The incorporation of mechanical bonds into polymeric structures may provide new properties not otherwise observed in their non-interlocked analogs. Pseudorotaxanes composed of alkyne functionalized dibenzo 24-crown-8 (DB24C8) hosts and dibenzylammonium (DBA) guests were synthesized and the binding constants of the resulting assemblies analyzed. Living-radical polymerization techniques were used to synthesize linear polymers functionalized with a sterically imposing  tetraaryl methyl �stopper� at one end and azide at the other. Mechanically-interlocked polymers were then constructed by covalently linking the resulting linear polymers to self-assembled DB24C8-DBA pseudorotaxanes through alkyne-azide 'click' chemistry to form interlocked macrorotaxane polymers. The resulting mechanically-interlocked polymers are unique in that they contain only one mechanical bond per polymer and the polymer-functionalized DB24C8 macrocycle is free to translate along the entire polymer backbone of the DBA guest. The properties of the final materials were analyzed through both differential scanning calorimetry and rheometry.

Synthesis, characterization, and analysis of mechanically-interlocked polymers

244th National Meeting (2012)

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