Tapered Bottlebrush Polymers: Cone-Shaped Nanostructures by Sequential Addition of Macromonomers

Abstract

Tapered (cone-shaped) bottlebrush polymers were synthesized for the first time by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using a sequential-addition of macromonomers (SAM) strategy. Polystyrene macromonomers with molecular weights that increased from 1 to 10 kg mol^-1 were polymerized in sequence to high conversion, yielding tapered bottlebrush polymers that could be visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM).