With the development of controlled polymerisation, almost all polymerisation strategies have been successfully transplanted to surface-initiated polymerisation. The resulting polymer brushes have emerged as an effective tool for surface functionalization and modulation of the surface properties of materials. To meet various demands it is possible to tailor a material surface with polymer brushes that have diverse dimensionalities, morphologies and compositions. The crowded environment within polymer brushes as well as the stretched conformation of polymer chains sometimes provide unique physicochemical properties, which lead to the delicate creation of inorganic–organic hybridised nanostructures, anti-fouling coatings, biomedical carriers, and materials for use in lubrication, photonics and energy storage. So far, challenges remain in the high-precision synthesis and topological control needed to realize extended applications of polymer brushes. In this Feature Article, we highlight the topology, potential application prospects and various synthetic protocols, particularly for recently established methods, for the efficient synthesis of polymer brushes, as well as their benefits and limitations.

中文翻译：

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刷状聚合物：设计、合成和应用

随着可控聚合的发展，几乎所有的聚合策略都已成功移植到表面引发的聚合中。由此产生的聚合物刷已成为表面功能化和材料表面特性调节的有效工具。为了满足各种需求，可以使用具有不同维度、形态和成分的聚合物刷来定制材料表面。聚合物刷内的拥挤环境以及聚合物链的拉伸构象有时会提供独特的物理化学性质，从而导致精细创建无机-有机杂化纳米结构、防污涂层、生物医学载体以及用于润滑、光子学的材料和能量储存。迄今为止，实现聚合物刷扩展应用所需的高精度合成和拓扑控制仍然存在挑战。在这篇专题文章中，我们重点介绍了拓扑结构、潜在的应用前景和各种合成方案，特别是最近建立的方法，用于有效合成聚合物刷，以及它们的优点和局限性。