Maleimide Chemistry: Enabling the Precision Polymer Synthesis

Abstract

Herein is presented a compilation of the main characteristics of maleimide chemistry in developing the precisely controlled polymers, including the design of sequence‐controlled polymers, topological polymers, and polymeric single‐chain nanoparticles. The synthetic methods, relied on the versatilities of the maleimide moieties as a latent monomer which leads to an efficient alternative in various innovative applications, especially in self‐healing material, self‐reporting materials for real‐time monitoring, and also in data storage and anticounterfeiting technologies. The core of the content in this review is focused on the up‐to‐data advances and publications on the major of maleimide chemistry in our research group. What is the most favorite and original chemistry developed in your research group? Maleimide chemistry in precision polymer synthesis. How do you get into this specific field? Could you please share some experiences with our readers? When I was a junior high school student, the chemistry attracted me very much. Chemistry is an extraordinary magic, which virtually generates molecules, basic units and everything on earth. I selected the polymer chemistry area when I pursuit my MSc and PhD in Soochow University. The polymer chemistry is the basic and originality of polymer science, which has created tremendous useful materials and greatly benefited humanity in the past century. Engaging in chemistry research is tedious and hard most of the time, but I like the joy and accomplishment at the moment when the experiment succeeds. It's like tea tasting, the kind of fleeting back sweetness makes me yearn and intoxicated. How do you supervise your students? I always encourage students to believe themselves, however don't always believe what others have said. The students should have their own judgments based on broad literature survey, comprehensive learning and deep thinking. The students should not take the publications but the improvements of research capability as the only target when pursuing the academic degree. What is the most important personality for scientific research? Be joyful, enthusiastic, persistent and careful. How do you keep balance between research and family? I like cooking for my family. Cooking is similar with chemical experiments. I think that cooking is a good balance between research and family.

Solid-phase synthesis of iterative RAFT single unit monomer insertion adducts

“…However, homopolymerisation must be carefully considered, particularly for the SUMI of maleimide derivatives. 41,42 Furthermore, slow indene addition can be an issue when using indene for SUMI, especially at lower stoichiometries. 40 Thus, we acknowledge that some impurities and side-reactions could lead to difficulties in isolating a perfectly discrete product.…”

Crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and DFT study ofN-(2-nitrophenyl)maleimide

“…N-phenylmaleimides substituted by the N atom present various reactivity and photochemical properties that depend on the substituent group and the torsion angle between imide and benzene rings. These molecules have been used as a copolymer, providing greater structural rigidity, increase in dielectric properties and thermal stability compared to the unreacted polymer (Mejia et al, 2021;Shi et al, 2020). The importance of these molecules is due to the potential reactivity of the double bonds that act as dienophiles, promoting Diels-Alder reactions for the formation of new organic molecules (Galkin et al, 2022;Bastin et al, 2019).…”

Facile Control of Molecular Weight Distribution via Droplet‐Flow Light‐Driven Reversible‐Deactivation Radical Polymerization†

“…Reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) [ 4‐6 ] is a powerful method for precise synthesis of polymers. [ 7‐9 ] In recent years, as enlightened by the importance of MWDs, considerable efforts have been made to regulate MWDs via RDRP (Figure 1a). [ 2 ] For example, the Fors group has carried out systematic studies to tailor the shapes of MWDs, [ 10‐11 ] and revealed their striking impacts on properties.…”