Solid-state 13C-NMR analysis of hypercrosslinked polystyrene

Hypercrosslinked polystyrenes, synthesized by reaction of linear or lightly crosslinked polystyrene with chloromethyl methyl ether (CME) and a Lewis acid in a good solvent, swell even in nonsolvents for polystyrene. Structures and dynamics of hypercrosslinked polystyrenes in both dry solid and solvent-swollen gel states have been determined by ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. Deconvolution of ¹³C solid-state CP/MAS spectra gave the relative numbers of quaternary carbon atoms in monosubstituted and disubstituted benzenes. A typical sample, crosslinked by reaction of a mixture containing 0.5 mol of CME per mol of repeat units, contains 35% of unreacted and 65% of crosslinked aromatic rings, and no residual chloromethyl groups. Gels swollen in CDCl₃ and in CH₃OH have residual static dipolar interactions enabling crosspolarization and require magic angle spinning (MAS) and high power ¹H decoupling to reduce chemical shift anisotropy from ～ 10⁴ Hz to ～ 10³ Hz. A single proton spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame measured from all peaks in the ¹³C spectra of dry samples indicates homogeneity on a nanometer scale. Proton NMR line widths indicate no substantial molecular motions in a dry hypercrosslinked polystyrene up to at least 200°C. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 695–701, 1997