Macromolecular engineering

Article By:

Hadjichristidis, Nikos Industrial Laboratory and Polymers Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Iatrou, Hermis Department of Chemistry, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Pitsikalis, Marinos University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Last reviewed:January 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.801740

The process of designing and synthesizing well-defined complex macromolecular architectures. This process allows for the control of molecular parameters such as molecular-weight/molecular-weight distribution, microstructure/structure, topology, and the nature and number of functional groups. In addition, macromolecular engineering is the key to establishing the relationships between the precise molecular architectures and their properties. The understanding of the structure–property interplay is critical for the successful use of these elegantly tailored structures in the design of novel polymeric materials for applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, molecular filtration, micro- and optoelectronics, and polymer conductivity. Complex architectures, including star-shaped, branched, grafted, and dendritic-like polymers, have been prepared using living polymerization methods (for which there is no termination step to stop chain growth) such as anionic, cationic, living radical, metal-catalyzed polymerization, or combinations of these methods. See also: Polymer; Polymerization

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