Post-Polymerization Editing of Polymer Tacticity
- 1Department of Chemistry
- 2Princeton University
- 3University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Abstract
The tacticity of polymers impacts their macroscopic properties. Methods to precisely 10 control polymer tacticity prior to or during polymerization are well known; however, postpolymerization editing of tacticity remains underexplored. Here, we report a strategy for visible light-driven polymer tacticity editing through continuous C–H exchange at stereogenic sites along the polymer backbone. This approach can transform isotactic polymers into a library of products with varying tacticities and can provide access to stereoenriched polymers from atactic starting 15 materials. Spatiotemporal control over tacticity editing enabled the patterning of heterogeneous mechanical responses within a compositionally uniform material. This platform establishes postpolymerization tacticity editing as a complementary paradigm to stereocontrolled polymerization that provides access to stereoenriched and stereopatterned materials that are challenging to access through conventional synthetic routes.
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BibTeX
@misc{kim2026postpolymerization,
title = {{Post-Polymerization Editing of Polymer Tacticity}},
author = {Diane D. Kim and Yonghwan Kwon and Nicholas M. Legaux and James H. Cox and Lydia R. Fries and Andrey V. Dobrynin and Robert R. Knowles and Frank A. Leibfarth},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15011170/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011170/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Post-Polymerization Editing of Polymer Tacticity
AU - Diane D. Kim
AU - Yonghwan Kwon
AU - Nicholas M. Legaux
AU - James H. Cox
AU - Lydia R. Fries
AU - Andrey V. Dobrynin
AU - Robert R. Knowles
AU - Frank A. Leibfarth
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15011170/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15011170/v1
AB - The tacticity of polymers impacts their macroscopic properties. Methods to precisely 10 control polymer tacticity prior to or during polymerization are well known; however, postpolymerization editing of tacticity remains underexplored. Here, we report a strategy for visible light-driven polymer tacticity editing through continuous C–H exchange at stereogenic sites along the polymer backbone. This approach can transform isotactic polymers into a library of products with varying tacticities and can provide access to stereoenriched polymers from atactic starting 15 materials. Spatiotemporal control over tacticity editing enabled the patterning of heterogeneous mechanical responses within a compositionally uniform material. This platform establishes postpolymerization tacticity editing as a complementary paradigm to stereocontrolled polymerization that provides access to stereoenriched and stereopatterned materials that are challenging to access through conventional synthetic routes.
ER -