Convenient synthesis of fully and partially deuterated stereoregular poly(phenylacetylene)s bearing a carboxy pendant and helicity induction on the polymers with chiral amines and its memory

Poly(4-carboxyphenyl)acetylene] and its derivatives deuterated in the main chain and/or on the phenyl group (poly- 1 's) were conveniently synthesized by the polymerization of 4-ethynylbenzoic acid or its derivative deuterated on the phenyl group in the presence of bases with a water-soluble rhodium complex in water or deuterium oxide. The obtained polymers possesses highly cis–transoidal stereoregular structures according to NMR and Raman spectroscopy. Possible deuterium isotope effects of these partially and fully deuterated poly- 1 's during the helicity induction with chiral amines and its memory assisted by achiral amines were investigated. The thermal cis–trans isomerization of the methyl esters of poly- 1 's was also studied with ¹H NMR spectroscopy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4711–4722, 2004