Star Polymers from Single‐Chain Cyclized/Knotted Nanoparticles as a Core

Abstract Star polymers are comprised of a spatially defined “core‐shell‐periphery” structure. Their unique properties render them for diverse applications. One of the central challenges in the synthesis of star polymers is the design of a multifunctional core with many reaction sites for the conjugation with presynthesized arms or the initiation of the growth of arms. In this paper, it is demonstrated that the single‐chain cyclized/knotted nanoparticles (SCKPs) with multiple vinyl functional groups can be synthesized by Cu 0 &Cu II ‐mediated homopolymerization of bisphenol A ethoxylate diacrylate. Furthermore, the SCKPs with multiple pendant vinyl groups are used as the core and uniform amphiphilic star poly(β‐amino ester)s with 17 high‐molecular‐weight arms are synthesized via a grafting‐onto approach. This facile approach opens new avenues for the design and preparation of novel star polymers.