title: Optically active helical vinylterphenyl polymers: chiral teleinduction in radical polymerization and tunable stereomutation.
abstract: Helical vinyl aromatic polymers are emerging as interesting chiral materials due to their dynamic tailorability, synthetic simplicity, and outstanding chemical and physical stabilities. This Personal Account discusses long-range chirality transfer in the radical polymerization of vinylterphenyl monomers and tunable stereomutation of the resultant polymers. It begins with a general introduction to the design, synthesis, and characterization of helical poly{(+)-2,5-bis[4'-((S)-2-methylbutyloxy)phenyl]styrene}, the first one of this series of polymers. Then, long-range chirality transfer during radical polymerization of terphenyl-based vinyl monomers is explained. After that, the chiroptical property control of the resultant polymers by means of the transition from kinetically controlled conformation to thermodynamically controlled conformation and external stimulus is described. This Personal Account concludes by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the strategy of using vinylterphenyls to obtain optically active helical polymers and providing a short outlook, especially emphasizing the importance of tacticity on the chiroptical properties of polymers.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China. xhwan@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D005609:Free Radicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D058105:Polymerization; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013730:Terphenyl Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014753:Vinyl Compounds / Q000138:chemical synthesis*
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D011137:Polystyrenes; D013730:Terphenyl Compounds; D014753:Vinyl Compounds
keywords: chirality; helical structures; polymerization; radical reactions; stereomutation