Christoph Tonhauser

A Road Less Traveled to Functional Polymers: Epoxide Termination in Living Carbanionic Polymer Synthesis

Functional polymers possess tremendous potential both in academia and in industry. In particular, oxiranes offer manifold possibilities for the introduction of single hydroxyl or multiple orthogonal functionalities in carbanionic polymerization. Here, we present a brief overview of the fascinating possibilities arising from the employment of common as well as individually designed epoxide derivatives for the synthesis of end-functional polymers. Continuous flow techniques can be utilized for the rapid generation and screening of precisely defined hydroxyl-modified polymers. The utilization of functionalized polymers as precursors for the formation of complex macromolecular architectures (e.g., miktoarm star polymers) is summarized and potential applications as well as future perspectives are discussed.

Stimuli-Responsive Y-Shaped Polymer Brushes Based on Junction-Point-Reactive Block Copolymers

Reversibly responsive, thin or ultrathin polymer fi lms, often referred to as “smart surfaces”, can alter their properties upon application of external stimuli. [ 1 , 2 ] One particular application fi eld represents the engineering of nanostructured fi lms mimicking cell membranes. [ 3 , 4 ] Such materials offer application potential for sensors, textiles, construction materials, and smart coatings due to a rapid change in surface energy and morphology. [ 5–7 ] The surface response can be triggered by various external stimuli such as light, temperature, electrical potential, mechanical force, magnetic fi eld, pH change, or selective solvent treatment. [ 1 , 8–12 ] A variety of different thin polymer fi lms has been designed for this purpose. End-tethered polymers (e.g., (multiarm) block and homopolymers), layer-by-layer structures, cross-linked thin polymer fi lms as well as hybrid systems with inorganic particles are established, complex structures to generate responsive surface coatings. [ 13–20 ]