Advancedsciencenews.com — Highly specialized polymers with specific functionality has attracted strong research interest worldwide.

Generally, functionality is defined as the “quality of being suited to serve a purpose well” (according to the Oxford English Dictionary).

In polymer science however, functionality is commonly used to describe various features of polymers, from individual chemical groups and their reactivity, to the unique properties of macromolecules arising as a consequence.

“The growing literature on functional polymers encompasses the impressive levels of control that researchers have in tailoring polymer properties to make them practicably suited to serve a specific purpose” writes Dr. Markus Müllner, senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and Chair of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, New South Wales Polymer group.

Functional polymers therefore offer a virtually endless source of materials and systems for a wide range of applications, from materials for alternative energy production, to components for robotics, diagnostics, and personalized medicine.

In a recent issue of Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Markus Müllner collects contributions from outstanding scientists on the recent advances on the synthesis and application of functional natural and synthetic polymers. This collection of research articles illustrates the wide-ranging impact of high precision polymer design and the potential applications of functional polymers.

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