Milis Wout, Peeters Janine, Erkens Robin, De Winter Julien, Gerbaux Pascal, Koeckelberghs Guy
Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
Organic Synthesis and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers (CIRMAP), University of Mons, Place du Parc 23, B-700 Mons, Belgium.
ACS Macro Lett. 2024 Oct 15;13(10):1293-1303. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.4c00526. Epub 2024 Sep 16.
Conjugated sequence-defined polymers represent a cutting-edge area of polymer science, merging the precision of biological macromolecules with the versatility of synthetic polymers and the unique properties of conjugated systems. While early reports focused on activation/deactivation strategies, this Letter presents the first orthogonal approach to developing sequence-defined conjugated macromolecules (CMs), incorporating a new monomer at each reaction step. In CMs, the primary monomer sequence meticulously determines the optoelectronic properties. Step-by-step, features such as structural defects, chain length, dispersity, functional groups, topology, and monomers used in the backbone are carefully considered and controlled, with optical data provided to support the necessity of sequence-defined approaches in CMs. Additionally, a pioneering and repeatable modular approach is introduced, connecting different orthogonally developed sequences. This method enhances efficiency and accelerates the synthesis process, facilitating comprehensive structure-property analyses and paving the way for tunable materials with record-breaking properties.
