Structure-Based Nomenclature for Irregular Linear, Star, Comb and Brush Polymers Containing Non-Identical Constitutional Repeating Units

Corresponding Author: Jiazhong Chen

Provisional Recommendations Abstract:

In research and in industry, there is a need for clear rules on the nomenclature of complex polymeric substances both for articles and patents. On the one hand, recent developments in “controlled” polymer chemistry allow for greater control over polymer structures, and on the other hand, an increasing market demand for more complex materials have together meant that polymeric structures are better defined and more complex. The existing IUPAC nomenclature recommendations can deal with most structures, but are increasingly outdated, and in some cases, surpassed by the complexity of the arising polymer skeletons.

Recognizing the lack of IUPAC nomenclature guidelines for complex polymers, the task group dedicated its efforts to establish guidelines for the nomenclature of branched and hyper-branched block copolymers, including polymers in star, comb, and brush structures. This was done by enhancing existing rules and introducing new ones to address the complexities inherent in these polymer types. For example, in 2021, the task group published an IUPAC document “Structure-based nomenclature for irregular linear, star, comb, and brush polymers” (IUPAC Recommendations 2020, Pure Appl. Chem. 2021, 93, 963. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2020-0103) which addresses the needs of structure-based nomenclature for certain types of linear and branched polymers with two or more blocks of identical constitutional repeating units (CRUs). Within the document, some existing nomenclature rules established in document1 were enhanced and expanded.

This paper is intended as a necessary extension to the 2020 IUPAC Recommendations and delivers recommendations for the nomenclature of certain types of linear and branched polymers including Star polymer, Comb polymer, and Brush polymer which contain a multiple number of non-identical CRUs. Therefore, the scope of structure-based nomenclature is now extended to more complex block, star, graft, comb, and brush copolymers.

Keywords: nomenclature, polymers, structure-based representation, constitutional repeating unit