon exposure of the fluorescent nanoparticles to esterase, this enzyme can hydrolyze the ester bond between the tetraphenylethene side chain and the polymer backbone. The enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction turns the hydrophobic block back to the water-soluble poly(acrylic acid) block and therefore, disassembles the nanoparticles and also turns the fluorescent signal off. The diblock copolymer has poly(ethylene glycol) as the corona-forming block which possesses negligible toxicity to healthy cells. Therefore, this new copolymer is very promising for drug delivery applications, especially when monitoring the drug release is essential.

Citation to the paper: Visible light enabled para-fluoro-thiol ligation, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 7704-7713, DOI: 10.1039/D0PY01328E

Link to the paper: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2020/py/d0py01328e

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Paper of the month: Direct laser writing of poly(phenylene vinylene) on poly(barrelene)

29 Sep 2020

Bielawski and co-workers report the ROMP of barrelene monomer affording precisely defined fluorescent patterns with micrometer-sized dimensions.

Conjugated polymers have attracted considerable attention owing to their abilities to form films and exhibit high electrical conductivities and as such they have found use in a range of electronic and optical applications. Amongst the various types of polymers, poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) is an excellent candidate due to its low optical band gap, large nonlinear optical response, and emissive properties. However, this material is typically intractable and thus challenging to process. To overcome this, Bielawski and co-workers designed a new approach to PPV was through the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of “barrelene” (bicyclo[2.2.2]octa-2,5,7-triene). The monomer was characterized for the first time by X-ray diffraction analysis of a coordination complex. Barrelene was subsequently homopolymerized and copolymerized with norbornene. The solubility of barrelene homopolymers was found to depend on the cis to trans ratio of alkene in its backbone. Both the homo and copolymers were transformed to PPV by undergoing spontaneous dehydrogenation under air. The materials were analyzed by a range of spectroscopic techniques. Importantly, direct laser writing of the barrelene-containing copolymers was also demonstrated resulting in thermal aromatization within a few seconds affording precisely defined fluorescent patterns with micrometer-sized dimensions. An intrinsic advantage of this development is that the monomer can be potentially incorporated into different macromolecular scaffolds and at varying compositions. Owing to this unique characteristic, the authors envision that their designed strategy would enable the synthesis of a broad range of materials for use in laser machining and contemporary lithography applications.

Tips/comments directly from the authors:

1) The solubility of poly(barrelene) is dependent on the cis-to-trans ratio of the exocyclic olefins in the polymer backbone. Polymers with relatively high cis olefin contents appear to be more soluble than their trans isomers.

2) The resolution of the patterns created by direct laser writing appear to be inversely proportional to the barrelene content of the copolymer used and may be enhanced further by increasing the transparency of the films.

3) Poly(barrelene) oxidizes in air (slow) or upon laser irradiation (fast). A convenient way to monitor the oxidation reaction is through fluorescence spectroscopy. The starting material is non-emissive whereas the poly(phenylene vinylene) product emits a fluorescent green color upon excitation.

4) Because barrelene is strained, copolymerization with other monomers used in ring-opening metathesis polymerization methodologies can be expected which, in turn, may expand the utility of the direct laser writing technique.

Citation to the paper: Direct laser writing of poly(phenylene vinylene) on poly(barrelene), Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 5437-5443, DOI: 10.1039/d0py00869a

Link to the paper:

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2020/py/d0py00869a

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Polymer Chemistry Blog

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

2026 Polymer Chemistry Lectureship awarded to Professor Eva Blasco

Polymer Chemistry 15th Anniversary Regional Spotlights

Paper of the Month: A facile and versatile platform for preparing uniform π-conjugated nanofibers with controlled length and varying shells

Emerging Investigator Series – Elizabeth Elacqua

Paper of the Month: Geared photochemistry: an interdependent heterogeneous near-infrared catalytic system using up-conversion glass and g-CN for CuAAC chemistry

Polymer Chemistry Overview of 2022

Polymer Chemistry Emerging Investigator- Guoming Liu

Paper of the month: Ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone through water

Paper of the month: Enzyme-responsive polymeric micelles with fluorescence fabricated through aggregation-induced copolymer self-assembly for anticancer drug delivery

Paper of the month: Direct laser writing of poly(phenylene vinylene) on poly(barrelene)

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