| Abstract: | Carbon suboxide was found to give, on photo- and thermal-polymerization, a photosensitive paramagnetic polymer. Studies of the kinetics of the ESR signal growth accompanying the polymerization process complement documented results obtained from monitoring the rate of polymer production and monomer disappearance. The spin concentration of the polymer increases with higher reaction temperature, reaching 2 × 1019 spin/g at a polymerization temperature of 105°C. The paramagnetism of poly(carbon suboxide) follows the Curie—Weiss law. Relaxation behavior at room temperature and g values for the spin systems have been obtained. The 105°C polymer shows a Weiss constant equal to 17°K and an extremely narrow ESR line width, ca. 10 mG, at 5°K. The 13C coupling constant from the selectively labeled polymer indicates π-electron delocalization over the ladder polymer. The polymer paramagnetism can be further reversibly enhanced by visible light irradiation. The steady-state concentration of the photo-ESR signal is proportional to the square root of incident light intensity, with a quantum yield at room temperature for charge accumulation equal to 5% at an incident light level of 1015 photons/sec-cm2. Fluorescence and excitation spectra of the soluble fraction of poly(carbon suboxide) are presented together with the quantum yield. The polymer has also been found to be an effective photopolymerization initiator at wavelengths longer than 340 nm. |
