Glenn Keith Kim Clothier,Olivier Doat,Bo Li,Daniel Taton,Simon Harrisson
{"title":"Taming the tiger: Bayesian optimization of organocatalyzed ring-opening polymerization in flow","authors":"Glenn Keith Kim Clothier,Olivier Doat,Bo Li,Daniel Taton,Simon Harrisson","doi":"10.1039/d6py00238b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6py00238b","url":null,"abstract":"Synthesis of functional polymers often requires navigating complex reaction spaces in which small variations in reaction conditions can strongly influence polymer properties. This challenge is particularly acute in ring-opening polymerization (ROP), where side reactions such as transesterification and competing initiation pathways can complicate control and optimization. Here, we combine continuous-flow synthesis with Bayesian optimization (BO) to efficiently identify conditions yielding polymers with predefined properties. Using the organocatalyzed ROP of δ-valerolactone (VL) and ε-caprolactone as model systems, catalyzed by urea/tBuP2 phosphazene base systems with benzyl alcohol as initiator, we generated initial datasets by varying catalyst and initiator concentrations in flow with residence times from 30 seconds to 8 minutes. These experiments were used to train BO algorithms targeting polymers with Mn ≈ 15 kDa and low dispersity. Optimization strategies based on expected improvement (EI) and Thompson sampling (TS) acquisition functions were evaluated using both sparse (9-point) and dense (35-point) initial datasets. Both approaches rapidly converged toward optimal conditions within 5–15 iterations despite the system's susceptibility to side reactions. These results demonstrate that Bayesian-guided flow experimentation enables efficient navigation of complex polymerization landscapes and provides a powerful strategy for tuning polymer properties with a limited experimental budget.","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148672100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synthesis of an ethylene-(2-vinylpyridine) alternating copolymer the 1,4-selective polymerization of 1-(2-pyridyl)-1,3-butadiene and subsequent hydrogenation","authors":"Qiuyue Ma,Yifan Wang,Bo Liu,Chunji Wu,Baoli Wang","doi":"10.1039/d6py00541a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6py00541a","url":null,"abstract":"Alternating copolymers with unique structures have properties that are distinct from those of homopolymers and other types of copolymers, making them important in polymer science. The alternating copolymer of ethylene (E) and 2-vinylpyridine (2VP) is expected to have unique properties. However, its synthesis is highly challenging and remains unreported because of the mismatches between E and 2VP in both their coordination polymerization mechanisms and polymerization activities. Herein, we report the first synthesis of an E–2VP alternating copolymer. This is realized by the hydrogenation of poly(1-(2-pyridyl)-1,3-butadiene) with high trans-1,4-selectivity (>99%), which is achieved for the first time under the catalysis of a thiophene-fused cyclopentadienyl scandium complex (cat-Sc). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the polymerization mechanism of 1-(2-pyridyl)-1,3-butadiene (1-PyBD) catalyzed by cat-Sc, further elucidating that in the trans-1,4-re pathway, the strong η4–π interaction between the growing chain and the central metal makes this polymerization pathway the only thermodynamically feasible one, thereby governing the regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of 1-PyBD polymerization.","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148672102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Polymer ChemistryPub Date : 2026-08-03eCollection Date: 2026-09-15DOI: 10.1039/d6py00562d
Andriy R Kuzmyn, Gerrit-Jan Linker, Yibin Bu, Sissi de Beer
{"title":"XPS analysis of polymer brush coatings.","authors":"Andriy R Kuzmyn, Gerrit-Jan Linker, Yibin Bu, Sissi de Beer","doi":"10.1039/d6py00562d","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6py00562d","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful surface-sensitive technique widely used for the chemical characterization of thin films and interfaces. XPS detects the outermost ∼10 nm of organic films, making it useful for studying the surface of polymer-brush coatings. Despite the widespread use of XPS for polymer brushes, data interpretation and reporting practices often remain inconsistent, particularly for chemically complex or beam-sensitive systems. This tutorial review provides a practical overview of XPS analysis of polymer-brush coatings, with emphasis on experimental considerations, spectral interpretation, and common pitfalls. Key aspects of sample preparation are discussed, including contamination control, charge compensation, and strategies to minimize beam-induced degradation in radiation-sensitive polymers. The interpretation of survey spectra is examined with a focus on elemental quantification, background selection, and complications arising from spin-orbit splitting. Strategies for estimating polymer-brush thickness from substrate signal attenuation are outlined together with the assumptions and limitations inherent to attenuation-based analysis. Detailed guidance is provided for high-resolution C 1s analysis, including background modeling, chemically consistent peak fitting, and assignment of common carbon environments, while highlighting common overfitting artifacts. The complementary role of density functional theory (DFT) calculations in supporting chemically meaningful peak assignment and validating spectral interpretation is also discussed. By combining practical recommendations with critical discussion of common sources of error, this tutorial aims to support more reliable and reproducible XPS characterization of polymer brush coatings.</p>","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":" ","pages":"3731-3745"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13459724/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148710630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Polymer ChemistryPub Date : 2026-07-29eCollection Date: 2026-09-01DOI: 10.1039/d6py00567e
Kelsie E Wentz, Marissa G Coschigano, Nan Louise Chen, Bipasa Samanta, George Q Jiang, Maxime A Siegler, V Sara Thoi, Aaron J Rossini, Alexandru B Georgescu, Howard E Katz, Rebekka S Klausen
{"title":"Functional silicon crosslinks in conjugated polymer networks.","authors":"Kelsie E Wentz, Marissa G Coschigano, Nan Louise Chen, Bipasa Samanta, George Q Jiang, Maxime A Siegler, V Sara Thoi, Aaron J Rossini, Alexandru B Georgescu, Howard E Katz, Rebekka S Klausen","doi":"10.1039/d6py00567e","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6py00567e","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Amorphous conjugated polymer networks (CPNs) are highly crosslinked materials based on rigid organic building blocks. The introduction of main group elements not only imparts new properties but also enables new synthetic approaches. While several examples including heteroatoms (<i>e.g.</i> N, O, S) have focused on the structure and morphology, there has been less progress on the preparation of amorphous CPNs based on Group 14 elements (<i>e.g.</i>, Si, Ge, Sn). A limitation on the synthesis of Group 14 containing CPNs is the dearth of appropriate crosslinkers. Herein we report a novel disilane (<i>e.g.</i>, Si-Si bond) containing crosslinker, which affords examples of Si-Si crosslinked π-conjugated polysilafluorenes with tunable levels of crosslinking. The novel structure and synthetic approach accesses well-defined polymeric materials and we report rigorous characterization by <sup>1</sup>H, <sup>13</sup>C, and <sup>29</sup>Si NMR spectroscopy. Density functional theory was used to study the electronic structure of neutral, cationic, and anionic oligomer models. A decrease in bond dissociation energies of the Si-Si bonds was found after reduction or oxidation, supporting the presence of redox active crosslinks. While previous work has focused on polymerization strategies for incorporating silicon into the main-chain of polymer strands, such as the well-known polysilanes, using Si-Si bonds as crosslinks in macromolecules has remained unstudied.</p>","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":" ","pages":"3700-3710"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13470799/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148756863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From curing pathways to divergent properties in phenylethynyl-terminated polyimides: a multiscale DFT/MD study of network structure–property relationships","authors":"Baiyu Li,Rong Ren,Jing Wang,Xuhai Xiong","doi":"10.1039/d6py00328a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6py00328a","url":null,"abstract":"The properties of phenylethynyl-terminated polyimide resins, which are critical high-performance matrices for aerospace composites, are fundamentally determined by their cured network structure. Clarifying this relationship has been challenging due to the complexity of the curing process, which involves multiple competing reaction pathways. This work employed a combined computational approach—utilising density functional theory and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations—to systematically investigate how different curing pathways influence the resulting microstructure and properties. The simulations suggest that diradical-initiated polymerization and cyclotrimerization are plausible and likely important among the pathways considered, whereas monoradical-initiated polymerization and the dehydro-Diels–Alder reaction appear less favorable under the studied DFT conditions. Networks formed via the diradical-initiated pathway endow the model with a high glass transition temperature, and high Young's and shear moduli. In contrast, structures produced by the cyclotrimerization pathway confer a high coefficient of thermal expansion. The distinct thermal and mechanical properties arising from the two curing pathways were elucidated by analysing chain flexibility, free volume, and radius of gyration. By comparing these two idealised, pure-pathway network archetypes, this work suggests a link between curing pathways, microstructure, and macroscopic performance. Although real curing involves mixed pathways, these limiting cases provide a rational, principle-guided framework for designing high-performance phenylethynyl-terminated polyimide resins.","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148612591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Santandrea,C. Sillard,C. Rey,V. Beghetto,J. Bras
{"title":"Influence of aliphatic amine grafting on the barrier properties of TEMPO-CNF films","authors":"D. Santandrea,C. Sillard,C. Rey,V. Beghetto,J. Bras","doi":"10.1039/d6py00462h","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6py00462h","url":null,"abstract":"In response to increasing environmental concerns and the growing demand for sustainable materials, this study presents a new approach for enhancing the functional properties of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (TEMPO-CNF) films through aliphatic amine grafting. Surface amidation was carried out using C4–C16 alkyl amines and 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methyl-morpholinium chloride (DMTMM) as a coupling agent in water–ethanol mixtures under mild conditions (room temperature and neutral pH), thereby avoiding the use of toxic reagents and complex purification steps. Successful covalent grafting was confirmed by ATR-FTIR, elemental analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The functionalised films exhibited substantially improved surface and barrier properties, including higher water contact angles (+61%), reduced moisture and water uptake (up to −98%), enhanced water stability (mass loss reduced from 27% to ∼3–5%), and lower water vapor permeability (−63%). These improvements were achieved while maintaining high optical transparency and largely preserving the oxygen barrier properties of the films. Soil burial tests revealed a clear relationship between surface hydrophobicity and biodegradation behaviour. Films modified with short-chain amines underwent complete degradation within a few weeks, whereas those functionalised with longer alkyl chains showed only partial degradation after 24 weeks. Overall, the DMTMM-mediated aqueous amidation strategy provides a simple, environmentally friendly, and effective route for tailoring the surface characteristics of TEMPO-CNF films, expanding their potential for advanced packaging and barrier applications.","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"444 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148612592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yue Zhang,Yasemin Fadil,Yuta Nishina,Vipul Agarwal,Per B. Zetterlund
{"title":"Effect of graphene oxide sheet size on pickering miniemulsion polymerization of styrene","authors":"Yue Zhang,Yasemin Fadil,Yuta Nishina,Vipul Agarwal,Per B. Zetterlund","doi":"10.1039/d6py00414h","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6py00414h","url":null,"abstract":"The effect of graphene oxide (GO) sheet size on the progression of Pickering miniemulsion polymerization of styrene was systematically investigated using two GO samples with lateral dimensions (∼500 nm and 5–10 µm). Key parameters, including the presence of the conventional surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), GO loading, and initiator concentration, were investigated individually. Miniemulsion polymerization with GO was successfully conducted both in the absence and presence of SDS, with the addition of SDS leading to a significant rate enhancement attributed to SDS-induced secondary nucleation. In the presence of SDS, GO sheet size influenced polymerization behavior, and its effect on polymerization rate and monomer conversion exhibited opposite trends at different GO loadings. Small GO (∼500 nm) led to higher conversion and faster rates at high GO loading (5 wt%), whereas large GO (5–10 µm) resulted in higher conversion and faster rates at low GO loading (0.5 wt%). This size-dependent effect became more pronounced at lower initiator concentration. Overall, while GO sheet size exhibited a measurable influence on polymerization behavior, the overall kinetics were primarily governed by SDS-induced secondary nucleation. These findings provide new insights into the role of GO lateral dimensions in miniemulsion polymerization and offer guidance for the design and synthesis of polymer/graphene (oxide) nanocomposites with tunable properties.","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148612590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Osmium metal complex based on photoinduced electron transfer for broad-wavelength-responsive free-radical and cationic photopolymerization","authors":"Guohao Han,Yihao Sun,Tianyi Han,Guanghui An,Yi Zhu","doi":"10.1039/d6py00459h","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6py00459h","url":null,"abstract":"The internal shielding effect of photoinitiators (PI) and the strong Rayleigh scattering of ultraviolet (UV) light limit the depth of polymerization and performance of polymer materials; thus, developing a long-wavelength-responsive photoinitiating system (PIS), especially a near-infrared (NIR)-responsive one, is an important research direction in the field of photopolymerization. In this work, we report two multiband (UV-Visible-NIR)-absorbing PISs composed of osmium metal complexes, diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate (Iod) and N-vinylcarbazole (NVK). Steady-state photolysis, electrochemistry and electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments indicated that the active species that initiate photopolymerization were generated through a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. Photopolymerization kinetics experiments showed that the osmium PIS can initiate free radical polymerization (FRP) efficiently under LED@365/405/450/535/635/690 nm irradiation. At the same time, they can also initiate cationic polymerization under LED@365/405 nm irradiation. Under laser@690 nm irradiation, our PISs can achieve deep curing (230 mm) of acrylic monomers; they can also successfully achieve polymerization of acrylic monomers under sunlight, demonstrating promising potential applications in deep curing, 3D printing and solar photopolymerization.","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148612594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Outstanding Reviewers for Polymer Chemistry in 2025","authors":"","doi":"10.1039/d6py90079h","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6py90079h","url":null,"abstract":"We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of Polymer Chemistry’s reviewers for helping to preserve quality and integrity in chemical science literature. We would also like to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Polymer Chemistry in 2025.","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148612593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Polymer ChemistryPub Date : 2026-07-07Epub Date: 2026-06-03DOI: 10.1039/d6py00170j
Ferley Orozco , Amy Hammett , Mahshad Karimi , Thomas E. Ericson , Lahiru Pasikku Hannadige , Joshua R. Fabian , Carol Korzeniewski , Anthony F. Cozzolino , Samantha L. Kristufek
{"title":"A modular telechelic catechol platform for tunable Fe- and V-coordinated dynamic polymer gels","authors":"Ferley Orozco , Amy Hammett , Mahshad Karimi , Thomas E. Ericson , Lahiru Pasikku Hannadige , Joshua R. Fabian , Carol Korzeniewski , Anthony F. Cozzolino , Samantha L. Kristufek","doi":"10.1039/d6py00170j","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6py00170j","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dynamic metal–catechol coordination networks provide a powerful platform for bioinspired polymer gels, yet systematic molecular design rules connecting monomer structure to network mechanics and thermal behavior remain limited. Here, a modular series of telechelic catechol-based monomers were synthesized with controlled ethylene glycol spacer lengths and either ester or amide linkages and rapidly cross-linked with FeCl<sub>3</sub> or VCl<sub>3</sub> under mild NH<sub>3</sub>-mediated basic conditions. By varying the linker length, functional group identity, and metal ion, we establish clear structure–property relationships across a family of reticulated gels with tunable thermal stability, glass transition behavior, and viscoelastic response. Spectroscopic analysis (ATR-FTIR, resonance Raman, EPR, and Mössbauer) reveals distinct coordination environments, including oxidation to V(<span>iv</span>) species that yield more elastically resilient, kinetically stabilized networks relative to stiffer but more brittle Fe-based gels. Finally, the coordination cross-links can be selectively disrupted under mild conditions to recover the original catechol monomers, demonstrating a chemically reversible pathway toward closed-loop gel design. Together, these results provide a systematic framework for engineering dynamic catechol-based polymer networks with tailored properties through molecular-level control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Chemistry","volume":"17 26","pages":"Pages 2828-2839"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148394685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}