The synthesis of unimolecular polymers through iterative exponential growth and their applications in block copolymer phase segregation and biological systems

Abstract

Absolute structural control over polymers - in terms of sequence, length, and stereochemistry - is a Holy Grail of polymer science. Inspired by Nature, polymer chemists over the last century have sought new methods and strategies to control these parameters. An inverse relationship exists, however, between the ability to control the primary structure of a macromolecule and the ability to scale the production of the same macromolecule. In this thesis, we describe the application of iterative exponential growth (IEG) toward the scalable synthesis of sequence-defined, unimolecular, chiral polymers. Using this strategy, we have created a wide array of functional molecularly precise polymers of up to 12.1k kDa in molar mass with various side chains for applications in block copolymer phase segregation, lectin binding, and nanoparticle formulations.