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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
Supramolecular star polymers. Increased molecular weight with decreased polydispersity through self-assembly
Eric M Todd1, Steven C Zimmerman
1Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Abstract:
A ditopic structure containing two heterocyclic DeAP units and programmed to self-assemble is used as an initiation unit for the synthesis of polylactide and polystyrene. The resultant polymers self-assemble into higher molecular weight structures with a lower molecular weight distribution. The largest discrete nanoscale polymeric assembly is proposed to be a hexameric star with a molecular weight of ca. 92.7 kDa. All polymeric assemblies generally exhibit PDI values of 1.3 to 1.5, which are lower than the PDI value of the corresponding polymeric arms. A hexameric assembly is stabilized by 30 hydrogen bonds, including six AADD.DDAA contacts. The hexameric star is formed under conditions that are at least partially controlled by kinetics.
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