Mechanically induced scission and subsequent thermal remending of perfluorocyclobutane polymers

Perfluorocyclobutane (PFCB) polymer solutions were subjected to pulsed ultrasound, leading to mechanically induced chain scission and molecular weight degradation. (19)F NMR revealed that the new, mechanically generated end groups are trifluorovinyl ethers formed by cycloreversion of the PFCB groups, a process that differs from thermal degradation pathways. One consequence of the mechanochemical process is that the trifluorovinyl ether end groups can be remended simply by subjecting the polymer solution to the original polymerization conditions, that is, heating to >150 °C. Stereochemical changes in the PFCBs, in combination with radical trapping experiments, indicate that PFCB scission proceeds via a stepwise mechanism with a 1,4-diradical intermediate, offering a potential mechanism for localized functionalization and cross-linking in regions of high stress.     

Nuclear quantum effects in calculated NMR shieldings of benzene; a Feynman path integral study

The Feynman path integral Monte Carlo approach has been coupled to the gauge including atomic orbital formalism in order to analyse the absolute magnetic shieldings of the benzene nuclei under the conditions of thermal equilibrium. The Hamiltonian employed in the derivation of ensemble averaged NMR quantities is of the Hartree-Fock type. The basis set used is of 6–31G quality. The spatial delocalization of the atoms leads to a deshielding of both types of benzene nuclei relative to the shieldings experienced at the minimum of the potential energy surface. This deshielding has to be traced back to bond length elongations in thermal equilibrium. The influence of the nuclear fluctuations on the NMR parameters of benzene is quantum driven up to temperatures of 400 K; classical fluctuations are of minor importance in this low-temperature window.     

Tension trapping of carbonyl ylides facilitated by a change in polymer backbone

Epoxidized polybutadiene and epoxidized polynorbornene were subjected to pulsed ultrasound in the presence of small molecules capable of being trapped by carbonyl ylides. When epoxidized polybutadiene was sonicated, there was no observable small molecule addition to the polymer. Concurrently, no appreciable isomerization (cis to trans epoxide) was observed, indicating that the epoxide rings along the backbone are not mechanically active under the experimental conditions employed. In contrast, when epoxidized polynorbornene was subjected to the same conditions, both addition of ylide trapping reagents and net isomerization of cis to trans epoxide were observed. The results demonstrate the mechanical activity of epoxides, show that mechanophore activity is determined not only by the functional group but also the polymer backbone in which it is embedded, and facilitate a characterization of the reactivity of the ring-opened dialkyl epoxide.