Hypervalent iodine(III) compounds of the type ArIL2 (Ar = aryl) degrade upon irradiation or heating to produce the corresponding aryl iodide ArI and the radicals L�, which can initiate the polymerization of vinyl monomers. In addition, the �ligands� L in ArIL2 can exchange efficiently with various nucleophiles Nu-, including azides or carboxylates. The hypervalent bonds I-Nu in the newly formed compounds ArINu2 can be cleaved, yielding the corresponding radicals Nu�, which can react with a number of substrates, including polymers with unsaturated bonds, graphitic materials, and many others. Thus the exchange reaction with nucleophiles followed by decomposition (the two reactions can conveniently be conducted in one pot) is a very convenient route to functional materials, including polymers or composites. Finally, the reaction of ArIL2 compounds with di- or polycarboxylic acids affords dynamic linear and network polymers, respectively, which can exchange their building blocks with other di- or polycarboxylates, and can also degrade upon addition of monofunctional nucleophiles. All mentioned reactions and their utility in the synthesis of macromolecules with various architectures and functionalities will be described.

Hypervalent iodine(III) compounds in polymer synthesis

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.