Robust Ionic Cyclic Olefin Polymers with Excellent Transparency, Barrier Properties, and Antibacterial Properties

The development of materials with intrinsic antimicrobial activities has attracted great interest. In this contribution, cyclic olefin polymers (COPs) with excellent mechanical strength and high glass-transition temperature were prepared via ring-opening metathesis polymerization of both a bulky cyclic monomer and a cyclic monomer bearing ionic groups. The ionic COP membranes we obtained showed high antibacterial properties against Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus); especially, the sterilization rate of H-Qa on both bacteria was higher than 99%, and it still showed a high bacteriostatic rate after repeated supplementation of new bacteria for 7 days. In addition, high light transmittance (80–90% in vis), excellent thermal stability (Td,95 > 210 °C), and low water vapor/oxygen transmittance also make the COPs promising as a bacteriostatic material with promising application potential in packaging, medical, and other fields.