Topology Of Polymers

This book provides a comprehensive description of topological polymers, an emerging research area in polymer science and polymer materials engineering. The precision polymer topology designing is critical to realizing the unique polymer properties and functions leading to their eventual applications. The prominent contributors are led by Principal Editor Yasuyuki Tezuka and Co-Editor Tetsuo Deguchi. Important ongoing achievements and anticipated breakthroughs in topological polymers are presented with an emphasis on the spectacular diversification of polymer constructions. The book serves readers collectively to acquire comprehensive insights over exciting innovations ongoing in topological polymer chemistry, encompassing topological geometry analysis, classification, physical characterization by simulation and the eventual chemical syntheses, with the supplementary focus on the polymer folding, invoked with the ongoing breakthrough of the precision AI prediction of protein folding. The current revolutionary developments in synthetic approaches specifically for single cyclic (ring) polymers and the topology-directed properties/functions uncovered thereby are outlined as a showcase example. This book is especially beneficial to academic personnel in universities and to researchers working in relevant institutions and companies. Although the level of the book is advanced, it can serve as a good reference book for graduate students and postdocs as a source of valuable knowledge of cutting-edge topics and progress in polymer chemistry.

Plastics, films, and synthetic fibers are among typical examples of polymer materials fabricated industrially in massive quantities as the basis of modern social life. By comparison, polymers from biological resources, including proteins, DNAs, and cotton fibers, are essential in various processes in living systems. Such polymers are molecular substances, constituted by the linking of hundreds to tens of thousands of small chemical unit (monomer) components. Thus, the form of polymer molecules is frequently expressed by line geometries, and their linear and non-linear forms are believed to constitute the fundamental basis for their properties and functions. In the field of polymer chemistry and polymer materials science, the choice of macromolecules has continuously been extended from linear or randomly branched forms toward a variety of precisely controlled topologies by the introduction of intriguing synthetic techniques. Moreover, during the first decade of this century, a number of impressive breakthroughs have been achieved to produce an important class of polymers having a variety of cyclic and multicyclic topologies. These developments now offer unique opportunities in polymer materials design to create unique properties and functions based on the form, i.e., topology, of polymer molecules. The introduction and application of topological geometry (soft geometry) to polymer molecules is a crucial requirement to account for the basic geometrical properties of polymer chains uniquely flexible in nature, in contrast to small chemical compounds conceived upon Euclidian geometry (hard geometry) principles. Topological geometry and graph theory are introduced for the systematic classification and notation of the non-linear constructions of polymer molecules, including not only branched but also single cyclic and multicyclic polymer topologies. On that basis, the geometrical–topological relationship between different polymers having distinctive constructions is discussed. A unique conception of topological isomerism is thus formed, which contrasts with that of conventional constitutional and stereoisomerism occurring in small chemical compounds. Through the close collaboration of topology experts Shimokawa and Ishihara and the polymer chemist Tezuka, this monograph covers the fundamentals and selected current topics of topology applied in polymers and topological polymer chemistry. In particular, the aim is to provide novel insights jointly revealed through a unique interaction between mathematics (topology) and polymer materials science.

There are examples aplenty in the macroscopic world that demonstrate the form of objects directing their functions and properties. On the other hand, the fabrication of extremely small objects having precisely defined structures has only recently become an attractive challenge, which is now opening the door to nanoscience and nanotechnology.In the field of synthetic polymer chemistry, a number of critical breakthroughs have been achieved during the first decade of this century to produce an important class of polymers having a variety of cyclic and multicyclic topologies. These developments now offer unique opportunities in polymer materials design to create unprecedented properties and functions simply based on the form, i.e. topology, of polymer molecules.In this book on topological polymer chemistry, the important developments in this growing area will be collected for the first time, with particular emphasis on new conceptual insights for polymer chemistry and polymer materials. The book will systematically review topological polymer chemistry from basic aspects to practice, and give a broad overview of cyclic polymers covering new synthesis, structure characterization, basic properties/functions and the eventual applications.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications TOPOLOGY AND GEOMETRY IN POLYMER SCIENCE is based on the proceedings of a very successful one-week workshop with the same title. This workshop was an integral part of the 1995-1996 IMA program on "Mathematical Methods in Materials Science." We would like to thank Stuart G. Whittington, De Witt Sumners, and Timothy Lodge for their excellent work as organizers of the meeting and for editing the proceedings. We also take this opportunity to thank the National Science Foun dation (NSF), the Army Research Office (ARO) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), whose financial support made the workshop possible. A vner Friedman Robert Gulliver v PREFACE This book is the product of a workshop on Topology and Geometry of Polymers, held at the IMA in June 1996. The workshop brought together topologists, combinatorialists, theoretical physicists and polymer scientists, who share an interest in characterizing and predicting the microscopic en tanglement properties of polymers, and their effect on macroscopic physical properties.

Topology has been extensively applied in the study of chemically linked and knotted structures, and also in the study of many biologically significant molecules such as proteins and DNA. These are the themes that are addressed in this volume of the Mathematical Chemistry series. The topological chirality of knotted and linked molecular species and the invariants that may characterize them are explored in detail.

This book presents the most important advances in the class of topological materials and discusses the topological characterization, modeling and metrology of materials. Further, it addresses currently emerging characterization techniques such as optical and acoustic, vibrational spectroscopy (Brillouin, infrared, Raman), electronic, magnetic, fluorescence correlation imaging, laser lithography, small angle X-ray and neutron scattering and other techniques, including site-selective nanoprobes. The book analyzes the topological aspects to identify and quantify these effects in terms of topology metrics. The topological materials are ubiquitous and range from (i) de novo nanoscale allotropes of carbons in various forms such as nanotubes, nanorings, nanohorns, nanowalls, peapods, graphene, etc. to (ii) metallo-organic frameworks, (iii) helical gold nanotubes, (iv) Möbius conjugated polymers, (v) block co-polymers, (vi) supramolecular assemblies, to (vii) a variety of biological and soft-matter systems, e.g. foams and cellular materials, vesicles of different shapes and genera, biomimetic membranes, and filaments, (viii) topological insulators and topological superconductors, (ix) a variety of Dirac materials including Dirac and Weyl semimetals, as well as (x) knots and network structures. Topological databases and algorithms to model such materials have been also established in this book. In order to understand and properly characterize these important emergent materials, it is necessary to go far beyond the traditional paradigm of microscopic structure–property–function relationships to a paradigm that explicitly incorporates topological aspects from the outset to characterize and/or predict the physical properties and currently untapped functionalities of these advanced materials. Simulation and modeling tools including quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics, 3D visualization and tomography are also indispensable. These concepts have found applications in condensed matter physics, materials science and engineering, physical chemistry and biophysics, and the various topics covered in the book have potential applications in connection with novel synthesis techniques, sensing and catalysis. As such, the book offers a unique resource for graduate students and researchers alike.

Ring polymers are one of the last big mysteries in polymer physics, and this thesis tackles the problem of describing their behaviour when interacting in dense solutions and with complex environments and reports key findings that help shed light on these complex issues. The systems investigated are not restricted to artificial polymer systems, but also cover biologically inspired ensembles, contributing to the broad applicability and interest of the conclusions reached. One of the most remarkable findings is the unambiguous evidence that rings inter-penetrate when in dense solutions; here this behaviour is shown to lead to the emergence of a glassy state solely driven by the topology of the constituents. This novel glassy state is unconventional in its nature and, thanks to its universal properties inherited from polymer physics, will attract the attention of a wide range of physicists in the years to come.

Using a geometric perspective, Protein Geometry, Classification, Topology, and Symmetry reviews and analyzes the structural principals of proteins with the goal of revealing the underlying regularities in their construction. It also reviews computer methods for structure analysis and the automatic comparison and classification of these structures with an analysis of the statistical significance of comparing different shapes. Following an analysis of the current state of protein classification, the authors explore more abstract geometric and topological representations, including the occurrence of knotted topologies. The book concludes with a consideration of the origin of higher-level symmetries in protein structure. The authors focus on simple geometric methods that are deterministic rather than probabilistic and on the more abstract simplifications of protein structure that allow a better understanding of the overall fold of the structure. Most of the methods described in this book have corresponding computer programs. These can be found (as C source code) at the ftp site of the Division of Mathematical Biology at the National Institute for Medical Research. This collection of ideas contains pedagogical material that make it ideal for post-graduate courses as well as new ideas and results essential for researchers investigating protein structures.