This presentation will focus on our recent research on boron-containing nanostructured polymeric materials. The selective attachment of boryl groups to polymers provides wide-ranging opportunities in materials research where they are, depending on the specific nature of the boron moieties and the polymer scaffold, attractive as flame retardants, materials with improved thermal stability, preceramic materials, electrolytes for lithium ion battery applications, and optoelectronic materials. Various other applications have also recently emerged, ranging from supported reagents and immobilized catalysts to separation media, sensors for anions and biologically important molecules, holographic materials, and stimuli responsive polymers.

We have introduced several new methods for the preparation of well-defined organoboron-functionalized styrene polymers. Especially interesting are block copolymers that are capable of forming self assembled nanostructures in solution and in the solid state, and hence are expected to provide exciting new opportunities in the above-mentioned areas. We describe here the preparation and assembly properties of three new classes of organoboron block copolymers containing anionic organoborate, cationic organoboronium, and pH sensitive boronic acid moieties, respectively. The solution self-assembly properties of these novel polymers will be discussed.