Polymers with precisely defined monomeric sequences present an exquisite tool for controlling material properties by harnessing both the robustness of synthetic polymers and the ability to tailor the inter- and intramolecular interactions so crucial to many biological materials. While polymer scientists traditionally synthesized and studied the physics of long molecules best described by their statistical nature, many biological polymers derive their highly tailored functions from precisely controlled sequences. Therefore, significant effort has been applied toward developing new methods of synthesizing, characterizing, and understanding the physics of non-natural sequence-defined polymers. This perspective considers the synergistic advantages that can be achieved via tailoring both precise sequence control and attributes of traditional polymers in a single system. Here, we focus on the potential of sequence-defined polymers in highly associating systems, with a focus on the unique properties, such as enhanced proton conductivity, that can be attained by incorporating sequence. In particular, we examine these materials as key model systems for studying previously unresolvable questions in polymer physics including the role of chain shape near interfaces and how to tailor compatibilization between dissimilar polymer blocks. Finally, we discuss the critical challenges—in particular, truly scalable synthetic approaches, characterization and modeling tools, and robust control and understanding of assembly pathways—that must be overcome for sequence-defined polymers to attain their potential and achieve ubiquity.

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生物学与传统聚合物的交汇处：关联序列定义聚合物用于材料科学的潜力

具有精确定义的单体序列的聚合物通过利用合成聚合物的稳健性和定制对许多生物材料至关重要的分子间和分子内相互作用的能力，提供了一种控制材料特性的精致工具。虽然聚合物科学家传统上合成和研究长分子的物理特性，最好用它们的统计性质来描述，但许多生物聚合物从精确控制的序列中获得高度定制的功能。因此，在开发合成、表征和理解非天然序列定义聚合物的物理学的新方法方面已经付出了巨大的努力。这个观点考虑了通过在单个系统中定制传统聚合物的精确序列控制和属性可以实现的协同优势。在这里，我们专注于序列定义的聚合物在高度缔合系统中的潜力，重点是通过结合序列可以实现的独特性质，例如增强的质子传导性。特别是，我们将这些材料作为研究聚合物物理学中以前无法解决的问题的关键模型系统，包括界面附近链形状的作用以及如何调整不同聚合物嵌段之间的相容性。最后，我们讨论了关键挑战——特别是真正可扩展的合成方法、表征和建模工具，