The Development of New Synthetic Approaches to Epoxide Polymerization

Progress in polymer science is built on a foundation of versatile synthetic methodologies, and quantitative conceptual tools for understanding macromolecular structure, and its relationship to physical properties that underlie a wealth of established and developmental technologies. The ring-opening polymerization of epoxide monomers provides a particularly versatile platform for synthesizing polymeric materials with controlled molecular weights, compositions, and chemical functionalities. This versatility is derived from its ring-strain driving force, which places few restrictions on the exact structure of terminal epoxide monomers used in anionic ring-opening polymerization. The desire to expand the palette of amenable monomer structures, accessible molecular weights, and bring about a commensurate expansion in the spectrum of available physical properties motivates the development of increasingly powerful synthetic methodologies. In this presentation, I will lay out a brief historical account of the development of synthetic approaches to polyether materials over the past 100 years, and how this precedent has led to our newest developments in the controlled synthesis of polyether materials.