Creation of novel polymer materials by processing with inclusion compounds

Reorganizing Polymer Chains with Cyclodextrins

During the past several years, we have been utilizing cyclodextrins (CDs) to nanostructure polymers into bulk samples whose chain organizations, properties, and behaviors are quite distinct from neat bulk samples obtained from their solutions and melts. We first form non-covalently bonded inclusion complexes (ICs) between CD hosts and guest polymers, where the guest chains are highly extended and separately occupy the narrow channels (~0.5⁻1.0 nm in diameter) formed by the columnar arrangement of CDs in the IC crystals. Careful removal of the host crystalline CD lattice from the polymer-CD-IC crystals leads to coalescence of the guest polymer chains into bulk samples, which we have repeatedly observed to behave distinctly from those produced from their solutions or melts. While amorphous polymers coalesced from their CD-ICs evidence significantly higher glass-transition temperatures, Tgs, polymers that crystallize generally show higher melting and crystallization temperatures (Tms, Tcs), and some-times different crystalline polymorphs, when they are coalesced from their CD-ICs. Formation of CD-ICs containing two or more guest homopolymers or with block copolymers can result in coalesced samples which exhibit intimate mixing between their common homopolymer chains or between the blocks of the copolymer. On a more practically relevant level, the distinct organizations and behaviors observed for polymer samples coalesced from their CD-ICs are found to be stable to extended annealing at temperatures above their Tgs and Tms. We believe this is a consequence of the structural organization of the crystalline polymer-CD-ICs, where the guest polymer chains included in host-IC crystals are separated and confined to occupy the narrow channels formed by the host CDs during IC crystallization. Substantial degrees of the extended and un-entangled natures of the IC-included chains are apparently retained upon coalescence, and are resistant to high temperature annealing. Following the careful removal of the host CD lattice from each randomly oriented IC crystal, the guest polymer chains now occupying a much-reduced volume may be somewhat "nematically" oriented, resulting in a collection of randomly oriented "nematic" regions of largely extended and un-entangled coalesced guest chains. The suggested randomly oriented nematic domain organization of guest polymers might explain why even at high temperatures their transformation to randomly-coiling, interpenetrated, and entangled melts might be difficult. In addition, the behaviors and uses of polymers coalesced from their CD-ICs are briefly described and summarized here, and we attempted to draw conclusions from and relationships between their behaviors and the unique chain organizations and conformations achieved upon coalescence.

Restructuring polymers via nanoconfinement and subsequent release

During the past several years my students and I have been utilizing certain small-molecule hosts to create nanostructured polymers. This is accomplished by first forming noncovalently bonded inclusion complexes (ICs) between these small-molecule hosts and guest polymers, followed by the careful removal of the host crystalline lattice to obtain a coalesced bulk polymer. We have repeatedly observed that such coalesced polymer samples behave distinctly from those produced from their solutions or melts. Coalesced amorphous homopolymers exhibit higher glass-transition temperatures, while crystallizable homopolymers coalesced from their ICs display higher melting and crystallization temperatures, and sometimes different crystalline polymorphs. When ICs are formed with block copolymers or with two or more different homopolymers, the resulting coalesced samples can exhibit intimate mixing between the copolymer blocks, or between entire homopolymer chains. Each of the distinct behaviors observed for polymers coalesced from their ICs is a consequence of the structural organization of the polymer-host-ICs. Polymer chains in host-IC crystals are confined to occupy narrow channels (diameter ~0.5-1.0 nm) formed by the small-molecule hosts around the included guest polymers during IC crystallization. This results in the separation and high extension of the included guest polymer chains, which leads, following the careful removal of the host molecule lattice, to unique behaviors for the bulk coalesced polymer samples. Apparently, substantial degrees of the extended and unentangled natures of the IC-included chains are retained upon coalescence. In this review we summarize the behaviors and uses of coalesced polymers, and attempt to draw conclusions on the relationship between their behavior and the organization/structures/conformations of the constituent polymer chains achieved upon coalescence from their ICs.

Structure and stability of columnar cyclomaltooctaose (γ-cyclodextrin) hydrate

Rapid recrystallization of cyclomaltooctaose (gamma-cyclodextrin, gamma-CD) from aqueous solution resulted in formation of a columnar structure with only water as the guest molecule. Upon vacuum drying at 90 degrees C for 15 h, gamma-CD, which was initially in the columnar structure, became amorphous. Complementary water vapor sorption and wide-angle X-ray diffractometry experiments were performed on columnar gamma-CD in its vacuum dried and as-precipitated states to elucidate its stability in humid environments and the crystal structure present at varying sorption levels. These experiments show that both types of gamma-CD transform to the cage crystal structure upon exposure to water vapor at 40 degrees C and with an activity of 1.0. Sorption equilibrium is reached long before the crystal structure transformation is complete, indicating that a significant amount of molecular mobility exists in the various hydrated gamma-CD crystal structures.

Structure and stability of columnar cyclomaltohexaose (α-cyclodextrin) hydrate

Rapid recrystallization of cyclomaltohexaose (alpha-cyclodextrin, alpha-CD) from aqueous solution resulted in formation of the columnar crystal structure of alpha-CD containing only water as the guest molecule. Complementary water vapor sorption and wide-angle X-ray diffractometry (WAXD) experiments were performed on the alpha-CD columnar structure to elucidate the crystal structure present at varying sorption levels. Equilibrium isothermal water vapor sorption experiments at 40 degrees C revealed that the alpha-CD columnar structure is unstable above a water activity of approximately 0.67. This was confirmed by WAXD diffractograms collected over time, which further revealed that alpha-CD columnar structure undergoes a phase transformation to the cage structure after approximately 0.25 h at 40 degrees C and a water activity of 1.0.