Ultra-high molecular weight complex coacervates via polymerization-induced electrostatic self-assembly

Advances in reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP), particularly the recent renaissance of photoiniferter polymerization, have led to new methods to achieve ultra-high molecular weight polymers with high functional-group tolerance. Utilizing these advances, we report the synthesis of ultra-high molecular weight charged polymers to generate micron-sized complex coacervates via photoiniferter-mediated polymerization. This method allows access to self-assembled polymeric nanostructures on a previously under-explored size regime. We also demonstrated the in situ generation of micron-sized self-assembled particles via polymerization induced-electrostatic self-assembly (PIESA).