Modern Polymerization Techniques

International customers, please contact your local Sigma-Aldrich office. For worldwide contact information, please see back cover. Material Matters is also available in PDF format on the Internet at sigma-aldrich.com/matsci. Aldrich brand products are sold through Sigma-Aldrich, Inc. Sigma-Aldrich, Inc. warrants that its products conform to the information contained in this and other Sigma-Aldrich publications. Purchaser must determine the suitability of the product for its particular use. See reverse side of invoice or packing slip for additional terms and conditions of sale. All prices are subject to change without notice. Methods of living radical polymerization can be used to synthesize polymers with well-defined molecular weight and functional end-groups designed to self-assemble and form nanostructures or to selectively modify surfaces of inorganic solids. Our cover illustrates the " living " growth of polymer chains characteristic of these technologies. An ATRP synthesis of a block copolymer illustrated in the top part of the picture shows the copper initiating species (tiny spheres) close to a hydroxy initiator at the beginning of the growing polymer chain. Below it synthesis of random copolymer is controlled by an attached RAFT agent. The universal NMP initiator is also shown in the blue sphere to the right. Introduction Welcome to the first 2010 issue of Material Matters™ focusing on Modern Polymerization techniques for making polymers with well-defined properties and molecular architectures. With this issue, we are pleased to announce the increased emphasis of Sigma-Aldrich® Corporation on serving you, the customers of Aldrich® Materials Science. Over the coming year we will invest to expand our offer of products for materials research. A significant portion of this investment will be in Polymer Science and includes additional tools for polymer synthesis as well as greater selection of novel polymer materials. The many new products for living radical and electrochemical polymerization presented in this issue are the first result of this investment. Another benefit from this investment is the center of excellence for custom monomer and polymer synthesis announced on p. 8 of this issue. We are committed to supplying you with the highest quality materials needed for your research, so that you can focus on results! Living and template-assisted polymerization methods developed over the last decade have changed the way we think about polymer materials. We are no longer limited to making simple polymers heterogeneous in terms of their molecular weight and conformation. It is now possible to prepare polymers with precise …