Systematic Studies of Morphological Changes of Precision Polyethylene

Chemically Recyclable Linear and Branched Polyethylenes Synthesized from Stoichiometrically Self-Balanced Telechelic Polyethylenes

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a widely used commercial plastic due to its excellent mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and water vapor barrier properties. However, less than 10% of HDPE is mechanically recycled, and the chemical recycling of HDPE is challenging due to the inherent strength of the carbon-carbon backbone bonds. Here, we report chemically recyclable linear and branched HDPE with sparse backbone ester groups synthesized from the transesterification of telechelic polyethylene macromonomers. Stoichiometrically self-balanced telechelic polyethylenes underwent transesterification polymerization to produce the PE-ester samples with high number-average molar masses of up to 111 kg/mol. Moreover, the transesterification polymerization of the telechelic polyethylenes and the multifunctional diethyl 5-(hydroxymethyl)isophthalate generated branched PE-esters. Thermal and mechanical properties of the PE-esters were comparable to those of commercial HDPE and tunable through control of the ester content in the backbone. In addition, branched PE-esters showed higher levels of melt strain hardening compared with linear versions. The PE-ester was depolymerized into telechelic macromonomers through straightforward methanolysis, and the resulting macromonomers could be effectively repolymerized to generate a high molar mass recycled PE-ester sample. This is a new and promising method for synthesizing and recycling high-molar-mass linear and branched PE-esters, which are competitive with HDPE and have easily tailorable properties.

Crystallization of Poly(ethylene)s with Regular Phosphoester Defects Studied at the Air-Water Interface

Poly(ethylene) (PE) is a commonly used semi-crystalline polymer which, due to the lack of polar groups in the repeating unit, is not able to form Langmuir or Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films. This problem can be solved using PEs with hydrophilic groups arranged at regular distances within the polymer backbone. With acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization, a tool for precise addition of polar groups after a certain interval of methylene sequence is available. In this study, we demonstrate the formation of Langmuir/LB films from two different PEs with regular phosphoester groups, acting as crystallization defects in the main chain. After spreading the polymers from chloroform solution on the water surface of a Langmuir trough and solvent evaporation, the surface pressure is recorded during compression under isothermal condition. These π-A isotherms, surface pressure π vs. mean area per repeat unit A, show a plateau zone at surface pressures of ~ (6 to 8) mN/m, attributed to the formation of crystalline domains of the PEs as confirmed by Brewster angle and epifluorescence microscopy. PE with ethoxy phosphoester defects (Ethoxy-PPE) forms circular shape domains, whereas Methyl-PPE-co-decadiene with methyl phosphoester defects and two different methylene sequences between the defects exhibits a film-like morphology. The domains/films are examined by atomic force microscopy after transferring them to a solid support. The thickness of the domains/films is found in the range from ~ (2.4 to 3.2) nm depending on the transfer pressure. A necessity of chain tilt in the crystalline domains is also confirmed. Grazing incidence X-ray scattering measurements in LB films show a single Bragg reflection at a scattering vector qxy position of ~ 15.1 nm-1 known from crystalline PE samples.

Precision Long-Chain Branched Polyethylene via Acyclic Diene Metathesis Polymerization

A series of polyethylenes containing 21-carbon alkyl branches have been synthesized by acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization. These 21-carbon alkyl branches are precisely placed on every 15th, 19th, 21st, 23rd, and 39th carbon along the polymer backbone. Precision of primary structures of all polymers is verified by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. All polymers present well-defined melting profiles, even at a high branch incorporation (13.3% mol). The melting temperature increases as the branch frequency decreases, similar to what we observed for short-chain branched polyethylenes. These observations together with a good linear relationship derived from Flory's theory suggest the exclusion of 21-carbon side chains from polyethylene crystal units.

Precise Sulfite Functionalization of Polyolefins via ADMET Polymerization

Copolymers containing sulfite functionalities precisely placed between run lengths of 8, 14, and 20 methylene units were synthesized via ADMET with weight-average molecular weights up to 40 500 g/mol (PDI = 1.89). No such polymer structures have been observed previously. The primary polymer structures and precise nature were characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and IR spectroscopy. Thermal degradation temperatures up to 310 °C were observed through TGA, and melting points typical of similar unsaturated ADMET polymers were determined by DSC. X-ray scattering was used to compare the polymers to ADMET polyethylene (PE), and when the polymers have 20 carbons between sulfites, the functional groups self-assemble into layers. Higher carbon content incorporation leads to an increase in crystallinity and thermal stability for these polysulfites.

Unveiling the hyperbolic thermal behaviour of poly(p-phenylene alkylene)s

A series of poly(p-phenylene alkylene)s with methylene run lengths ranging from 8 to 40 were obtained by ADMET polymerization of symmetrical α,ω-diene monomers and subsequent exhaustive hydrogenation.

Spectroscopic examinations of hydrogen bonding in hydroxy-functionalized ADMET chemistry

Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and temperature-dependent Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy are used to study hydrogen bonding interactions of a hydroxyl-functionalized polyethylene (PE) prepared by acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) chemistry. The hydroxyl polymer exhibits an orthorhombic unit cell structure with characteristic reflection planes at (110) and (200), comparable to pure crystalline PE. These data unequivocally demonstrate that the OH branch is excluded from the PE lamellae. Furthermore, the polymer melts 100 °C higher than all previous analogous polymers possessing precision placed long aliphatic branches that also are excluded from PE lamellae. Temperature-dependent FTIR spectroscopy from ambient to 150 °C, followed by cooling to 125 °C supports exclusion of the hydroxyl group from the crystalline lattice. It is concluded that these hydroxyl groups form stable physical networks in the amorphous region via hydrogen bonding and are important for the overall morphology of such polymers.

First acyclic diene metathesis polymerization under biphasic conditions using a dicationic ruthenium alkylidene: access to high-molecular-weight polymers with very low ruthenium contamination

The acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization of 6-hydroxy-1,10-undecadiene (M1) and 6-acetoxy-1,10-undecadiene (M2) by the action of two different catalysts, i.e., the second-generation Grubbs-Hoveyda system ([RuCl2(IMesH2)(CH-2-(2-PrO-C6H4)]) (1) and the dicationic ruthenium alkylidene [Ru(DMF)3(IMesH2)(CH-2-(2-PrO-C6H4)] (2, IMesH2 = 1,3-dimesitylimidazolin-2-ylidene) is reported. Biphasic conditions using 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BDMIM(+)BF4(-)]) and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB) are applied. Under the chosen conditions (T = 75 °C, 20 mbar), the use of catalyst 1 results only in the formation of low-molecular-weight polymers (Mn ≤ 10,000 g mol(-1)), while catalyst 2 allows for the high yield synthesis of high-molecular-weight polymers (Mn ≤ 40,000 g mol(-1), yields ≤ 99%). Irrespective of the catalyst used, all polymers display a high trans-content (>95%). Notably, Ru-contamination of the target polymers without any additional purification is as low as 1.2 ppm with catalyst 2. Together with the high yields and high molecular weights, the low Ru-contaminations clearly illustrate the advantages of the biphasic setup.