Solenne Ritaine, Kedafi Belkhir, Patrice Woisel, Jerome P. Claverie* and Jonathan Potier*,
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Thanks to their excellent thermomechanical properties, cross-linked polymers are widely used for a myriad of applications. However, due to the presence of covalent cross-links, these polymers are usually considered nonrecyclable. For hydrocarbon polymers, this problem is particularly acute because, due to the lack of functional groups, the few known cross-linking strategies are based on highly stable covalent bonds. To address this problem, we propose here a strategy to physically cross-link a polymer by adding a supramolecular host, which can complex two pendant alkyl groups of a macromolecular chain. We demonstrate that dimethoxypillar[5]arene (DM-P[5]A) possesses this unique ability. Taking advantage of this phenomenon, poly(1-decene) (PD) is conveniently cross-linked upon the addition of DM-P[5]A, thus transforming a viscous liquid into an elastomer. Furthermore, reversible cross-linking is also efficient in the solid state: for example, high-Tg poly(5-hexyl-2-norbornene) (PNBE) becomes cross-linked when containing DM-P[5]A, resulting in polymers with greater mechanical properties. Remarkably, DM-P[5]A can be simply washed out with a suitable solvent, allowing the recovery of the pristine polymer free of cross-links. This very straightforward strategy thus allows any polymer containing pendant alkyl groups to be reversibly cross-linked, thus essentially solving the problem of recyclability of cross-linked polymers.
期刊介绍:
Macromolecules publishes original, fundamental, and impactful research on all aspects of polymer science. Topics of interest include synthesis (e.g., controlled polymerizations, polymerization catalysis, post polymerization modification, new monomer structures and polymer architectures, and polymerization mechanisms/kinetics analysis); phase behavior, thermodynamics, dynamic, and ordering/disordering phenomena (e.g., self-assembly, gelation, crystallization, solution/melt/solid-state characteristics); structure and properties (e.g., mechanical and rheological properties, surface/interfacial characteristics, electronic and transport properties); new state of the art characterization (e.g., spectroscopy, scattering, microscopy, rheology), simulation (e.g., Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, multi-scale/coarse-grained modeling), and theoretical methods. Renewable/sustainable polymers, polymer networks, responsive polymers, electro-, magneto- and opto-active macromolecules, inorganic polymers, charge-transporting polymers (ion-containing, semiconducting, and conducting), nanostructured polymers, and polymer composites are also of interest. Typical papers published in Macromolecules showcase important and innovative concepts, experimental methods/observations, and theoretical/computational approaches that demonstrate a fundamental advance in the understanding of polymers.