Macromolecules

Radical polymerization processes occur through a complex network of many different reactions. It is well-known that the polymerization rate is directly related to the monomer structure. The experimental polymerizability behavior is expressed as kp/kt1/2, where kp is the rate coefficient of propagation and kt is the rate coefficient of termination. In this study, the reactivity of a series of acrylates and methacrylates is modeled in order to understand the effect of the pendant group size, the polarity of a pendant group, and the nature of the pendant group (linear vs cyclic) on their polymerizability. The geometries and frequencies are calculated with the B3LYP/6-31+G(d) methodology whereas the energetics and kinetics of these monomers have been studied using the two-component BMK/6-311+G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level of theory. For rotations about forming/breaking bonds in the transition state, an uncoupled scheme for internal rotations has been applied with potentials determined at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level. Generally the rate constants for propagation kp mimic the qualitative polymerization trend of the monomers modeled and can be used with confidence in predicting the polymerizability behavior of acrylates. However in the case of 2-dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, chain transfer is found to play a major role in inhibiting the polymerization. On the other hand, the disproportionation reaction turns out to be too slow to be taken into consideration as a termination reaction.

The polymerization of acrylamide (AA) and methacrylamide (MAA) was studied by an extensive set of computational methods with a particular focus on the possible influence of water molecules on the propagation reaction. An extensive set of electronic structure methods was tested, consisting of B3LYP, BMK, MPWB1K, MP2, and B2-PLYP of which some include dispersion effects. The effect of water on the transition state is modeled in two different ways. Explicit water molecules are added to the system, showing that replacing the hydrogen bond that dominates the transition state structure by a water-mediated hydrogen bond, results in more stable, more feasible transition states. This effect is the largest for AA polymerization, a monomer that is known to experience a larger solvent effect than MAA. Additionally, a conductor-like polarizable continuum model (C-PCM) is applied on both the transition states in gas phase and the ones bearing explicit water molecules. This model has a dramatic effect on all the propagation rates, raising them by about 3 orders of magnitude. The inclusion of explicit water molecules gives insight into the role of water molecules and the formation of prereactive complexes. The relative rate of polymerization of AA with regard to MAA is well reproduced for a trimeric propagating radical with inclusion of explicit water molecules or by using an implicit solvation model at the BMK and MPWB1K level of theory.

The kinetics of p-quinodimethane formation in the sulfinyl precursor route for the poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) polymerization was studied using stop-flow UV−vis spectroscopy and theoretical first principle calculations. Different sulfinyl monomers were studied by means of quantitative kinetic experiments regarding the p-quinodimethane formation in 2-butanol. The influence of the solvent, the nature of the aromatic moiety, and the substituents on the phenyl core was analyzed by means of qualitative experiments. Quantitative measurements, using pseudo-first-order reaction conditions, were performed in order to assess the effect of the polarizer and the leaving group on the reaction rates. To obtain additional fundamental insight into the pathway leading to p-quinodimethane formation, density functional theory calculations were performed and subsequent reaction rate coefficients were determined from a theoretical point of view, enabling a profound comparison with experiment. From all these data, an E2 mechanism is proposed for the p-quinodimethane formation in the sulfinyl precursor route.