Frontiers on Metallocene Polymers: from Controlled Polymerization to Electrolyte Chemistry to Medicinal Chemistry

Chuanbing Tang

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina

Metallopolymers combine synthetic efficiency and versatility of an organic polymer framework with unique properties of inorganic metals. Among them, metallocene-containing polymers play a significant role in materials science due to their thermal stability, reversible redox chemistry and many other fascinating properties that arise from their sandwich-like structures. After nearly half-century development, the field of metallocene-containing polymers faces numerous challenges. This presentation will highlight recent progress developed by my group in the synthesis and applications of metallocene-containing polymers with diverse architectures by controlled polymerization techniques such as reversible addition fragmentation transfer polymerization (RAFT) and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Both polyelectrolyte chemistry and robust template synthesis toward versatile advanced cobalt materials will be covered. Medicinal applications of these metallopolymers as antimicrobial agents and their bioconjugates with conventional antibiotics for fighting bacterial resistance will be discussed.

References:

1. Ren L.; Hardy C. G.; Tang C. Synthesis and Solution Self-assembly of Side-Chain Cobaltocenium-containing Block Copolymers, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2010, 132, 8874-8875.

2. Ren L.; Zhang J.; Bai X.; Hardy C. G.; Shimizu K. D.; Tang C. Preparation of Cationic Cobaltocenium Polymers and Block Copolymers by “Living” Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization. Chem. Sci. 2012, 3, 580-583.

3. Zhang J.; Yan Y.; Chance W. M.; Chen J.; Hayat J.; Ma S.; Tang C. Charged Metallopolymers as Universal Precursors for Versatile Cobalt Materials, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 13387 –133.