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 ...

The most common method for synthesizing polymers with a carbon–carbon main chain backbone is vinyl polymerization, by which many industrially important polymers, including common plastics such as ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Scientists have recently shown how valuable light-sensitive macromolecules are: when exposed to the right wavelength of light, they can be transformed so as to change, erase or decode the molecular ...

In a new study, researchers from Doshisha University, Japan, have integrated the results from nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analyses and simulation experiments to reveal the critical ...

Even though many plastics are recyclable, most are not recycled because of the cost and labor needed. To help make plastic recycling easier, chemists want to find new polymers that require less work ...