Chemically Bonding Metal Atoms into a Polymer Chain

Zihao Zhao; Fuyao Huang; Yifeng Zhang; Huisheng Peng

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3779-2

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Chemically Bonding Metal Atoms into a Polymer Chain

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-09-23

- Chemically Bonding Metal Atoms into a Polymer Chain
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 10, Pages: 3279-3286(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, and Institute of Fiber Materials and Devices, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
- Author bio：
  
  penghs@fudan.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3779-2
  CLC：
- Received：22 May 2026，
  
  Accepted：10 June 2026，
  
  Online First：03 August 2026，
  
  Published：05 October 2026
- Accepted：
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Zhao, Z.; Huang, F.; Zhang, Y.; Peng, H. Chemically bonding metal atoms into a polymer chain. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3279–3286

Zihao Zhao, Fuyao Huang, Yifeng Zhang, et al. Chemically Bonding Metal Atoms into a Polymer Chain[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3279-3286.
Zhao, Z.; Huang, F.; Zhang, Y.; Peng, H. Chemically bonding metal atoms into a polymer chain. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 3279–3286 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3779-2.

Zihao Zhao, Fuyao Huang, Yifeng Zhang, et al. Chemically Bonding Metal Atoms into a Polymer Chain[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(10): 3279-3286. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3779-2.

摘要

Metal-backboned polymers with a polymerization degree of up to 169 were achieved by optimizing one-pot synthesis. They exhibit typical polymer behavior

pronounced electron delocalization along the backbone

and efficient room-temperature phosphorescence.

Abstract

Metal-backboned polymers have been proposed as a new class of materials with remarkable physical and chemical properties for applications in optoelectronics

magnetism

and energy. However

the number of metal atoms in their backbones is limited to less than 30 to date. This has prevented the systematic investigation of their properties. Herein

we report the synthesis of metal-backboned polymers with a polymerization degree of 169. Using gold as a model system

we identified that the controlled release of Ag

an electron-donating imidazole co-ligand

ligand steric/electronic effects

and elevated reaction temperature are key to achieving such long chains. The resulting metal-backboned polymers display hallmark polymer behaviors such as glass transition

together with a unique electronic structure featuring pronounced electron delocalization along the Au backbone and efficient room-temperature phosphorescence. This work provides an effective route to long-chain metal-backboned polymers and deepens the understanding of the electronic structures in one-dimensional metal backbones.

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references

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