Polymers with Unique Spatial Shapes

In addition to the repeat unit sequence, another area of current interest in polymer structural control (Fig. 1) may be the spatial or three-dimensional shapes of macromolecules. In fact, the recent development of star [181-184] and graft [185] polymers, as well as starburst dendrimers [126], arborols [186,187], and related multibranched or multiarmed polymers of unique and controlled topology, has been eliciting active interest among polymer scientists. In this section, let us consider the following macromolecules of unique topology for which living cationic polymerizations offers convenient synthetic methods that differ from the stepwise syntheses (polycondensation and polyaddition) [126,186,187]. 

Living polymerization from a multifunctional initiating system 

Coupling of living polymers with a multifunctional terminator 

In the multifunctional initiation (A) and the multifunctional termination (B), living polymers grow outward from the initiator core and inward into the terminator core, respectively, but both processes lead to similar polymers. If they operate properly, these methods give multiarmed polymers that carry arms in a precisely controlled or predetermined number per molecule (= the functionality number of the initiator or terminator). 

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