We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Mechanochemically accessing a challenging-to-synthesize depolymerizable polymer.
- Authors
Hsu, Tze-Gang; Liu, Shiqi; Guan, Xin; Yoon, Seiyoung; Zhou, Junfeng; Chen, Wei-Yuan; Gaire, Sanjay; Seylar, Joshua; Chen, Hanlin; Wang, Zeyu; Rivera, Jared; Wu, Leyao; Ziegler, Christopher J.; McKenzie, Ruel; Wang, Junpeng
- Abstract
Polymers with low ceiling temperatures (Tc) are highly desirable as they can depolymerize under mild conditions, but they typically suffer from demanding synthetic conditions and poor stability. We envision that this challenge can be addressed by developing high-Tc polymers that can be converted into low-Tc polymers on demand. Here, we demonstrate the mechanochemical generation of a low-Tc polymer, poly(2,5-dihydrofuran) (PDHF), from an unsaturated polyether that contains cyclobutane-fused THF in each repeat unit. Upon mechanically induced cycloreversion of cyclobutane, each repeat unit generates three repeat units of PDHF. The resulting PDHF completely depolymerizes into 2,5-dihydrofuran in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst. The mechanochemical generation of the otherwise difficult-to-synthesize PDHF highlights the power of polymer mechanochemistry in accessing elusive structures. The concept of mechanochemically regulating the Tc of polymers can be applied to develop next-generation sustainable plastics. Polymers with low ceiling temperatures (Tc) are highly desirable as they can depolymerize under mild conditions, but they typically suffer from demanding synthetic conditions and poor stability. Here, the authors envision that this challenge can be addressed by developing high-Tc polymers that can be converted into low-Tc polymers on demand.
- Subjects
POLYMERS; RUTHENIUM catalysts; CYCLOELIMINATION reactions; LOW temperatures; MECHANICAL chemistry
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2023, Vol 14, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-35925-2