Knots have gained great interest from arts, mathematics and biologies. Although chemists have successfully synthesized knots of small molecular weight with different strategies, knots with large molecular weight i.e.knotted polymers have not yet been reasonably accessed. Here, we report a synthetic strategy for trefoil knotted polymer derived from the Cu(I)-templated helical knot precursor and by subsequent ring-expansion approach. The expected properties compared to its linear analogue such as reduced hydrodynamic radii and lower intrinsic viscosity, together with an atomic microscopy (AFM) image of individual polymer molecules, confirmed the formation of trefoil knotted polymer.

Synthesis of trefoil knotted poly(e-caprolatone) via Cu(I)-template method and ring-expansion strategy

246th National Meeting (2013)

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