Hyperbranched polymers (HPs) exhibit unique material properties, but their synthesis is often a challenge. Synthesizing HPs via ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) currently requires multiple reactions or specialized monomers. To enable a more general approach, we synthesized a ROMP inimer—a molecule containing both the initiator and prorogating site—to synthesize HPs via self-condensing ROMP in a single step. We tested the capability of this approach by synthesizing hyperbranched cyclooctene polymers. Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), we demonstrated that the physical proprieties of HPs could be modulated by varying the degree of branching (DB). For example, T<sub>c</sub>ranging between 8–24 °C, decreased as the DB increased. We envision that this approach will be general to any ROMP monomer and will enable synthetic access to controlled polymer architectures currently unavailable with conventional ROMP.

Self-condensing ring-opening metathesis polymerization: A novel approach to hyperbranched polymers

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