Abstract
Star-shaped cyclopolymers were first synthesized on the basis of living cationic cyclopolymerization of divinyl ethers bearing a variety of bulky substituents, including cyclohexene, norbornene, norbornane, cyclic acetal, and adamantane groups. All the obtained cyclopolymers exhibited a high degree of cyclization, as high as ~97%, judging from the contents of residual pendant vinyl ether double bonds in the polymers. The glass transition temperatures (Tgs) of both the linear and star-shaped cyclopolymers were in the range of 145−229 °C depending on the pendant substituents. Methacrylate-terminated end-functionalized star-shaped cyclopolymers were synthesized by the functionalized initiator-based living cationic cyclopolymerization of divinyl ethers. The subsequent cross-linked core formation occurred via the reaction of the growing tail termini, whereas the methacrylate head terminals remained intact. The obtained end-functionalized star-shaped cyclopolymers were subjected to a thermal cross-linking reaction to yield star-shaped cyclopolymer networks with film-forming ability.
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We are grateful to Nippon Carbide Industries (Tokyo, Japan) for providing divinyl ethers 1−6.
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Yamamoto, T., Hashimoto, T., Urushisaki, M. et al. Synthesis of high-molecular-weight star-shaped cyclopoymers of divinyl ethers and their network membranes via controlled cationic cyclopolymerization. Polym J 51, 1273–1285 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-019-0241-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-019-0241-0