Dispersion Polymerization of Substituted Acetylenes in the Presence of Chiral Source for Preparing Monodispersed Chiral Nanoparticles.

Chiral helical polymer nanoparticles have constituted a significant category of advanced functional particles by creatively combining chirality with nanoscale size into one unity. However, their further progress has been confronted with intractable difficulties, especially due to the limited kinds and number of chiral monomers and the lack of effective and universal preparation methods. In this study, the first protocol, that is, dispersion polymerization, for preparing monodispersed, chiral helical polymer nanoparticles derived from substituted acetylenic monomers, is reported. The possible formation mechanism of polymer nanoparticles is proposed. More excitingly, achiral monomers subsequently undergo helix-sense-selective dispersion polymerization with d(l)-lactide as chiral additive, directly leading to optically active helical polymer nanoparticles. The present study not only provides a novel approach for preparing chiral helical polymer nanoparticles but also significantly expands the type and number of monomers for constructing chiral nanoparticles.