Monomers macromolecular type

As the cobalt-carbon bond strength depends intrinsically not only on the structure of the cobalt complex, but also on the nature of the polymer chain linked to the metal, one obvious question is which cobalt complex should be used for a given monomer The types of cobalt complex used in CMRP, as well as the range of monomers under control until now, are indicated in Figure 4.1. At this point it should be noted that, the wider the range of monomers that a cobalt complex can deal with, the greater is its use from a macromolecular point of view (see Section 4.4). 

Molecular structural changes in polyphosphazenes are achieved mainly by macromolecular substitution reactions rather than by variations in monomer types or monomer ratios (1-4). The method makes use of a reactive macromolecular intermediate, poly(dichlorophosphazene) structure (3), that allows the facile replacement of chloro side groups by reactions of this macromolecule with a wide range of chemical reagents. The overall pathway is summarized in Scheme I. 

Monomers employed in a polycondensation process in respect to its kinetics can be subdivided into two types. To the first of them belong monomers in which the reactivity of any functional group does not depend on whether or not the remaining groups of the monomer have reacted. Most aliphatic monomers meet this condition with the accuracy needed for practical purposes. On the other hand, aromatic monomers more often have dependent functional groups and, thus, pertain to the second type. Obviously, when selecting a kinetic model for the description of polycondensation of such monomers, the necessity arises to take account of the substitution effects whereas the polycondensation of the majority of monomers of the first type can be fairly described by the ideal kinetic model. The latter, due to its simplicity and experimental verification for many systems, is currently the most commonly accepted in macromolecular chemistry of polycondensation processes. 

As already shown, it is technically possible to incorporate additive functional groups within the structure of a polymer itself, thus dispensing with easily extractable small-molecular additives. However, the various attempts of incorporation of additive functionalities into the polymer chain, by copolymerisation or free radical initiated grafting, have not yet led to widespread practical use, mainly for economical reasons. Many macromolecular stabiliser-functionalised systems and reactive stabiliser-functionalised monomers have been described (cf. ref. [576]). Examples are bound-in chromophores, e.g. the benzotriazole moiety incorporated into polymers [577,578], but also copolymerisation with special monomers containing an inhibitor structural unit, leading to the incorporation of the antioxidant into the polymer chain. Copolymers of styrene and benzophenone-type UV stabilisers have been described [579]. Chemical combination of an antioxidant with the polymer leads to a high degree of resistance to (oil) extraction. 

The history of dendrimer chemistry can be traced to the foundations laid down by Flory [34] over fifty years ago, particularly his studies concerning macro-molecular networks and branched polymers. More than two decades after Flory s initial groundwork (1978) Vogtle et al. [28] reported the synthesis and characterization of the first example of a cascade molecule. Michael-type addition of a primary amine to acrylonitrile (the linear monomer) afforded a tertiary amine with two arms. Subsequent reduction of the nitriles afforded a new diamine, which, upon repetition of this simple synthetic sequence, provided the desired tetraamine (1, Fig. 2) thus the advent of the iterative synthetic process and the construction of branched macromolecular architectures was at hand. Further growth of Vogtle s original dendrimer was impeded due to difficulties associated with nitrile reduction, which was later circumvented [35, 36]. This procedure eventually led to DSM s commercially available polypropylene imine) dendrimers. 

Well-defined complicated macromolecular structures require complex synthetic procedures/techniques and characterization methods. Recently, several approaches leading to hyperbranched structures have been developed and will be the focus of this section. The preparation of hyperbranched poly(siloxysilane) has been reported [198] and is based on methylvinyl-bis(dimethyl siloxysilane), an A2B type monomer, and a progressive hydrosi-lylation reaction with platinum catalysts. An appropriate hydrosilylation reaction on the peripheral - SiH groups led to the introduction of polymeric chain (PIB, PEO) or functional groups (epoxy, - NH2) [199]. 

When discussing various methods for the synthesis of protein-like HP-copolymers from the monomeric precursors (Sect. 2.1), we pointed to the possibility of implementation of both polymerization and polycondensation processes. The studies of the potentials of the latter approach in the creation of protein-like macromolecular systems have already been started. The first published results show that using true selected reactions of the polycondensation type and appropriate synthetic conditions (structure and reactivity of comonomers, solvent, temperature, reagent concentration and comonomer ratio, the order of the reagents introduction into the feed, etc.) one has a chance to produce the polymer chains with a desirable set of monomer sequences. 

The synthesis and properties of heat-resistant polyazomethines containing 2,5-disubstituted oxadiazole fragments, being insulators convertible into semiconductors by doping with iodine, have been described. The radical copolymerization of alkenes with the fluorescent co-monomer 2-/-butyl-5-(4 -vinyl-4-biphenylyl)-l,3,4-oxadiazole has resulted in useful macromolecular scintillators. Anionic polymerization of 2-phenyl-l,3,4-oxadiazolin-5-one has produced a nylon-type product <1996CHEC-II(4)268>. 

Another type of architecture featuring a linear main chain surrounded by dendritic side-chains has emerged over the last decade [4], The highly descriptive term dendronized , coined by Schliiter [4] aptly describes this novel type of macromolecular architecture. Though three separate routes can be used to prepare such dendronized hybrids (Figure 7.8), the most successful approach to date has generally involved the polymerization of dendronized monomers. 

This method exclusively yields macrocyclic polyesters without any competition with linear polymers. Furthermore, the coordination-insertion ROP process can take part in a more global construction set, ultimately leading to the development of new polymeric materials with versatile and original properties. Note that other types of efficient coordination initiators, i.e., rare earth and yttrium alkoxides, are more and more studied in the framework of the controlled ROP of lactones and (di)lactones [126-129]. These polymerizations are usually characterized by very fast kinetics so as one can expect to (co)polymerize monomers known for their poor reactivity with more conventional systems. Those initiators should extend the control that chemists have already got over the structure of aliphatic polyesters and should therefore allow us to reach again new molecular architectures. It is also important to insist on the very promising enzyme-catalyzed ROP of (di)lactones which will more likely pave the way to a new kind of macromolecular control [6,130-132]. 

The butadiene polymers represent another cornerstone of macromolecular stereochemistry. Butadiene gives rise to four different types of stereoregular polymers two with 1,2 linkage and two with 1,4. The first two, isotactic (62) and syndiotactic (25), conform to the definitions given for vinyl polymers, while the latter have, for eveiy monomer unit, a disubstituted double bond that can exist in the two different, cis and trans, configurations (these terms are defined with reference to the polymer chain). If the monomer units all have the same cis or trans configuration the polymers are called cis- or trans-tactic (30 and 31). The first examples of these stereoisomers were cited in the patent literature as early as 1955-1956 (63). Structural and mechanistic studies in the field have been made by Natta, Porri, Corradini, and associates (65-68). 

It is worth to mention that this definition is not always consistent with the nature of the macromolecular assembly when applying to nucleic acids. For example, from all different types of quadruplex nucleic acids only quadruplex monomers are covered by lUPAC definition of tertiary structure being a single chain of DNA or RNA. However, also the quadruplexes with higher molecularity of the formed structures (dimers, tetramers) belong to this important tertiary structure family. 

The same group also developed optically active dendronized polymeric BINAP ligands (see also Sect. 5) as a new type of macromolecular chiral catalyst for asymmetric hydrogenation. They could be synthesized by condensation of 5,5 -diamino-BINAP with dendritic dicarboxylic acid monomers (Scheme 5) [44],... 

Cyclic siloxanes are very important monomers, both from the theoretical and the practical points of view. Organocyclosiloxanes were discovered and characterized by Kipping [52], The most frequently studied and practically applied organosilicon monomers are cyclie compounds of the type - Si(R,R2)—0]-nt. The homologues with n = 3—7 are the starting compounds for macromolecular synthesis and are the best known. Much larger cycles composed of 25 and more siloxane units have, however, been isolated... 

Multiple bonds between the atoms in the molecules of conventional monomers may possess a relative excess or deficiency of electrons. In principle, only a few of these bond types exist nitrile, aldehyde, carbonyl, carboxyl, ester, vinyl and acetylene. In macromolecular chemistry, the reactions of anions with oxiranes, the amide and ester (in rings) and the siloxane bond are also of importance. 

Reactions of type (a) are among the most extensively studied, as they include the. synthesis of polyacrylamide Mannich bases, widely employed in water-purification processes. Many other polymeric substrates are, however, succe.ssfully subjected to Mannich reaction (Table 33). Moreover, some polymeric substances need to be suitably functionalized in order to undergo the aminomethylation reaction, as reported for polymeric ketones obtained by oxidation of polyenes." Further macromolecular carbonyl substrates could be provided by interesting vinyl monomers purposely designed to give polymers suitable for Mannich reaction." ... 

Living polymerization processes pave the way to the macromolecular engineering, because the reactivity that persists at the chain ends allows (i) a variety of reactive groups to be attached at that position, thus (semi-)telechelic polymers to be synthesized, (ii) the polymerization of a second type of monomer to be resumed with formation of block copolymers, (iii) star-shaped (co)polymers to be prepared by addition of the living chains onto a multifunctional compound. A combination of these strategies with the use of multifunctional initiators andtor macromonomers can increase further the range of polymer architectures and properties. 

---