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Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Particles without a Box: Brush-first Synthesis of Photodegradable PEG Star Polymers under Ambient Conditions
Published on: October 10, 2013
Highly Living Stars via Core-First Photo-RAFT Polymerization: Exploitation for Ultra-High Molecular Weight Star
Stephanie Allison-Logan1, Fatemeh Karimi1, Yongkang Sun1
1Polymer Science Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia.
Abstract:
Star polymers are highly functional materials that display unique properties in comparison to linear polymers, making them valuable in a wide range of applications. Currently, ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) star polymers synthesized using controlled radical polymerization are prone to termination reactions that have undesirable effects, such as star-star coupling. Herein, we report the synthesis of the largest star polymers to date using controlled radical techniques via xanthate-mediated photo-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using a core-first approach. Polymerization from xanthate-functionalized cores was highly living, enabling the synthesis of well-defined star polymers with molecular weights in excess of 20 MDa.
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