The Synthesis of Sequence-controlled Multiblock Copolymers by Frustrated Lewis Pair: Can the Pandora's Box be Reopened?

Sequence-controlled polymers have been regarded as a great challenging holy grail to be ultimately achieved in polymer science. However, its synthesis is just like a Pandora's box that is impossible to be reopened due to the lack of efficient synthetic methodologies. More recently, Yuetao Zhang's group at Jilin University has made a big breakthrough in the synthesis of sequence-controlled polymers by using living/controlled frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) polymerization system. FLP composed of organophosphorus superbase and organoaluminum Lewis acid can rapidly incoporate four methacrylic monomers into a tripentacontablock copolymers, which is by far the world's highest record for block numbers (about 2.5 times of the previous record) and the degree of polymerization is 50 per block. This synthetic strategy has several remarkable features such as room-temperature synthesis and easily scale-up to high multigram experiment over 110 grams; simple procedure: no additional initiator or catalyst but only sequential addition of monomer is required for per block copolymerization. It only took 30 min to synthesize such a tripentacontablock copolymers. All these features indicated the very promising prospects of this FLP polymerization system in industry, inspiring the polymer chemists' enthusiasm to reopen the pandora's box.