Well-defined mono- and bifunctional, phenanthroline-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) and polyisobutylene capable of polymer network formation were synthesized The starting materials mono- and bi-phenanthroline- (phen) terminated poly(ethylene glycols) (mPEG-phen, phen-PEG-phen) and polyisobutylenes (PIB-phen, phen-PIB-phen) were prepared by the Williamson synthesis and characterized by means of H-1 NMR and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry According to UV-Vis spectrophotometry and ESI-TOF mass spectrometry, the phenanthroline-terminated polymers underwent quantitative complex formation with ferrous ions in solution. The aqueous solution of mPEG-phen shows self-assembly behavior Important parameters, such as critical micelle concentration and hydrodynamic radius of the aggregates were also determined (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc J Polym Sci Part A Polym Chem 48 2709-2715, 2010