Ab Initio Kinetic Modeling of Living Anionic and Zwitterionic Chain Polymerization Mechanisms

Nanoparticle-based photothermal heating to drive chemical reactions within a solid: using inhomogeneous polymer degradation to manipulate mechanical properties and segregate carbonaceous by-products

Photothermal heating via metal nanoparticles is utilized to degrade polyethylcyanoacrylate (PECA), which undergoes a thermally-driven depolymerization process, resulting in (i) monomer loss from the sample, (ii) repolymerization to form shorter chains (oligomer), and (iii) formation of carbonaceous by-products which are graphene-like and luminescent. These unique PECA properties are used to demonstrate the heterogeneous temperature distribution present during photothermal processing and the results are compared to degradation via conventional methods where a uniform temperature is present. Photothermal heating results in formation of pockets of depolymerized material around each nanoscale heating site. The characteristic size of these photothermally-generated mechanical defects is determined from changes in the material's tensile strength. Changes in mass loss and molecular weight are utilized to determine the fraction of the sample that has depolymerized: distributing this volume equally to each heating site (based on the nanoparticle concentration) results in a volume that matches the defect size from independent mechanical measurements. In this way, macroscopic measurements elucidate the mesoscopic pattern of photothermal degradation. Sample morphology on scales from millimeters to nanometers is assessed via optical and electron microscopy. The carbonaceous by-products of degradation form in the hot region around each nanoparticle during photothermal heating, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy studies. Heterogeneous heating is also evident from optical images where starch granules, employed as an inert dilute additive to enhance PECA mechanical properties, also become luminescent due to degradation in "hot spots" created by the overlap of warm regions from nearby nanoparticle sites. Beyond the fundamental knowledge gained by these studies, the results demonstrate the ability to manipulate the connection between mechanical properties and chemical degradation which is important for developing new strategies for management of polymeric waste.

Nucleophile-initiated anionic polymerization of zwitterionic monomers derived from vinylpyridines in aqueous media under ambient aerobic conditions

Anionic polymerization of vinylpyridine based zwitterionic monomers using nucleophile initiators under natural conditions and DFT calculations for such polymerization are reported here.

The role of local chemical hardness and van der Waals interactions in the anionic polymerization of alkyl cyanoacrylates

The polymers are stabilized appreciably by intra-chain dispersion forces. Localization of negative charge imparts sufficient local hardness for polymerization to continue independently of chain length.

FT-IR spectroscopy combined with DFT calculation to explore solvent effects of vinyl acetate

The infrared vibration frequencies of vinyl acetate (VAc) in 18 different solvents were theoretically computed at Density Function Theory (DFT) B3LYP/6-311G(*) level based on Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM) and experimentally recorded by FT-IR spectroscopy. The solvent-induced long-range bulk electrostatic solvation free energies of VAc (ΔGelec) were calculated by the SMD model. The C=O stretching vibration frequencies of VAc were utilized as a measure of the chemical reactivities of the CC group in VAc. The calculated and experimental C=O stretching vibration frequencies of VAc (νcal(C=O) and νexp(C=O)) were correlated with empirical solvent parameters including the KBM equation, the Swain equation and the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER). Through ab initio calculation, assignments of the two C=O absorption bands of VAc in alcohol solvents were achieved. The PCM, SMD and ab initio calculation offered supporting evidence to explain the FT-IR experimental observations from differing aspects.