Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Particles without a Box: Brush-first Synthesis of Photodegradable PEG Star Polymers under Ambient Conditions
Published on: October 10, 2013
Arm-First Synthesis of Star Polymers with Polywedge Arms Using Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization and
Robert Learsch1, Garret M Miyake1,2,3
1Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309.
Abstract:
This work presents a two-step, one-pot process to make star polymers with polywedge arms. In a one-pot reaction, after the polywedge arms are synthesized, crosslinker species are added to the reaction, rapidly forming star polymers. Crosslinker species with different degrees of conformational freedom were designed and synthesized and their capacity to generate star polymers was evaluated. Mass conversions up to 92% and stars with up to 17 arms were synthesized with the most rigid crosslinker. The effects of arm molecular weight and molar ratio of crosslinker to arm on mass conversion and arms per star were explored further. Finally, the size-molecular weight scaling relationship for polywedges with linear and star architectures was compared, corroborating theoretical results regarding star polymers with arms much larger than their core.
More Related Videos
12:19Photogeneration of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Application in Photoinduced Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization
Published on: November 29, 2018
07:54Testing Animal Anxiety in Rats: Effects of Open Arm Ledges and Closed Arm Wall Transparency in Elevated Plus Maze Test
Published on: June 29, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)
Muscles that Move the Arm
The pectoralis major has two origins. Its clavicular head originates on the medial half of the clavicle. In contrast, the sternocostal head originates on the costal cartilages of ribs 1-6, the sternum, and the aponeurosis of the external oblique of the...
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)
Similar to cross-metathesis, ADMET also involves the formation of metallacyclobutane intermediate by [2+2] cycloaddition of one of the double bonds of a terminal diene with...
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Overview
Ruthenium-based Grubbs catalyst is the most commonly used catalyst for olefin metathesis polymerization. Grubbs catalyst consists of a...
Polymers
Polymers