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Updated: Jul 15, 2025

Particles without a Box: Brush-first Synthesis of Photodegradable PEG Star Polymers under Ambient Conditions
Published on: October 10, 2013
Catalytic Living ROMP: Synthesis of Degradable Star Polymers
Ankita Mandal1, Andreas F M Kilbinger1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Fribourg, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Star polymers have attracted considerable attention over the past few years due to their distinctive physical and chemical attributes that are different from conventional linear polymers. Here, we present a one-pot synthesis of narrowly dispersed and degradable homoarm and miktoarm star polymers exploiting the catalytic living ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) mechanism. Several complex polymeric architectures (such as A3-, A4-, A6-, A2B-, A3B-, and AB2-type star polymers) were synthesized quite straightforwardly by using appropriate vinyl ether chain transfer agents. SEC, 1H NMR, and DOSY NMR spectroscopy were employed to analyze and characterize all of the synthesized polymers. We believe that this sustainable and environmentally friendly synthesis of star polymers could become an important synthetic tool for polymer engineers working on supramolecular, industrial or biomedical applications.
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