One-Pot Structure-Controlled Synthesis of Hyperbranched Polymers by a Latent Inimer Strategy Based on Diels-Alder Chemistry

An efficient one-pot strategy for the structure-controlled synthesis of hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) based on a latent inimer (LI-Br), containing a furan-protected maleimide monomer and a haloalkane initiator, is presented. At high temperatures, the latent inimer is converted to a real inimer after releasing maleimide (MI) via a retro-Diels-Alder (r-DA) reaction and then copolymerized with methyl methacrylate by self-condensing vinyl copolymerization. Due to the dynamic characteristic of the r-DA reaction, the release of naked MI and the subsequent copolymerization can be regulated by the temperature or stereochemistry of Diels-Alder (DA) adducts. Thus, the one-pot structure-controlled synthesis of HBPs with various degrees of branching was achieved. By further implementation of a programmable temperature change, some valuable hyperbranched topologies such as star-shaped and long-chain hyperbranched polymers can be constructed avoiding sophisticated synthetic routes.

Automated summary

An efficient one-pot strategy for the structure-controlled synthesis of hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) has been developed. By using a latent inimer and regulating the temperature or stereochemistry, the release of maleimide (MI) and subsequent copolymerization can be controlled, leading to the synthesis of HBPs with various degrees of branching.