Conventional approaches for polymerizing substituted epoxides, especially propylene oxide, suffer from side reactions, severely limiting molar masses and control over the end groups of the resulting poly(propylene oxide) (PPO). This has not only complicated the incorporation of PPO moieties into complex defined polymer architectures, but has also hampered consideration of PPO as an interesting material in its own right. In this context, a concise summary of strategies for creating truly high-molecular-mass polyethers is provided, with a focus on a recently developed dual catalytic setup that permits access to PPO molar masses of 106 g/mol and beyond. Based on these advances in the catalytic preparation of polyethers, future perspectives for ultrahigh-molecular-weight (UHMW) PPO as a performance material are identified.

中文翻译：

---

超高分子量聚（环氧丙烷）：制备和前景

聚合取代环氧化物，尤其是环氧丙烷的常规方法存在副反应，严重限制了摩尔质量并控制了所得聚（环氧丙烷）（PPO）的端基。这不仅使 PPO 部分与复杂的定义聚合物结构的结合变得复杂，而且还阻碍了将 PPO 视为一种有趣的材料本身。在这种情况下，提供了创建真正高分子量聚醚的策略的简要总结，重点是最近开发的双催化装置，该装置允许获得 106 g/mol 及以上的 PPO 摩尔质量。基于聚醚催化制备的这些进展，确定了超高分子量 (UHMW) PPO 作为性能材料的未来前景。