Celebrate the Second Century of Polymer Science

A century ago, in 1920, Professor Hermann Staudinger published his paper, “Über Polymerization,” which helped refine the term ‘polymerization’ and introduced the view of polymers as high molecular weight molecules.

ACS Publications is pleased to recognize the publication of this landmark paper 100 years later. To commemorate Staudinger’s work, the theme of the ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo in Philadelphia was scheduled to be “Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century.” The ACS Spring National Meeting has since been canceled out of concern for the health & safety of the global chemistry community. Programming around this theme will likely be rescheduled.

To help continue celebrations of the Second Century of Polymer Science, both ACS Macro Letters and Macromolecules encourages you to read this series of editorial and viewpoints.

In Macromolecules, Editor-in-Chief Marc Hillmyer will curate a “series of editorials from highly respected polymer scientists that comment on Macromolecules articles that have been especially influential or impactful” according to his Volume 53, Issue 1 Editorial. This series of editorials will highlight how the journal has truly played a role in the understanding of polymers, and more importantly how it continues to be a home for amazing advances in the field. Professor Hillmyer invites additional nominations for guest editorials to publish at the end of this year. These are due by February 28, 2020, to hillmyer@umn.edu.

Read the ACS Macro Letters Viewpoints:

Bookmark this page, as it will be continuously updated.***
100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Photochemical Reaction Orthogonality in Modern Macromolecular Science
Nathaniel Corrigan and Cyrille Boyer
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Heterogenous Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization at Room Temperature. Recent Advances and Future Opportunities
Dongdong Liu, Jun He, Li Zhang, and Jianbo Tan
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Toward Artificial Life-Supporting Macromolecules
Jean-François Lutz
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Opportunities in the Physics of Sequence-Defined Polymers
Sarah L. Perry and Charles E. Sing
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: High Refractive Index Polymers from Elemental Sulfur for Infrared Thermal Imaging and Optics
Tristan S. Kleine, Richard S. Glass, Dennis L. Lichtenberger, Michael E. Mackay, Kookheon Char, Robert A. Norwood and Jeffrey Pyun
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Block Copolymer Particles: Tuning Shape, Interfaces, and Morphology
Jaeman J. Shin, Eun Ji Kim, Kang Hee Ku, Young Jun Lee, Craig J. Hawker and Bumjoon J. Kim
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Achieving Ultrahigh Molecular Weights with Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization
Zesheng An
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Fundamentals for the Future of Macromolecular Nitroxide Radicals
Shaoyang Wang, Alexandra D. Easley and Jodie L. Lutkenhaus
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Polymers from Lignocellulosic Biomass. Current Challenges and Future Opportunities
Robert M. O’Dea, Jordan A. Willie and Thomas H. Epps III
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Synthetic Protein Hydrogels
Ying Li, Bin Xue and Yi Cao
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Macromolecular Materials for Additive Manufacturing
Benjaporn Narupai and Alshakim Nelson
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Recent Advances and Opportunities for Mixed Ion and Charge Conducting Polymers
Jaeyub Chung, Aditi Khot, Brett M. Savoie and Bryan W. Boudouris
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Modeling and Simulation of Macromolecules with Hydrogen Bonds: Challenges, Successes, and Opportunities
Arthi Jayaraman

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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Poly(N‑isopropylacrylamide)-Based Thermally Responsive Micelles
Guo-Feng Luo, Wei-Hai Chen, and Xian-Zheng Zhang
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Re-Engineering Cellular Interfaces with Synthetic Macromolecules Using Metabolic Glycan Labeling
Ruben M. F. Tomás and Matthew I. Gibson
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Polymerization of Cumulated Bonds: Isocyanates, Allenes, and Ketenes as Monomers
Sarah M. Mitchell, K. A. Niradha Sachinthani, Randinu Pulukkody, and Emily B. Pentzer
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Integrating Chemistry and Engineering to Enable Additive Manufacturing with High-Performance Polymers
Andrew J. Boydston, Jianxun Cui, Chang-Uk Lee, Brock E. Lynde, and Cody A. Schilling
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Engineering Supramolecular Materials for Responsive Applications—Design and Functionality
Chase B. Thompson and LaShanda T. J. Korley
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Enabling Advances in Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
Zhe Qiang and Muzhou Wang
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Needs for Plastics Packaging Circularity
Stijn Billiet and Scott R. Trenor
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Single-Molecule Studies of Synthetic Polymers
Danielle J. Mai and Charles M. Schroeder
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Piezoelectrically Mediated Mechanochemical Reactions for Adaptive Materials
Jorge Ayarza, Zhao Wang, Jun Wang, Chao-Wei Huang, and Aaron P. Esser-Kahn
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Integrated Membrane Systems
John R. Hoffman and William A. Phillip
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Biological Stimuli-Sensitive Polymer Prodrugs and Nanoparticles for Tumor-Specific Drug Delivery
Huanli Sun and Zhiyuan Zhong
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Toward Catalytic Chemical Recycling of Waste (and Future) Plastics
Joshua C. Worch and Andrew P. Dove
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Block Copolymers with Tethered Acid Groups: Challenges and Opportunities
Sejong Kang and Moon Jeong Park
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Soft Materials for Microbial Bioelectronics
Chia-Ping Tseng, Jonathan J. Silberg, George N. Bennett, and Rafael Verduzco
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: The Role of Hydrophobicity in Polymer Phenomena
Jeffrey C. Foster, Irem Akar, Marcus C. Grocott, Amanda K. Pearce, Robert T. Mathers, and Rachel K. O’Reilly
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: The Past, Present, and Future of Stereocontrolled Vinyl Polymerization
Aaron J. Teator, Travis P. Varner, Phil C. Knutson, Cole C. Sorensen, and Frank A. Leibfarth
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Degradable Polymers from Radical Ring-Opening Polymerization: Latest Advances, New Directions, and Ongoing Challenges
Théo Pesenti and Julien Nicolas
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Re-examining Single-Chain Nanoparticles
Ruiwen Chen and Erik B. Berda
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Polymeric Materials by In Situ Liquid-Phase Transmission Electron Microscopy
Lucas R. Parent, Karthikeyan Gnanasekaran, Joanna Korpanty, and Nathan C. Gianneschi
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Redefining Sustainable Polymers
Danielle E. Fagnani, Jessica L. Tami, Graeme Copley, Mackenzie N. Clemons, Yutan D. Y. L. Getzler, and Anne J. McNeil
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Solid Polymer Electrolytes in Cathode Electrodes for Lithium Batteries. Current Challenges and Future Opportunities
Shrayesh N. Patel
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Attractive Soft Matter: Association Kinetics, Dynamics, and Pathway Complexity in Electrostatically Coassembled
Micelles Christian C. M. Sproncken, J. Rodrigo Magana, and Ilja K. Voets
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100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: User’s Guide to Supramolecular Peptide–Polymer Conjugates
Julia Y. Rho and Sébastien Perrier
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Read the Macromolecules Editorials:

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Bookmark this page, as it will be continuously updated.
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Block Copolymers: Long-Term Growth with Added Value
Timothy P. Lodge
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Discovery of the RAFT Process and Its Impact on Radical Polymerization
Krzysztof Matyjaszewski
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Twisted Crystals and the Origin of Banding in Spherulites of Semicrystalline Polymers
Andrew J. Lovinger
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The First Dive into the Mechanism and Kinetics of ATRP
Kathryn L. Beers
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Morphology and Structure-Property Relationships in Random Ionomers: Two Foundational Articles from Macromolecules
Richard A. Register
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Herbert Morawetz and the First Nonradiative Energy Transfer Studies of Miscibility in Polymer Blends
Mitchell A. Winnik
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Bioerodible Hydrogels Based on Photopolymerized Poly(ethylene glycol)-co-poly(α-hydroxy acid) Diacrylate Macromers
Laura J. Macdougall and Kristi Anseth
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The ABCs of Block Polymers
Alice B. Chang and Frank S. Bates
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The Beauty of Branching in Polymer Science
Soyoung E. Seo and Craig J. Hawker
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Discovery of Syndiotactic Polystyrene: Its Synthesis and Impact
Lisa Saunders Baugh and Donald N. Schulz
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A Thorny Problem? Spinodal Decomposition in Polymer Blends
Julia S. Higgins and João T. Cabral
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Diverse Morphologies of Block Copolymers by Blending with Homo (and Co) Polymers
Chungryong Choi, Seonghyeon Ahn, and Jin Kon Kim
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Can Self-Assembly Address the Permeability/Selectivity Trade-Offs in Polymer Membranes?
Joshua D. Moon, Benny D. Freeman, Craig J. Hawker, and Rachel A. Segalman
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Organocatalysis: A Paradigm Shift in the Synthesis of Aliphatic Polyesters and Polycarbonates
Kazuki Fukushima and Kyoko Nozaki
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A Curated Experimental Compilation Analyzed by Theory Is More than a Review
Karen I. Winey and Amalie L. Frischknecht
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Synergistic Advances in Living Cationic and Radical Polymerizations
Masami Kamigaito and Mitsuo Sawamoto
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Global and Local Views of the Glass Transition in Mixtures
Jane E. G. Lipson
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Polymer Mechanochemistry and the Emergence of the Mechanophore Concept
Guillaume De Bo
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Harnessing Noncovalent Interactions to Drive Single-Chain Nanoparticle Formation
Lei Liu and Samuel H. Gellman
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Polyion Complexes via Electrostatic Interaction of Oppositely Charged Block Copolymers
Jing Sun and Zhibo Li
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Critical Strains Determine the Tensile Deformation Mechanism in Semicrystalline Polymers
Yongfeng Men
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Editorial
Marc Hillmyer
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The image of Hermann Staudinger is from the ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv is used under a creative commons license.