Cationic Metallocene-Containing Polymers: From Synthesis to Applications

Metallopolymers, with the combination of metals and polymeric framworks, have attracted a lot of attention during the past decades. The development of metallopolymers has been largely driven by the desire to combine the synthetic efficiency and versatility of an organic polymer framework with the unique redox, responsive and catalytic properties of inorganic metals. Among different kinds of metallopolymers, metallocene-containing polymers， have been widely utilized for applications ranging from electrochemical sensors to templates for advanced inorganic catalysts to battery materials, due to their unique physicochemical properties. In the first part of my thesis, we showed controlled/living polymerization strategies to prepare well-defined metallocene-containing polymers. We majorly focused on charged metallocenium-containing polymers. In Chapters 3-6, unique properties of these cobaltocenium-containing polymers were discussed, including self-assembly studies, anion-exchange ability and bioactivities. Specifically, these cobaltocenium-containing polymeric materials were used as novel precursors to prepare various inorganic metal/carbon magnetic nanomaterials (cobalt-containing) and also utilized as novel antimicrobial materials to revitalize conventional antibiotics or directly act against multi-drug resistant bacteria