Two tandem multicomponent reactions for the synthesis of sequence-defined polymers

Multicomponent polymerizations have become powerful tools for the construction of sequence-defined polymers. Although the Passerini multicomponent reaction has been widely used in the synthesis of sequence-defined polymers, the tandem usage of the Passerini multicomponent reaction and other multicomponent reactions in one-pot for the synthesis of sequence-defined polymers has not been developed until now. In this contribution, we report the tandem usage of the Passerini three-component reaction and the three-component amine-thiol-ene conjugation reaction in one pot for the synthesis of sequence-defined polymers. The Passerini reaction between methacrylic acid, adipaldehyde, and 2-isocyanobutanoate was carried out, affording a new molecule containing two alkene units. Subsequently, an amine and a thiolactone were added to the reaction system, whereupon the three-component amine-thiol-ene conjugating reaction occurred to yield a sequence-defined polymer. This method offers more rapid access to sequence-defined polymers with high molecular diversity and complexity.