Chemists have succeeded in specifically controlling the setup of precision polymers by light-induced chemical reactions. The new method allows for the precise, planned arrangement of the chain links, ...

One hundred years ago, in 1920, the German chemist Hermann Staudinger published his classic paper entitled "Über Polymerisation" ("On Polymerization"). In that paper, he proposed a chain structure for ...

A new method allows chemists to precisely place single monomers at any position within a polymer chain made of other types of monomers. With this single monomer, chemists can add various types of ...

Yttrium-based catalysts can be used to stitch together two different lactone monomers in an alternating fashion to produce polyesters with well-defined primary structures. The ability to control the ...

Several hindrances to the recycling of synthetic polymers, including material separation and post-treatment degradation of the macromolecular polymer chains, negatively affect the cost-efficiency and ...

Dendritic macromolecules have attracted considerable attention during the past decade because of their unique properties, such as low viscosity, high solubility and a high degree of functionality, ...

Traditional synthetic polymers contain a distribution of chain lengths and monomer sequences. For applications such as molecular electronics, however, scientists want to create polymers of a specific ...

The synthesis and self-organization of biological macromolecules is essential for life on earth. Chemists now report the spontaneous emergence of complex ring-shaped macromolecules with low degrees of ...

Can be used to recap on polymers and monomers or could lead into a classroom discussion on chemistry in society.

Most plastic is manufactured from petroleum the end product of a few million years of natural decay of once-living organisms. Petroleum's main components come from lipids that were first assembled ...