Front Cover: Bulk self-assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PS-b-PNIPAM) is shown to form microphase-separated films. After dispersing the films in ethanol, nanocylinders stabilized by polystyrene cores were obtained. These kinetically trapped nanocylinders exhibited thermo-/ultrasound-responsive shape transition properties. The transition process could be modulated by the balance between energy input and kinetic barrier. Further details can be found in the article by Y. Li, B. Peng,* and Y. Chen* on page 495.

Back Cover: A one-handed helical supramolecular polymer membrane of 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzenes was successfully prepared via the quantitative photocyclic aromatization reaction of a cis-cisoidal poly(chiral substituted acetylene) membrane. The resulting one-handed supramolecular helicity of the resulting polymer membrane could be retained even after in situ removal of the chiral substituents in the membrane. Further details can be found in the article by L. Liu,* Q. Long, T. Aoki,* T. Namikoshi, Y. Abe, M. Miyata, M. Teraguchi, T. Kaneko, Y. Wang, and C. Zhang on page 530.

Kinetic effects of the hydrogen bond on the homolysis and the reformation of the CON bond of alkoxyamines are investigated. The influence of the hydrogen bond on the homolysis and reformation reactions is found to be weak and insignificant, respectively.

Mesoporous polymeric sorbents exhibit exceptionally high CO₂/N₂ selectivity of up to a factor of 373 times, after surface modification of the pores with polyamines.

A kinetically trapped system with a cylinder to sphere shape transition property is prepared by dispersing the microphase-separated polystyrene-block-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PS-b-PNIPAM) block copolymer bulk materials in ethanol. The transition process is found to be modulated by the balance between energy input and kinetic barrier. Increasing the temperature, application of ultrasound or decreasing the length of the core-forming block also accelerates the morphology transition process.

A series of conjugated microporous polymers from carbazole building blocks is designed and synthesized. The pore properties of the resulting polymers can be tuned by using either a linker with different geometries or carbazole substituted with alkyl groups. The polymer PPTBC shows a high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area of 917 m² g⁻¹ with a high CO₂ uptake ability of 2.93 mmol g⁻¹ at 1.13 bar/273 K.

A range of novel star-like polymers are prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of modified guanidine-based macromonomer (GPHMG) and acrylamide (AM) using bromoisobutyryl-terminated β-cyclodextrin (Br-β-CD) with 5 or 8 active sites, as a macroinitiator to render the star-like polymers as antimicrobial and antiviral.

Cross-linkable oligomer-type molecules with a conjugated donor-acceptor-donor core are synthesized, and insoluble polymer films are prepared using different acid sources, including poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). The new compounds show broad absorption in the UV–vis spectrum and narrow optical bandgaps, the lowest being 1.46 eV. This work open prospects for organic optoelectronic devices, in particular photovoltaic cells, of enhanced performance stability.

The quantitative photocyclic aroma­tization reaction in a cis-cisoidal poly­acetylene (P) membrane affords a one-handed helical supramolecular polymer membrane of the corresponding cyclic trimers (T). Even after in situ removal of the chiral substituents in the T membrane, the resulting one-handed supramolecular helicity of T is retained.

The curing process and structural properties of a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A are studied using a multi-scale approach. The epoxy resin is analyzed at different cross-linking densities by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mecha­nical thermal analysis, solid-state NMR, and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. The importance of this multi-method methodology is the possibility of obtaining a more complete knowledge of the system, overcoming the limits inherent to the use of a single technique.

The aggregation behavior in aqueous solutions is reported for a series of different amphiphilic block copolypeptoids comprising polysarcosine as a hydrophilic part. The formation of aggregates is investigated with ¹H NMR spectro­scopy and dynamic light scattering, and the critical micelle concentration is determined using pyrene fluorescence spectroscopy. Final investigations regarding cytotoxicity reveal that the block copolypeptoids are well tolerated by mammalian cells up to high concentrations.

P(MMA-co-BA) latexes having different T _g values are prepared with small amounts of 2-(diethyl)aminoethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA) as a comonomer through surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. It is found that particles of latexes having a T _g higher than room temperature can be successfully redispersed by CO₂ purging.

A library of low-molecular-weight, narrow-molecular-weight-distribution chain-end-functionalized polyethylenes (Cef-PEs) is prepared highly selectively and efficiently by thiol-ene addition of vinyl-terminated polyethylene (v-PE) with mercaptans under mild conditions. The conversions of all the reactions are up to 95%–100%. All the Cef-PEs are characterized by NMR, GPC, DSC, FT-IR, and TGA. It is found that alkaline mercaptans and solvents were adverse to the thiol-ene click reactions.