Rhea Verbeke , Gregor M. Linden , Johannes Rocker , Philip Dreier , Maximilian Kaiser , Christopher Kampf , Holger Frey
{"title":"The pivotal influence of water on the epoxide ring-opening polymerization by tertiary amines","authors":"Rhea Verbeke , Gregor M. Linden , Johannes Rocker , Philip Dreier , Maximilian Kaiser , Christopher Kampf , Holger Frey","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113950","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113950","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An interfacial synthesis route was recently established to prepare epoxide-based membranes for water purification. Herein, the epoxide is dissolved in toluene and reacts with a tertiary amine dissolved in water. However, to date the exact mechanism of the polyether film formation at the water/organic interface is poorly understood. The aim of this work was to bridge the gap between membrane engineering and polymer chemistry by investigating the influence of water on the ring-opening polymerization of a model epoxide monomer, phenyl glycidyl ether (PhGE), by four tertiary amine initiators (<em>i.e.</em>, <em>N,N</em>-dimethyl hexylamine, imidazole, 1-methyl imidazole, and <em>N,N,N’,N’</em>-tetramethyl hexane diamine). This was done in a homogenous system in toluene, <em>i.e.</em> via solution polymerization, as well as in a heterogenous toluene/water system, <em>i.e.</em>, via interfacial polymerization. The pseudo-first order plots of the homogenous system showed long induction periods and slow reaction rates. Surprisingly, a strong catalytic effect of trace amounts of water was observed, as demonstrated by the significant increase in reaction rate (up to 28 times) and a decrease in the induction period (by 10 days), which occurred upon the addition of water. Characterization of the synthesized polymers with ESI-MS indicated successful initiation by all tested tertiary amines, but side reactions also occurred. In addition, polyether formation was successful in the studied interfacial system. The achievable molar mass and the species that initiated the reaction (<em>i.e.</em>, amine, PhGE, water/hydroxide) depended both on the amine:epoxide ratio and the pH. Observed discrepancies between the homogeneous and heterogeneous system appear to be largely influenced by the properties of the amine initiator.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113950"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143850228","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}
Adriana A. Kolender , Matthieu Pélingre , Cristel Yacovone , Cédric Przybylski , Emmanuel Petit , Dindet Steve Evanes Koffi Teki , Véronique Bonnet , José Kovensky
{"title":"β-Cyclodextrin-derived alternating poly(glyco-triazole)s behave as amylose mimics","authors":"Adriana A. Kolender , Matthieu Pélingre , Cristel Yacovone , Cédric Przybylski , Emmanuel Petit , Dindet Steve Evanes Koffi Teki , Véronique Bonnet , José Kovensky","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113948","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113948","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbohydrate-derived polymers combine attractive features like abundant renewable resources, large stereochemical diversity and defined functionalization of the carbohydrates. Starting from β-cyclodextrin, a diazido heptasaccharide was regioselectively obtained in a few steps. It was used as a prepolymer for the A<sub>2</sub>B<sub>2</sub> synthesis of alternating poly(glyco-triazole)s by copper assisted azido alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) with two dialkynes of different length and polarity, namely, 1,7-octadiyne and bispropargyl-polyetileneglycol-5. The resulting polymers were completely characterized by FTIR, NMR, MALDI-TOF-MS, SEC MALS, thermal analysis (TG and DSC), and SEM. The alternating insertion of the heptasaccharide and dialkyne in linear polymeric structures was confirmed by NMR and MALDI-TOF experiments. The water-soluble poly(glyco-triazole) containing PEG units had <em>M</em><sub>n</sub> 20,640 and <em>M</em><sub>w</sub> 39,650. The thermal properties (<em>T</em><sub>g</sub> = 27–42 °C) were close to those of amylose but were influenced by the linker. Therefore, these new poly(glyco-triazole)s could be considered as polysaccharide mimics and alternatives to modified native polysaccharides or brush polymers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113948"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143839558","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}
Hany I. Mohamed , Hanaa A. ElKhawaga , Hany M. Abd El-Lateef , Sahar M. Ibrahim , Laila M. Reda , Amal M. Metwally
{"title":"Development of novel coordination polymeric metal complexes with potent antimicrobial and antitumor activity","authors":"Hany I. Mohamed , Hanaa A. ElKhawaga , Hany M. Abd El-Lateef , Sahar M. Ibrahim , Laila M. Reda , Amal M. Metwally","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113944","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113944","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of novel multi-target compounds with multiple therapeutic applications represents an excellent strategy for replacing the drug combination approach. Such strategy is beneficial in reducing or preventing the side effects of the combined drugs. Organometallic complexes, particularly those with polymeric structures, demonstrate dual functionality against microbial pathogens and tumor cells. Herein, a new series of polymeric metal complexes with strong antitumor and antimicrobial activity was developed. First, two novel coordination polymers (CP1 and CP2) were synthesized through exchanging the active phthalimidoxy moiety in poly <em>N</em>-methacyloxyphthalimide [poly(NMPI)] with two Schiff base derivatives (S1 and S2). Then, four polymeric metal complexes were constructed by coordinating CP1 and CP2 with copper and nickel acetates, and their chemical compositions were deduced based on various spectroscopic tools. Additionally, the thermal behavior of complexes was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis while their geometries were calculated <em>via</em> molecular modeling. The results of the antimicrobial activity revealed that almost all complexes possess excellent antifungal and antibacterial efficiency against the selected pathogens. Simultaneously, the cytotoxicity potency of the coordination polymers and their complexes was evaluated against human cancer (HepG2) and normal (WI-38) cell lines. The results exhibited that Ni-CP2 has a very good activity in diminishing the replication of HepG2 cells, which is better than that of sorafenib and comparable to doxorubicin. Overall, copper and nickel polymeric complexes give a promising insight for developing new potent antitumor and antimicrobial agents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113944"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143855335","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}
Marc Martínez de Sarasa Buchaca , María P. Caballero , Enrique Frances-Poveda , Marta Navarro , Pablo Salcedo-Abraira , Antonio Rodríguez-Diéguez , Juan Tejeda , Felipe de la Cruz-Martínez , Agustín Lara-Sánchez
{"title":"One-component air-stable iron catalysts for the ROCOP of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides","authors":"Marc Martínez de Sarasa Buchaca , María P. Caballero , Enrique Frances-Poveda , Marta Navarro , Pablo Salcedo-Abraira , Antonio Rodríguez-Diéguez , Juan Tejeda , Felipe de la Cruz-Martínez , Agustín Lara-Sánchez","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113943","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113943","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bio-sourced polyesters have been synthesized by ring-opening copolymerization reaction of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides using air-stable one-component heteroscorpionate Fe(III)-halide catalysts. Alternating polyesters from renewable resources such as limonene oxide, <em>endo</em>/<em>exo</em>-carvone oxides and succinic and citraconic anhydrides, have been obtained with reasonable molecular weight, narrow dispersity, and high percentage of ester linkages under air conditions. There are few examples of air-stable “one-component” metal-based catalysts in the literature, tending to rely on external additives, and the results hereby reported provide hope that air-stable friendly metals complexes can be effective systems in future sustainable polymerization research. The microstructure and thermal properties of the polyesters synthesized have been investigated and discussed, and for the amorphous copolymers, the <em>T</em><sub>g</sub> values have shown values from 17.5 °C to 128.5 °C.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113943"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143843538","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}
Yan Wang , Jie Zhang , Jianlei Lu , Nan Hai , Jiawei Zhang
{"title":"Regulating the self-assembly of PS-b-PNIPAm block copolymers enables dual-responsive shape memory hydrogel","authors":"Yan Wang , Jie Zhang , Jianlei Lu , Nan Hai , Jiawei Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113933","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113933","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, we developed a poly(styrene-<em>b</em>-<em>N</em>-isopropyl acrylamide) (PS-<em>b</em>-PNIPAm) block copolymer-incorporated hydrogel with cooling/water dual-responsive shape recovery performance. Three kinds of PS-<em>b</em>-PNIPAm block copolymers with different chain lengths of PNIPAm were prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization, and the block copolymers could self-assemble into micelles with PNIPAm as the outer layer in water. Hydrogels were then prepared by introducing the micelles formed by the block copolymers into the polyacrylamide (PAM) network. The collapse of PNIPAm chains could be promoted by both temperature and salt, which acted as temporary crosslinks to stabilize temporary shapes, enabling cooling- and water-stimulated shape recovery. Moreover, fluorescent information could be encoded on the surface of the hydrogel and encrypted by the shape changes of the hydrogel during the shape fixing process, with the information revealed under UV irradiation after the shape recovery process, achieving information security. This approach could accelerate the evolution of shape memory hydrogels and broaden their applications across diverse fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113933"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143821131","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}
Hui-Wen Chen, Mohamed Gamal Mohamed, Yang-Chin Kao, Wei-Cheng Chen, Kevin Chiou, Shiao-Wei Kuo
{"title":"Overcoming synthetic challenges in developing High-Performance polybenzoxazine from Diamine-Functionalized Double-Decker silsesquioxane (DDSQ) cage","authors":"Hui-Wen Chen, Mohamed Gamal Mohamed, Yang-Chin Kao, Wei-Cheng Chen, Kevin Chiou, Shiao-Wei Kuo","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113929","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113929","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A new diamine-functionalized double-decker silsesquioxane (DDSQ-NH<sub>2</sub>) derivative was first synthesized from the phenyltrimethoxysilane as the starting material by following sol–gel reaction in NaOH to form DDNa, corner capping with methylvinyldichlorosilane to form the DDSQ-CH=CH<sub>2</sub> derivative and finally reacted with 4-bromoaniline by using Heck reaction to obtain the target compound. Various synthetic approaches, including one-pot Mannich condensation and three-step synthesis based on this new diamine-functionalized DDSQ (DDSQ-NH<sub>2</sub>) compound, were explored but proved unsuccessful due to low selectivity and DDSQ structural degradation. The novel DDSQ-based benzoxazine monomer (DDSQ-BZ (III) in this study) was successfully synthesized through a Schiff-base reaction between DDSQ-NH<sub>2</sub> and 3-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[e][<span><span>1</span></span>,<span><span>3</span></span>]oxazine-6-carbaldehyde (CHO-BZ) monomer, maintaining the fully closed-cage DDSQ structure, which is thoroughly characterized using FTIR, NMR, DSC, and TGA analyses, confirming the retention of the DDSQ cage and the formation of the benzoxazine ring. Thermal polymerization behavior was analyzed, revealing record-high stability (<em>T</em><sub>d10</sub> = 644 °C, char yield = 82.8 wt%). TEM, SEM, and EDX analyses demonstrated homogeneous dispersion of the DDSQ cage structure within the polybenzoxazine matrix, ensuring enhanced thermal stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113929"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143807390","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}
Eda Nur Yetiskin Morkan , Ilknur Yilmaz , Busra Akgul , Emrah Sefik Abamor , Tulin Ozbek , Murat Topuzogullari
{"title":"Effect of pendant group functionality on the biological activity of quaternized Poly(4-vinylpyridine) copolymers","authors":"Eda Nur Yetiskin Morkan , Ilknur Yilmaz , Busra Akgul , Emrah Sefik Abamor , Tulin Ozbek , Murat Topuzogullari","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113930","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113930","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cationic polymers are remarkable materials effectively used in a wide range of biomedical applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and gene delivery. It is well established that the functional groups within polymer structures exert a profound influence on their biological activities. Elucidating the specific effects of these functional groups on the biological properties of polymers is paramount, as it will facilitate the development and application of novel polymeric materials across a diverse range of biomedical fields. Here, the antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity and gene transfection efficiency of the cationic copolymer of quaternized 4-vinylpyridine (Q4VP) and oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (OEGMA<sub>500</sub>) which has distinct functionalities (hydrophobic, hydrophilic, zwitterionic) as pendant groups were investigated in vitro. The functional groups of alkyl, alkenyl, quaternary ammonium, hydroxyl, carboxylic acid, phenyl and ester were included into the structure of the copolymer as the pendant groups by quaternization. The degrees of quaternization ranged from 35-43 %, and zeta potentials of the copolymers were measured between +19.2 and +28.2 mV. In antibacterial activity test evaluated by broth microdilution method, MIC values were found to be between 4–16 μg/mL against <em>Escherichia coli</em> (<em>E. coli</em>) and 2–32 μg/mL against <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (<em>S. aureus</em>). In vitro cytotoxicity test on the L929 cell line, using the MTT method, revealed inhibition concentration values (IC<sub>50</sub>) ranging from 192.3 to 972.6 μg/mL for the quaternized copolymers. Moreover, the transfection efficiency of polyelectrolyte complexes formed by the quaternized copolymer with plasmid DNA encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) were systematically examined in HEK293T cells. The study revealed that, contingent upon the functionality of the pendant groups, a peak transfection efficiency exceeding 90 % was attained. The results clearly demonstrate the direct impact of the pendant group functionality on the biological activity of the cationic copolymer.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113930"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143817340","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}
Cintya Dharmayanti , Andrew J. Clulow , Md.Saddam Hussain , Todd A. Gillam , Manuela Klingler-Hoffmann , Hugo Albrecht , Anton Blencowe
{"title":"Influence of pendant pyridyl regioisomers on the pH-responsive behaviour of polymer-homopeptide copolymers and micelles","authors":"Cintya Dharmayanti , Andrew J. Clulow , Md.Saddam Hussain , Todd A. Gillam , Manuela Klingler-Hoffmann , Hugo Albrecht , Anton Blencowe","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113931","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113931","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Polymeric micelles that can respond to changes in pH have emerged as appealing systems to achieve localised drug release. These micelles can be prepared from homopeptide block copolymers, which are attractive alternatives to traditional synthetic polymers due to their unique ability to form secondary structures. However, naturally occurring amino acids have a limited variety of side chain functional groups, requiring additional modifications to tune pH-responsivity. In addition, further work is required to better understand how these structural changes to the peptide side chains can influence their pH-responsive behaviour and self-assembly. Herein, we investigate the pH responsive behaviour of a series of poly[(ethylene glycol)-<em>b</em>-(pyridinylmethyl glutamate)] (PEG-<em>b</em>-P#PG) copolymers modified with different pyridine regioisomers (<em>para</em> (# = 4)<em>, meta</em> (# = 3)<em>,</em> or <em>ortho</em> (# = 2) relative to the polymer chain). Potentiometric and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic titrations, coupled with zeta (ζ)-potential measurements, provided information on the ionisation behaviour of the copolymers and their acid dissociation constant (pK<sub>a</sub>) values. At neutral pH, the copolymers assembled into micelles with unique structures and exhibited characteristic pK<sub>a</sub> values resulting from the different pyridine regioisomers, which influenced the pH-responsive behaviour of the micelles. Changes in the morphology and secondary structure of the micelles as a function of pH were interrogated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Disassembly of the PEG-<em>b</em>-P#PG micelles was observed when the solution pH was below the pK<sub>a</sub>, indicating that a high degree of ionisation (> 85 %) is necessary to disrupt the secondary structures of the peptide blocks. These results provide important insights into the design of pH-responsive polymer-homopeptide block copolymers and the influence of side chain regioisomers on their ionisation and assembly behaviour.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 113931"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144190313","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":"Copolymerization of styrene oxide with CO2 via modular optimization of bifunctional organoborane catalysts","authors":"Shuo Zhao, Cheng-Kai Xu, Yue Gong, Guan-Wen Yang, Guang-Peng Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113912","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113912","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of CO<sub>2</sub> and epoxides presents significant challenges, primarily due to the tendency to form cyclic carbonates, especially when the epoxide contains electron-withdrawing groups, such as styrene oxide (SO). Building upon our previous research on organoborane and cationic components, we designed a series of novel tetranuclear, trinuclear, and dinuclear bifunctional organoborane catalysts. These catalysts facilitated SO/CO<sub>2</sub> copolymerization with remarkable polymer selectivity exceeding 99 % under mild conditions. <sup>31</sup>P NMR spectroscopy revealed that the discrepancies in catalytic performance between trinuclear and dinuclear organoborane catalysts stem from variations in their overall Lewis acidity. These insights into the optimization of organoborane catalysts are expected to drive the development of more advanced catalysts in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113912"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143807389","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}
Alessio Lo Bocchiaro, Elena Avanzini, Francesca Lorandi, Edmondo M. Benetti
{"title":"The future of polymer brushes","authors":"Alessio Lo Bocchiaro, Elena Avanzini, Francesca Lorandi, Edmondo M. Benetti","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113927","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113927","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>More than 35 years after the seminal inception of the concept of assemblies of surface-tethered polymer chains, or “polymer brushes”, a new subfield of polymer science has been progressively emerging, encompassing various interdisciplinary aspects of polymer chemistry, surface science, and materials science. The application of polymer brushes is now widespread across a broad range of formulations, and advancements in controlled chain-growth polymerizations have been accompanied by simultaneous refinements in corresponding surface-initiated processes. Thanks to these progresses, generating a brush on a solid substrate is now accessible enough to serve as an undergraduate-level lab exercise. However, while polymer brushes are finding fascinating new applications in biotechnology, energy materials, and catalysis, their translation into technology remains an ongoing challenge. In this short perspective article, we summarize the latest developments in the synthesis and application of polymer brushes, particularly highlighting the potential future directions of this exciting field of research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"232 ","pages":"Article 113927"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143821132","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}