Cyclic polymers: synthesis, characteristics, and emerging applications

Cyclic polymers with a ring-like topology and no chain ends are a unique class of macromolecules. In the past several decades, significant advances have been made to prepare these fascinating polymers, which allow for the exploration of their topological effects and potential applications in various...

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Published inNanoscale horizons Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 1121 - 1135
Main Authors Chen, Chaojian, Weil, Tanja
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 26.09.2022
Subjects
Chemical synthesis
Macromolecules
Physical properties
Polymers
Rings (mathematics)
Self-assembly
Topology
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Summary:Cyclic polymers with a ring-like topology and no chain ends are a unique class of macromolecules. In the past several decades, significant advances have been made to prepare these fascinating polymers, which allow for the exploration of their topological effects and potential applications in various fields. In this Review, we first describe representative synthetic strategies for making cyclic polymers and their derivative topological polymers with more complex structures. Second, the unique physical properties and self-assembly behavior of cyclic polymers are discussed by comparing them with their linear analogues. Special attention is paid to highlight how polymeric rings can assemble into hierarchical macromolecular architectures. Subsequently, representative applications of cyclic polymers in different fields such as drug and gene delivery and surface functionalization are presented. Last, we envision the following key challenges and opportunities for cyclic polymers that may attract future attention: large-scale synthesis, efficient purification, programmable folding and assembly, and expansion of applications. This Review highlights recent advances in the synthesis, unique properties, and most prominent applications of cyclic polymers, and discusses the major challenges and future opportunities in this field.
Bibliography:Chaojian Chen is a Walter Benjamin Fellow and an International Institute for Nanotechnology Fellow at Northwestern University, United States. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Sichuan University and Zhejiang University, respectively. After working as a Research Assistant at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for two years, he started his doctoral journey in Prof. Tanja Weil's group at Ulm University, Germany. In 2016, he moved with the group to the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz and completed his doctoral training in 2020. His research interests include bioinspired polymer architectures, programmable supramolecular assembly, and Nature-derived functional materials.
Tanja Weil completed her PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPIP) in Mainz, for which was awarded the Otto-Hahn Medal. After several years in industry, she returned to academia by accepting an associate professor position at the National University of Singapore. In 2010, she joined the University of Ulm as Director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry III. Since 2017, she has been Director at the MPIP, heading the department "Synthesis of Macromolecules". She has received an ERC Synergy Grant, the Science Prize of the City of Ulm as well as the Netherlands Supramolecular Chemistry Scholar Award.
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ISSN:2055-6756
2055-6764
2055-6764
DOI:10.1039/d2nh00242f