Precision Macromolecular Chemistry (original) (raw)

Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 2010

Abstract

The readers of Macromolecular Rapid Communications will probably be surprised by the title of this special issue. Indeed, Precision Macromolecular Chemistry does not correspond yet to a known sub-discipline in the field of polymer science. However, the adjective ‘‘precision’’ has been frequently used in recent years to describe certain aspects of polymer synthesis. In fact, it implicitly underlines a certain degree of accuracy in synthesizing macromolecules. Indeed, ‘‘precision’’ evokes immediately the skills of a traditional watchmaker. Thus, this term has been associated to certain aspects of polymer synthesis,which are generally difficult to control without accurate and adequate chemical tools. For instance, crucial macromolecular parameters such as polydispersity, tacticity, monomer sequences, and folding are still not fully mastered in current polymer science. Yet, very interesting approaches for controlling these molecular features have been reported during the past few years. These emerging trends are describe under the label Precision Macromolecular Chemistry in this special issue. In fact, the research topics presented herein differ in some ways from mainstream polymer science. During the past twenty years, polymer chemists developed unprecedented ways to control the architecture of synthetic polymers. Since the introduction of controlled radical polymerization techniques, such as atom transfer radical polymerization or reversible additionfragmentation chain-transfer polymerization, andafterwardof ‘‘click’’ ligation tools, such as copper-catalyzed azidealkyne cycloadditions or thiol-ene chemistry, the possibilities of macromolecular engineering have exploded. For instance, macromolecular architectures such as block copolymers, graft copolymers, star polymers, or macrocycles can nowadays be routinely synthesized. In addition, new types of

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