Living Chain-growth Polymerization via C―S Bond Cleavage
RESEARCH ARTICLE|Updated:2026-09-23
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Living Chain-growth Polymerization via C―S Bond Cleavage
Chinese Journal of Polymer ScienceVol. 44, Issue 10, Pages: 3308-3313(2026)
Affiliations:
a.College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China
b.School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Low-Carbon Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
c.The International Joint Institute of Tianjin University, Fuzhou 350205, China
Liang, X. Y.; Zhu, Y. C.; Xiong, H. G.; Guo, F. J.; Xie, W. B.; Shi, Q. Q.; Huang, H. Living chain-growth polymerization via C―S bond cleavage. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3308–3313
Xin-Yu Liang, Ye-Cheng Zhu, Hai-Gen Xiong, et al. Living Chain-growth Polymerization via C―S Bond Cleavage[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3308-3313. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3733-3.
Liang, X. Y.; Zhu, Y. C.; Xiong, H. G.; Guo, F. J.; Xie, W. B.; Shi, Q. Q.; Huang, H. Living chain-growth polymerization via C―S bond cleavage. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3308–3313DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3733-3.
Xin-Yu Liang, Ye-Cheng Zhu, Hai-Gen Xiong, et al. Living Chain-growth Polymerization via C―S Bond Cleavage[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3308-3313. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3733-3.DOI:
Living Chain-growth Polymerization via C―S Bond Cleavage
Nickel-catalyzed living chain-growth polymerization
via
C―S bond cleavage was developed using aryl sulfides as monomers. This strategy enabled the controlled synthesis of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) with
M
n
up to 12.1 kDa and regioregularity up to 96%.
Abstract
Conjugated polymers are indispensable materials in organic optoelectronics. Living chain-growth polymerization has emerged as a promising strategy for synthesizing conjugated polymers with narrow polydispersity indices. To date
the majority of living chain-growth polymerization protocols have relied on Kumada-type cross-coupling reactions using aryl halides as monomers. Herein
we developed a nickel-catalyzed living chain-growth polymerization method based on carbon–sulfur bond activation
employing aryl sulfides as monomers
which enabled the synthesis of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with a regioregularity exceeding 95%. Kinetic studies confirmed the chain-growth mechanism of the polymerization
while steric hindrance and electronic effects were found to play important roles in regulating the polymerization behavior.
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