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Graft Copolymer: History
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Subjects: Polymer Science
Contributor: Helena Kang

A graft copolymer is a macromolecule composed of a polymeric backbone of one constitutional composition with covalently attached side chains (grafts) of a chemically distinct polymer. The defining connectivity is a branching junction linking each graft to the main chain, so that the molecule is neither a linear block copolymer nor a statistical copolymer of the two repeat units along a single contour. Graft copolymers may be prepared by grafting-from (initiation from backbone-bound sites), grafting-onto (coupling of preformed chains to functional backbones), or grafting-through (copolymerization of macromonomers) strategies that all install covalent side-chain attachment [1]. Multigraft architectures with controlled graft number, spacing, and molecular weight illustrate the same structural class under well-defined synthetic constraints [2]. The concept requires covalent bonding between backbone and grafts; physical blends, interpolymer complexes, or merely adsorbed chains do not constitute graft copolymers. Comb polymers represent the densely grafted limiting case of this architecture.

  • graft copolymer
  • polymer backbone
  • side chains
  • grafting-from

Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization • Organic Chemistry • Chemistry • Physical Sciences

References

  1. Chun Feng; Yongjun Li; Dong Yang; Jianhua Hu; Xiaohuan Zhang; Xiaoyu Huang; Well-defined graft copolymers: from controlled synthesis to multipurpose applications. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2010, 40, 1282-1295, 10.1039/b921358a.
  2. David Uhrig; Jimmy Mays; Synthesis of well-defined multigraft copolymers. Polym. Chem. 2010, 2, 69-76, 10.1039/c0py00185f.
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