| Version | Summary | Created by | Modification | Content Size | Created at | Operation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helena Kang | -- | 172 | 2026-09-23 03:52:08 |
Chirality expressed at the macromolecular level through a stereochemically biased polymerization constitutes asymmetric polymerization. An achiral or prochiral monomer is converted into a polymer that is optically active because of main-chain stereocenters, a preferred helical screw sense, or both. The bias may originate in a chiral initiator or catalyst, a chiral field such as a liquid-crystalline medium, or a chiral auxiliary attached to the monomer. Helical polyacetylene formed in a chiral liquid-crystal field is a canonical illustration of field-induced asymmetric polymerization [1]. In the polymerization of 1,2-diisocyanobenzenes, a screw-sense-determining end group dictates the helical sense of the growing poly(quinoxaline-2,3-diyl) chain [2]. Asymmetric polymerization-induced crystallization-driven self-assembly of poly(aryl isocyanide) block copolymers likewise couples helical chain growth to hierarchical assembly [3]. The term is reserved for polymerization that creates macromolecular asymmetry; it is not synonymous with polymerization of an already enantiopure monomer that merely preserves point chirality, nor with racemic polymerization that yields internally compensated stereosequences.