article · Chemical Science · 2023
Controlling primary chain dispersity in network polymers: elucidating the effect of dispersity on degradation
Takanori Shimizu, Richard Whitfield, Glen R. Jones, Ibrahim O. Raji, Dominik Konkolewicz, Nghia P. Truong, Athina Anastasaki
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Abstract
Although dispersity has been demonstrated to be instrumental in determining many polymer properties, current synthetic strategies predominantly focus on tailoring the dispersity of linear polymers. In contrast, controlling the primary chain dispersity in network polymers is much more challenging, in part due to the complex nature of the reactions, which has limited the exploration of properties and applications. Here, a one-step method to prepare networks with precisely tuned primary chain dispersity is presented. By using an acid-switchable chain transfer agent and a degradable crosslinker in PET-RAFT polymerization, the <i>in situ</i> crosslinking of the propagating polymer chains was achieved in a quantitative manner. The incorporation of a degradable crosslinker, not only enables the accurate quantification of the various primary chain dispersities, post-synthesis, but also allows the investigation and comparison of their respective degradation profiles. Notably, the highest dispersity networks resulted in a 40% increase in degradation time when compared to their lower dispersity analogues, demonstrating that primary chain dispersity has a substantial impact on the network degradation rate. Our experimental findings were further supported by simulations, which emphasized the importance of higher molecular weight polymer chains, found within the high dispersity materials, in extending the lifetime of the network. This methodology presents a new and promising avenue to precisely tune primary chain dispersity within networks and demonstrates that polymer dispersity is an important parameter to consider when designing degradable materials.
Cite this paper
Shimizu, T., Whitfield, R., Jones, G. R., Raji, I. O., Konkolewicz, D., Truong, N. P., & Anastasaki, A. (2023). Controlling primary chain dispersity in network polymers: elucidating the effect of dispersity on degradation. Chemical Science, 14(46), 13419–13428. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc05203f
Shimizu, Takanori, et al. “Controlling primary chain dispersity in network polymers: elucidating the effect of dispersity on degradation.” Chemical Science, vol. 14, no. 46, 2023, pp. 13419–28, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc05203f.
Shimizu, Takanori, Richard Whitfield, Glen R. Jones, Ibrahim O. Raji, Dominik Konkolewicz, Nghia P. Truong, and Athina Anastasaki. 2023. “Controlling primary chain dispersity in network polymers: elucidating the effect of dispersity on degradation.” Chemical Science 14 (46): 13419–28. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc05203f.
Shimizu, T. et al. (2023) ‘Controlling primary chain dispersity in network polymers: elucidating the effect of dispersity on degradation’, Chemical Science, 14(46), pp. 13419–13428. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3sc05203f.
@article{shimizu2023controlling,
title = {{Controlling primary chain dispersity in network polymers: elucidating the effect of dispersity on degradation}},
author = {Shimizu, Takanori and Whitfield, Richard and Jones, Glen R. and Raji, Ibrahim O. and Konkolewicz, Dominik and Truong, Nghia P. and Anastasaki, Athina},
journal = {Chemical Science},
volume = {14},
number = {46},
pages = {13419--13428},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1039/d3sc05203f}
}Made from the index record. Check names, capitalisation and page numbers against the paper. Need another style? AI for Research has over 10,000.