Stereochemical and compositional assignment of acrylonitrile/methyl methacrylate copolymers by DEPT and inverse HECTOR NMR spectroscopy

The acrylonitrile/methyl methacrylate copolymers of different monomer concentration were prepared by photo polymerization using uranyl ion as initiator. The carbon 13 and proton spectra of these copolymers are overlapping and complex. The complete spectral assignment of the ¹³C- and ¹H-NMR spectra were done with the help of Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT) and two dimensional ¹³C–¹H Heteronuclear Single Quantum Correlation (HSQC) experiments. The methylene, methine and the methyl carbon resonances show both stereochemical (triad level) and compositional (dyad, triad, tetrad, pentad and hexad level) sensitivity. 2D Double Quantum Filtered Correlated Spectroscopy (DQFCOSY) experiment was used to ascertain the various geminal couplings between the methylene protons. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 1081–1092, 1998     

Analysis of quaternary carbon resonances of vinylidene chloride/methyl acrylate copolymers

Analysis of the quaternary carbon resonance signals of vinylidene chloride in vinylidene chloride (V)/methyl acrylate (M) copolymers at pentad level of compositional sensitivity is presented in this paper. The analysis has been done by resolving overlapped and complex resonance signals using an approach based on the intensities of resonances, chemical shift prediction and spectral simulation. Intensities of the resonance signals were calculated using the reactivity ratios optimized from the dyad and triad fractions, obtained from the ¹³C ¹H NMR data, by applying genetic algorithm. Joint confidence interval was obtained for the optimized reactivity ratios. The chemical shift modeling of the quaternary carbon resonance signals in terms of empirical additive parameters was done. The chemical shifts of overlapping pentad resonances were predicted from the empirical additive parameters optimized using genetic algorithm. Comparison of the intensities of pentad resonances assigned by chemical shift modeling and experimental intensities of resonances has been done to ascertain the assignments made. Comparison between simulated and experimental spectra at pentad level of sensitivity has been done.     

13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies on the stereochemical configurations of 2,4-dimethoxypentane and poly(alkyl vinyl ethers)

¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (CMR) spectra were obtained for 2,4-dimethoxypentane, which is a model compound of poly(methyl vinyl ether), and the effects of the solvent and temperature on the chemical shifts were investigated. CMR spectra of poly-(alkyl vinyl ethers) were also determined and analyzed. The diad tacticities were obtained from β-methylene carbon resonances of poly(methyl vinyl ether), poly(ethyl vinyl ether), and poly(isobutyl vinyl ether), but not from those of poly(isopropyl vinyl ether) and poly(tert-butyl vinyl ether). The methoxyl carbon resonance of poly(methyl vinyl ether) and the ethoxyl methylene carbon resonance of poly(ethyl vinyl ether) showed splittings corresponding to pentad and triad sequences, respectively. The α-methine and quaternary carbon resonances of poly(tert-butyl vinyl ether) showed splittings corresponding to pentad and triad sequences, respectively.     

A reassessment of the 1H-NMR spectra of styrene/methyl methacrylate copolymers

The methoxy ¹H-NMR assignments in the 2.1–3.7δ region for styrene/methyl methacrylate copolymers have been assessed in terms of pentad sensitivity. Several of the methoxy resonances suggested by this study differ from literature assignments. The evidence in support of these reasignments is based on a comparison of calculated and observed triad distributions and on the good agreement of the value of the reactivity ratio r_M calculated from individual triads with that obtained by classical methods. A new procedure for the determination of the tacticity coefficient σ is applied.     

Diad,triad, and pentad sequence-distribution analysis of acrylonitrile–vinylidene chloride model copolymers by 13C-NMR

The DMSO solution copolymerization of acrylonitrile and vinylidene chloride can be adequately described by the terminal-unit copolymerization model. The sequence distribution measured by ¹³C-NMR is in excellent agreement with the theoretically calculated diad, triad, and pentad distributions. The variation of glass transition temperatures with copolymer composition is explained by sequence distribution.     

Assignments for the 1H-NMR of alkoxy groups in syndiotactic methacrylate copolymers—I: Methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymers and methyl methacrylate-diphenylmethyl methacrylate copolymers

Unusual assignments have been observed for the ¹H-NMR of alkoxy groups in syndiotactic methyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid (MMA-MAA) copolymers and methyl methacrylate-diphenylmethyl methacrylate (MMA-DPMMA) copolymers. Thereby, the alkoxy groups OCH₃ and OCH show a degenerate pentad assignment, in as much as the two monomer units nearest to the central monomer unit exert no differentiating influence on chemical shift, in contrast to the two next-to-nearest monomer units. By the use of copolymers possessing a tendency toward alternation with respect to compositional statistics, it is possible to distinguish between a degenerate pentad and a normal triad assignment. The reason for the degenerate pentad assignment is seen in specific conformations of the pentads, leading to the elimination of the differentiating influence on chemical shift for the two monomer units nearest to the central unit.     

Poly(vinylpyrrolidone): Configurational assignments by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy

The configurational assignment of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) prepared by peroxide-initiated solution polymerization was studied by the combination of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The broad and overlapping ¹H-NMR and ¹³C{¹H}-NMR spectra of PVP were assigned to the configurational triad, pentad (CH, ²CH₂, ³CH₂, and ⁴CH₂ regions), and tetrad (β-CH₂ region) sequences. The configurational assignments of the various carbon resonances were confirmed with the help of two-dimensional experiments such as heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC), heteronuclear single quantum correlation–total correlation spectroscopy (2-D HSQC–TOCSY). The various geminal and vicinal couplings within the configurational sequences were assigned with the help of total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY low mixing time). The propagation pathway was studied using the ¹³C{¹H}-NMR (carbonyl carbon) and ¹⁵N{¹H}-NMR spectra. The ¹⁵N{¹H} resonance signals were assigned to pentad-level configurational sequences. The results obtained by the analysis of the area under the resonance signals confirmed that poly(vinylpyrrolidone) obeys Bernoullian statistics. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 3922–3928, 1999     

Stereoregularity and polymerization mechanism of polymethacrylonitriles determined by 13C-NMR spectroscopy

Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C-NMR) spectra of polymethacrylonitriles prepared under various conditions were measured. In acetone solution, the α-methyl carbon absorptions were split into triads and partially into pentads, and the methylene carbon absorptions into tetrads. In trifluoroacetic acid solution, the α-methyl carbon absorptions were split into pentads and the cyano carbon absorptions into triads. The triad, tetrad, and pentad tacticities determined from ¹³C-NMR spectra were compared with dyad tacticities determined from proton NMR spectra. The stereoregularity of the polymers which are γ-ray-initiated in liquid phase at temperatures near melting point (?35.8°C) and in the solid state differs from that of the polymers radically initiated at ?20 to 80°C. The stereoregularity and the conversion suggest the existence of an ionic mechanism in the polymerization at low temperatures.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies on microstructure of ethylene copolymers. VII. Proton resonance spectra of hydrolyzed ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymers1

Complete and partial alcoholyses of ethylene–vinyl acetate (E–VA) copolymers yield ethylene–vinyl alcohol (E–VOH) copolymers and ethylene–vinyl acetate–vinyl alcohol (E–VA–VOH) terpolymers, respectively. From the 220-MHz proton NMR spectra of E–VOH copolymers the stereoregular and chemical sequence distributions of the comonomers can be readily determined. Partially hydrolyzed E–VA polymers were acetylated with perdeuterated acetic anhydride. The monomer distributions in the terpolymers were then quantitatively determined by examining the proton spectra of the derived products. It was found that alcoholysis of E–VA polymers occurs preferentially at VA units which have neighboring VA groups.     

Carbon-13 NMR of 1,2-polybutadienes: Configurational sequencing

Carbon-13 Fourier-transform spectra (67.88 MHz) of 1,2-polybutadienes (PBDs) (I–IV) were obtained. The triad and pentad intensities were calculated for the olefinic methylene carbon (C-1). Bernoullian and first-order Markov-chain propagation statistics were tested to fit the experimental data. The pentad placements for the olefinic methine carbon (C-2) were also assigned using the data calculated for the C-1 carbon. Fine-structure splitting due to placements higher than pentads was observed for both C-1 and C-2 carbons in PBD samples III and IV.     

Stereoregularity of poly(2-vinylpyridine) and poly-(4-vinylpyridine)

In order to determine the stereoregularity of poly(4-vinylpyridine), 4-vinylpyridine-β,β-d₂ was synthesized from 4-acetylpyridine. The ¹H-NMR spectra of the deuterated and nondeuterated polymers were measured and analyzed. From the ¹H-NMR spectra of poly(4-vinylpyridine-β,β-d₂), triad tacticity can be obtained, while the ¹H-NMR spectra of nondeuterated poly(4-vinylpyridine) give the fraction of isotactic triad. The ¹³C-NMR spectra of poly(4-vinylpyridine) were also observed, and the spectra of C₄ carbon of polymers were assigned by the pentad tacticities. The fraction of isotactic triad of poly(2-vinylpyridine) and poly(4-vinylpyridine) obtained under various polymerization conditions were determined. The radical polymerization and anionic polymerizations with phenylmagnesium bromide and n-butyllithium as catalysts of 4-vinylpyridine gave atactic polymers.     

Sequencing of trans-4-methacryloyloxyazobenzene/vinylidene chloride copolymers by one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy

Trans-4-methacryloyloxyazobenzene/Vinylidene Chloride (M/V) copolymers of different monomer concentrations were prepared by solution polymerization using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator. The copolymer composition was determined from the ¹³C{¹H}-NMR spectrum. The quaternary carbon of M- and V-centered resonances were used for determining the sequences in terms of the distribution of M- and V-centered triads. The sequence distribution of M- and V-centered triads determined from ¹³C{¹H}-NMR spectra of the copolymer is in good agreement with the triad concentration calculated from the statistical model. The comonomer reactivity ratios, determined by both the Kelen Tudos (KT) and the nonlinear error in variables (EVM) methods are r_M = 3.59 ± 0.19, r_V = 0.89 ± 0.07; r_M = 3.76, and r_V = 0.93, respectively. ¹³C Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT) spectrum was used to differentiate between the resonance signals of M- and V-methylene and methyl carbon units. Assignments to the methylene resonance signals have been assigned up to the tetrad levels using 2D HSQC experiments. The geminal couplings in the methylene proton region is shown in the 2D DQF-COSY spectrum. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 3179–3185, 1999     

Sequence distribution of PMMA/iBuA copolymer by incremental calculation of 13C NMR spectra

An incremental method for characterizing triad and pentad distribution by ¹³C NMR spectroscopy was applied to the poly(methyl methacrylate-co-isobutyl acrylate) copolymer. Calculation of the intensity of individual lines was performed applying Bernoulli statistics, while the chemical shifts for each sequence were calculated by an incremental method. Based on these data, the carbonyl signal was simulated yielding good agreement at the triad and pentad level.     

Carbon-13 NMR of ethylene-1–olefin copolymers: Extension to the short-chain branch distribution in a low-density polyethylene

As model polymers for isolated short-chain branches in low-density polyethylene, a series of ethylene–1-olefin copolymers was examined by use of ¹³C NMR at 25.2 MHz. An array of ¹³C resonances was observed that could be associated independently with methyl through amyl branches. The ¹³C chemical shifts became insensitive to branch length with hexyl and longer branches. Assignments of the various carbon resonances associated with branching were accomplished by using off-resonance decoupling techniques and the behavior of alkane chemical shifts previously observed by other investigators. The ratio of certain backbone and branch resonances could be used to establish the short-chain branch distribution in a low-density polyethylene.     

Characterization of signals in the solution 1H NMR spectrum of poly(isobutylene‐co‐p‐methylstyrene) and their utility

Poly(isobutylene‐co‐p‐methylstyrene) is an important precursor to Exxpro™ elastomers. A previous report detailed the characterization of both the proton and the carbon NMR spectra of the copolymer. 1 However, several resonances in the proton NMR spectrum of the copolymer were not assigned. Specifically, the proton methine resonance of the BSB triad sequence is now identified and used to calculate BSB triad contribution to the copolymer microstructure. This report describes the assignment of this resonance and other resonances associated with microstructural sequence distribution around p‐methylstyrene. The proton NMR signals of interest resonate at 2.8 ppm and 2.5 ppm in a typical spectrum for poly(isobutylene‐co‐p‐methylstyrene). The nature of these resonances were determined by preparation and characterization of specifically deuterated poly(isobutylene‐co‐p‐methylstyrene)s employing both one and two dimensional NMR techniques. The 2.8 ppm signal is assigned as the methine proton of a p‐methylstyrene incorporated between two isobutylene units (the BSB triad). The signal at 2.5 ppm is assigned to the meso‐BSS triad. Determination of these resonances allows for rapid evaluation of isolated p‐methylstyrene units (BSB triads) present in the copolymer using only ¹H NMR. The utility of this technique is demonstrated by comparing BSB triad values determined by ¹H and ¹³C NMR analysis. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1680–1686, 2000     

13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of polyacrylates and their model compounds

¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra (¹³C-NMR) of poly(methyl acrylates) and poly(isopropyl acrylates) of various tacticities were measured at 25.1 MHz and analyzed. ¹³C-NMR spectra of model compounds for poly(methyl acrylate), poly(acrylic acid), and poly(sodium acrylate) were also determined. The spectra of the polymers were generally complicated owing to the splittings corresponding to triad, tetrad, or pentad placements, and the assignment for each peak was difficult. Groups of peaks were analyzed by triad or tetrad placements by assuming Bernoullian or first-order Markovian statistics.     

Knight Shift in 13C NMR Resonances Confirms the Coordination of N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands to Water‐Soluble Palladium Nanoparticles

The coordination of N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands to the surface of 3.7 nm palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) can be unambiguously established by observation of Knight shift (KS) in the ¹³C resonance of the carbenic carbon. In order to validate this coordination, PdNPs with sizes ranging from 1.3 to 4.8 nm were prepared by thermal decomposition or reduction with CO of a dimethyl NHC Pd^II complex. NMR studies after ¹³CO adsorption established that the KS shifts the ¹³C resonances of the chemisorbed molecules several hundreds of ppm to high frequencies only when the particle exceeds a critical size of around 2 nm. Finally, the resonance of a carbenic carbon is reported to be Knight‐shifted to 600 ppm for ¹³C‐labelled NHCs bound to PdNPs of 3.7 nm. The observation of these very broad KS resonances was facilitated by using Car–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) echo train acquisition NMR experiments.     

Knight Shift in 13C NMR Resonances Confirms the Coordination of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands to Water-Soluble Palladium Nanoparticles

The coordination of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands to the surface of 3.7 nm palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) can be unambiguously established by observation of Knight shift (KS) in the ¹³C resonance of the carbenic carbon. In order to validate this coordination, PdNPs with sizes ranging from 1.3 to 4.8 nm were prepared by thermal decomposition or reduction with CO of a dimethyl NHC Pd^II complex. NMR studies after ¹³CO adsorption established that the KS shifts the ¹³C resonances of the chemisorbed molecules several hundreds of ppm to high frequencies only when the particle exceeds a critical size of around 2 nm. Finally, the resonance of a carbenic carbon is reported to be Knight-shifted to 600 ppm for ¹³C-labelled NHCs bound to PdNPs of 3.7 nm. The observation of these very broad KS resonances was facilitated by using Car–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) echo train acquisition NMR experiments.     

Triad sequence determination of ethylene–propylene copolymers – application of quantitative 13C NMR

A methodology for acquiring fully quantitative ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectra for high performance ethylene–propylene copolymers has been proposed. To minimize the spectral acquisition time without sacrificing spectral quality, different amounts of chromium(III)acetylacetonate relaxation agent has been added to optimize its concentration. The study demonstrates the critical setting of delay time for determining six triad distributions from eight discrete set of resonances which otherwise leads to inaccurate determination of triad concentrations. It allows precise integral measurements of low intensity resonances depending on copolymer composition, and significant reduction of experimental time.     

Studies on comblike polymers. X. Characterization of comblike polyesters by 13C NMR spectroscopy

The ¹³C NMR spectra of aromatic comblike polyesters obtained from 1,2-icosanediol and isomeric phthalic acids are reported and discussed. The analysis shows that the most informative spectral regions are those of the carbonyl and quaternary carbon resonances, whose peak multiplicities have been interpreted in terms of dyad and triad sequences. The results indicate that the extent of structural characterization possible for the polymers examined is dependent on the type of isomerism of the aromatic acid involved.