Stereocontrolled cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers using BIONOL- derived chiral counterions
Abstract
Next-generation technologies in adhesives, membranes, additive manufacturing, and biotechnology demand soft materials with a greatly expanded property space. Control of polymer stereochemistry is well known to improve the properties of otherwise chemically identical atactic materials. Despite its dramatic influence, difficulty controlling the chain-end stereochemical environment in ionic- and/or radical-based polymerization mechanisms has hindered progress in realizing general synthetic methods for control of polymer tacticity. The central goal of this proposal is to develop general methods for tacticity control in cationic polymerizations using concepts derived from asymmetric ion-pairing catalysis. The overall objective is to systematically tune the reactivity and stereochemical environment of BINOL-derived chiral counterions to discover new isotactic poly(vinyl ethers) and unlock a diverse set of currently inaccessible properties from this polymer class. The outcomes of this work will be twofold: new isotactic polymeric materials for applications in polymer and materials science and fundamental mechanistic insights into stereocontrol of ionic polymerizations of vinyl monomers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 14, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1910115
Entities
People
- Frank Leibfarth
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill