Star-shaped polymer

[13] Some of the most interesting characteristics exhibited by star-shaped polymers are their unique rheological and dynamic properties compared to linear analogues of identical molecular weight and monomer composition.

This is due to the increased repulsive interactions that occur as a result of a greater number of heterocontacts between the different arms.

[13] The unique self-assembly properties of star shaped polymers make them a promising field of research for use in applications such as drug delivery and multiphase processes such as separation of organic/inorganic materials.

Generally, star-shaped polymers have higher critical micelle concentrations, and so lower aggregation numbers, than their analogous, similar molecular weight linear chains.

[1] The addition of functional groups to the arms of star-shaped polymers as well as selective solvent choice can affect their aggregation properties.

[1] Heteroarm polymers have been shown to aggregate into particularly interesting supramolecular formations such as stars, segmented ribbons, and core-shell-corona micellar assemblies depending on their arms' solubility in solution, which can be affected by changes in temperature, pH, solvent, etc.

[1] Certain Heteroarm star-block polymers have been shown to stabilize water-organic solvent emulsions, while others have demonstrated the ability to increase the solubility of inorganic salts in organic solutions.

In the arm-first (also known as the "arm-in" or convergent approach[1]) method, monofunctional living polymers with known characteristics are used as precursors in the reaction.

Since both the core and the arms are rather reactive, essentially all Si-Cl undergo electrophilic substitution, and the resulting star-shaped polymers thus have a rather narrow polydispersity index.

While many studies have been published regarding star-shaped polymers, their commercial applications are limited, but growing constantly as research expands.