Conjugated polymers are attractive components of modern plastic electronics and photovoltaic devices. They are synthesized mainly through a step-growth polymerization (SGP) mechanism. However, due to the uncontrollable characteristic of classical SGP, this effort leads to batch-to-batch variations in solubility, uncontrolled molecular weight, and broad polydispersity of the polymers obtained, thus, severely limiting their processing properties and performance. Here we demonstrate a general theoretical model of controlled SGP process by examining the possibility of the polymer chains further involvement in the SGP and how this correlated with their respective molecular weights. Subsequently, we proposed a practical method by which the SGP system was confined in nano-sized reactors. This method enabled the synthesis of a variety of polymers, having precisely controlled molecular weights with narrow polydispersity. We anticipate that this venture would exemplify a starting point for a more sophisticated molecular and structural design of functional polymers in widespread applications.

中文翻译：

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受控的逐步增长聚合

共轭聚合物是现代塑料电子和光伏设备的诱人组件。它们主要通过逐步生长聚合（SGP）机制合成。然而，由于经典SGP的不可控制的特性，这种努力导致了所得聚合物的溶解度，分子量不受控制和广泛的多分散性的逐批变化，因此严重限制了它们的加工性能和性能。在这里，我们通过检查聚合物链进一步参与SGP的可能性以及这与它们各自的分子量之间的关系，证明了受控SGP过程的一般理论模型。随后，我们提出了一种实用的方法，将SGP系统限制在纳米反应堆中。这种方法可以合成多种聚合物，具有精确控制的分子量和狭窄的多分散性。我们预计，这项冒险活动将为广泛应用中功能聚合物的更复杂的分子和结构设计提供一个起点。