Robust Ionic Cyclic Olefin Polymers with Excellent Transparency, Barrier Properties, and Antibacterial Properties

Abstract

The development of materials with intrinsic antimicrobial activities has attracted great interest. In this contribution, cyclic olefin polymers (COPs) with excellent mechanical strength and high glass-transition temperature were prepared via ring-opening metathesis polymerization of both a bulky cyclic monomer and a cyclic monomer bearing ionic groups. The ionic COP membranes we obtained showed high antibacterial properties against Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus); especially, the sterilization rate of H-Qa on both bacteria was higher than 99%, and it still showed a high bacteriostatic rate after repeated supplementation of new bacteria for 7 days. In addition, high light transmittance (80–90% in vis), excellent thermal stability (T d,95 > 210 °C), and low water vapor/oxygen transmittance also make the COPs promising as a bacteriostatic material with promising application potential in packaging, medical, and other fields.

Development of Fluorinated Colorless Polyimides of Restricted Dihedral Rotation toward Flexible Substrates with Thermal Robustness

“…Colorless polyimides (CPIs) are critically important to be one of the most promising transparent substrates and optical films in advanced flexible (even stretchable or roll-able) optoelectronic devices, − in the applications of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), ,, transparent skin patches (TSPs) or sensors, , flexible printed circuits (FPCs), , etc. Owing to their aromatic backbone, salt-free polymerization, and diverse molecular design, the CPI films have been endowed as industrial candidates with inherent thermal stability, superior electrical insulation, high optical transparency, excellent foldability, and proven roll-to-roll processing capability. ,,, These result in their unique advantages in comparison to inorganic ultrathin glass (UTG) and highly transparent common polymers, e.g., poly­(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and cyclic olefin polymer (COP). − In future-oriented applications, the high transparency and flexibility in substrates will greatly accelerate the development of advanced electronics with renewal defining features in applications of fully transparent displays, camera under panel (CUP), and optical fingerprint sensors, further expanding their functionality and intelligent scenes …”

Radical Stitching Polymerization and Its Alternating Copolymerization

“…Polymers possessing fused polycyclic structures in the main chain repeating units are often utilized as functional materials based on their high rigidity . In particular, π-conjugated polymers with unsaturated ring systems have been actively investigated for optoelectronic applications, and various structural motifs have been reported to date, including both carbocycles and heterocycles. , On the other hand, polymers with saturated fused polycyclic repeating units in the main chain have been significantly less explored, presumably due to the lack of efficient synthetic methods, although those with saturated monocycles exemplified by cyclic olefin polymers have shown promising properties such as high chemical resistance, high transparency, and high thermal stability. − To expand the accessibility to polymers with various saturated fused polycycles, it is desirable to design and realize a new method of polymerization for such molecular frameworks.…”