Anionic ring-opening polymerization of functional epoxide monomers in the solid state.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37730802.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-41576-0 and PMC identifier 10511433.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Despite recent advancements in mechanochemical polymerization, understanding the unique mechanochemical reactivity during the ball milling polymerization process still requires extensive investigations. Herein, solid-state anionic ring-opening polymerization is used to synthesize polyethers from various functional epoxide monomers. The critical parameters of the monomers are investigated to elucidate the unique reactivity of ball milling polymerization. The controllable syntheses of the desired polyethers are characterized via NMR, GPC, and MALDI-ToF analyses. Interestingly, bulky monomers exhibit faster conversions in the solid-state in clear contrast to that observed for solution polymerization. Particularly, a close linear correlation is observed between the conversion of the ball milling polymerization and melting point of the functional epoxide monomers, indicating melting point as a critical predictor of mechanochemical polymerization reactivity. This study provides insights into the efficient design and understanding of mechanochemical polymerization.