Nanometer-Sized Shell Molecules That Confine Endohedral Polymerizing Units

摘要

Polymerization that proceeds in a restricted nanosized region under external stimuli, without any volumetric shrinkage, is a fascinating task in materials science because the physical and optical properties of the polymerized region dramatically change with nanoscale resolution, which has relevance to high-density data-storage materials, for example.[1] Polymerizations in zeolites,[2] porous organic crystalline hosts,[2] and porous coordination polymers[3] are currently active research fields. These host materials offer well-defined nanosized spaces or channels, but the nanometric regions are grouped together in a bundle. Therefore, it is impossible to handle them as soluble discrete scaffolds with high processability. Emulsion polymerization in a micelle is another approach to polymerization in spatially confined regions.[4] However, micelles do not have well-defined structures and shapes, and the number of monomers accommodated and polymerized in micelles is not precisely restricted.