A well-defined graft copolymer consisting of a poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PHEA) backbone and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) side chains was synthesized by successive reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and atom transfer nitroxide radical coupling (ATNRC) reaction. RAFT homopolymerization of a Cl-containing acrylate monomer, 2-hydroxyethyl 2-((2-chloropropanoyloxy)methyl)acrylate (HECPMA), was first performed in a controlled way to afford a well-defined PHEA-based backbone with a low polydispersity (Mw/Mn = 1.08). The target poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate)-g-poly(ethylene oxide) (PHEA-g-PEO) graft copolymer with a narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn = 1.16) was then obtained by ATNRC reaction between the pendant –OCOCH(CH3)Cl group in every repeated unit of PHEA-based backbone and PEO with a TEMPO end group via the grafting-onto strategy, using CuCl/PMDETA as a catalytic system. The critical micelle concentrations (cmcs) of the obtained graft copolymer in pure water, brine, and aqueous Na2SO4 solution were determined by the fluorescence probe technique using N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine as probe and micellar morphologies in aqueous media were visualized by TEM. It was found that PHEA-g-PEO graft copolymer self-assembled into large compound micelles in aqueous media, which can encapsulate hydrophilic Rhodamine 6G and hydrophobic pyrene separately or simultaneously.

Polymer-functionalized graphene sheets play an important role in graphene-containing composite materials. Herein, functionalized graphene sheets covalently linked with radical polymer, graphene-graft-poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl-4-yl methacrylate) (G-g-PTMA), were prepared via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). A composite cathode with G-g-PTMA as major active material and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as conductive additive was fabricated via a simple dispersing–depositing process, and this composite cathode exhibited a relatively high specific capacity up to 466 mAh g–1 based on the mass of PTMA, which is much higher than the theoretical capacity of PTMA. This extraordinary electrochemical performance is attributed to the fast one-electron redox reaction of G-g-PTMA and surface Faradaic reaction of RGO boosted by G-g-PTMA, which suggested that G-g-PTMA sheets play a dual role in the composite materials, that is, on the one hand provided the fast one-electron redox reaction of PTMA and on the other hand worked as nanofiller for facilitating the surface Faradaic reaction-based lithium storage of RGO.

In recent years, with the rapid development of polymer science, the application of classical named reactions has transferred from small-molecule compounds to polymers. The versatility of named reactions in terms of monomer selection, solvent envi-ronment,reaction temperature, and post-modification permits the synthesis of sophisticated macromolecular structures under conditions where other reaction processes will not operate. In this review, we divided the named reactions employed in polymer-chain synthesis into three types: transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, metal-free cross-coupling reactions,and multi-components reactions. Thus, we focused our discussion on the progress in the utilization of these named reactionsin polymer synthesis

This review highlights representative efforts to construct well-defined star graft copolymers over the past decade. Star graft copolymers, consisting of multiple arms connected to a central core as the backbone, and branched side chains grafted from the arms, possess a more complex topological architecture than traditional graft copolymers and star polymers bearing linear arms. According to the distinction of grafting density, star graft copolymers can be divided into typical star graft copolymers with loosely grafted side chains, and star brush polymers with densely grafted side chains. For the synthesis of both types, there are great difficulties in achieving precise control over their topology, microstructure, and composition. Especially for the preparation of star brush polymers, their high grafting densities and steric hindrance also bring more challenges. Through the combination of two tactics for preparing star polymers, the diverse strategies employed in synthesizing graft copolymers, and a great variety of controlled/living polymerization techniques, a series of star graft polymers has been obtained. Thanks to the giant size and high compactness of star brush polymers, the unique hierarchical self-organization behavior of these highly branched star polymers will pave the way for their potential use in the fields of drug delivery, bio-catalysis, super soft elastomers, and templates for hybrid nanomaterials, acting as unimolecular micelles.

With the rapid development of science and technology on graphene, the demand for graphene grows significantly so that it is necessary to develop convenient, scalable, and low-cost methods to prepare graphene or its derivatives with high quality. Herein, a novel approach is reported for the preparation of pentafluorophenyl-functionalized graphene (PFP-f-graphene) on a considerable scale of hundreds of milligram using commercially available graphite as starting material. In this process, pentafluorophenyl-functionalized graphene was obtained via the in situ diazonium formation procedure and mild sonication treatment. The pentafluorophenyl- functionalized graphene was characterized by Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, AFM, TGA, and XPS, and it was proved to be less defective. This functionalized graphene possesses good dispersity (up to 0.4 mg/mL in N,N-dimethylformamide after one week) in common organic solvents. Transparent conductive thin films with the sheet resistance as low as 47 Ω/sq were fabricated by filtering the PFP-f-graphene dispersion in DMF followed by annealing. Moreover, PFP-f-graphene can be easily modified with either hydrophilic or hydrophobic polymers.