https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06475-9">
 

Metallo-Polyelectrolytes as a Class of Ionic Macromolecules for Functional Materials

Tianyu Zhu, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, USA.
Ye Sha, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, USA.
Jing Yan, Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shannxi, 710129, China.
Parasmani Pageni, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, USA.
Md Anisur Rahman, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, USA.
Yi Yan, Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shannxi, 710129, China. yanyi@nwpu.edu.cn.
Chuanbing Tang, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, USA. tang4@sc.edu.

Abstract

The fields of soft polymers and macromolecular sciences have enjoyed a unique combination of metals and organic frameworks in the name of metallopolymers or organometallic polymers. When metallopolymers carry charged groups, they form a class of metal-containing polyelectrolytes or metallo-polyelectrolytes. This review identifies the unique properties and functions of metallo-polyelectrolytes compared with conventional organo-polyelectrolytes, in the hope of shedding light on the formation of functional materials with intriguing applications and potential benefits. It concludes with a critical perspective on the challenges and hurdles for metallo-polyelectrolytes, especially experimental quantitative analysis and theoretical modeling of ionic binding.