Polymer Chemistry

Macromolecular Polymer Structure

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Noncovalent interactions provide a flexible means of engineering new chemical entities with tailored properties. Specific interactions between functionalized small molecules and polymer chains bearing complementary binding sites can be used to engineer supramolecular complexes which display mesomorph polymer structure. This has been exploited to develop a range of functional materials including photonic band gap polymers, ionic conductors and donor-acceptor semiconductors polymers. Additionally, the deliberate association of polymers with surfactants in engineered, synthetic materials is increasingly motivated by the possibility of combining the stimuli-responsive self-assembly and solubilizing properties of surfactants with the intrinsic solution properties of polymers, such as rheology medication and facile coating of interfaces.