Synthesis of well-defined complex polymer architectures by iterative growth

The ‘pursuit of precision’, inspired from nature’s relationship between molecular structure and physiological function, has led to the conception of complex architectures. ‘Living’ radical polymerization (LRP) produces polymer building block precursors with a chemical functionality on either end of a linear polymer chain, and in combination with near-quantitative ‘click’ reactions, provides a facile method to construct structurally diverse architectures such as cyclics, dendrimers, stars and bio/inorganic-hybrids. Building complex polymer architectures has been driven by the quest to obtain new and predictable solution and bulk properties. Incorporating sequence control into these architectures through the judicious choice of monomer or macromers will have the potential to create advanced polymer materials with unique properties and functions that are commonly found in biological systems. This will lead to material design with potential applications as adaptive materials, catalysts, and use in vaccine and drug delivery.

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