Topochemical polymerizations

A great majority of polymerizations are simultaneously affected by many physical and chemical factors, and their course is the result of a superposition of these effects. Only in rare cases does one of these factors dominate and the polymerization is formally simplified. In topochemical polymerizations, the growth of macromolecules is governed by forces in the crystal lattice of the monomer. Solid-state polymerization of trioxane (trioxacyclohexane) is a typical example of topochemical polymerization. 

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Enkelmann, V. Structural Aspects of the Topochemical Polymerization of Diacetylenes. Vol. 63, pp. 91-136. 

Just prior to Rubin s publication, another article appeared focusing on substructures of graphdiyne [63]. Like the other researchers in the PDM area, the Haley team was intrigued by the predictions of useful materials properties and technological applications for this and similar carbon-rich systems [5c, 50,52]. In particular, topochemical polymerization of a crystalline substructure of this network could produce an environmentally robust material with a large third-... 

Fig. 17 Schematic diagram showing the molecular packing and topochemical polymerization of diacetylenes [30] in crystals. There are two idealized packing arrangements either (a), (b) or (c), (d) in crystals and each has two modes of polymerization. The polymerization in the solid state is said to occur smoothly when, v = 240 400 pm and y = 45° (Baughman, 1974 Baughman and Yee, 1978).

Solid-state (topochemical) polymerization of cyclic disulfur dinitride to poly(sulfur nitride) (or polythiazyl), -fSN, occurs on standing at ambient temperature or higher [Banister and Gorrell, 1998 Labes et al., 1979 Ray, 1978]. Disulfur dinitride is obtained by sublimation of tetrasulfur tetranitride. Polythiazyl is a potentially useful material, since it behaves like a metal. It has an electrical conductivity at room temperature about the same order of magnitude as a metal like mercury and is a superconductor at 0.3°C. Polythiazyl also has high light reflectivity and good thermal conductivity. However, it is insoluble and infusible, which prevents its practical utilization. 

Keywords Crystal engineering Solid-state photoreaction Topochemical polymerization Controlled radical polymerization Dimerization Isomerization Topotactic reaction... 

In a series of papers published in the 1960s by Schmidt and coworkers, there is no description of any successful and stereospecific reaction of 1,3-diene compounds, e.g., topochemical polymerization, other than cyclodimerization. They... 

Later, Tieke reported the UV- and y-irradiation polymerization of butadiene derivatives crystallized in perovskite-type layer structures [21,22]. He reported the solid-state polymerization of butadienes containing aminomethyl groups as pendant substituents that form layered perovskite halide salts to yield erythro-diisotactic 1,4-trans polymers. Interestingly, Tieke and his coworker determined the crystal structure of the polymerized compounds of some derivatives by X-ray diffraction [23,24]. From comparative X-ray studies of monomeric and polymeric crystals, a contraction of the lattice constant parallel to the polymer chain direction by approximately 8% is evident. Both the carboxylic acid and aminomethyl substituent groups are in an isotactic arrangement, resulting in diisotactic polymer chains. He also referred to the y-radiation polymerization of molecular crystals of the sorbic acid derivatives with a long alkyl chain as the N-substituent [25]. More recently, Schlitter and Beck reported the solid-state polymerization of lithium sorbate [26]. However, the details of topochemical polymerization of 1,3-diene monomers were not revealed until very recently. 

The polymerization proceeds under photo- [49,50],X-ray [51], and y-ray [52] irradiation in the dark in vacuo, in air, or even in water or organic solvent as the dispersant (nonsolvent) for the crystals, similar to the solid-state polymerization of diacetylene compounds [ 12]. The process of topochemical polymerization of 1,3-diene monomers is also independent of the environment surrounding the crystals. Recently, the thermally induced topochemical polymerization of several monomers with a high decomposition and melting point was confirmed [53]. The polymer yield increases as the reaction temperature increases during the thermal polymerization. IR and NMR spectroscopies certified that the polymers obtained from the thermally induced polymerization in the dark have a stereoregular repeating structure identical to those of the photopolymers produced by UV or y-ray irradiation. 

We can learn the structural change in the crystals during topochemical polymerization by powder X-ray diffraction measurements. X-ray diffraction profiles continuously changed during the polymerization of 1 under the irradiation of an X-ray beam (Fig. 5) [51]. The reflections shifted and approached the reflection position of the polymer. This suggests that the polymerization... 

Fig. 6 Stacking model for the muconate derivatives in the crystalline state and the definition of stacking parameters used for the prediction of the topochemical polymerization reactivity, d c the intermolecular distance between the 2 and 5 carbons, is the stacking distance between the adjacent monomers in a column. 6 and 02 are the angles between the stacking direction and the molecular plane in orthogonally different directions [59]...

Currently, topochemical polymerization is opened not only to the diacetylene library but also to the diene library, which is more popular and a larger collection. Diene polymerization has the potential of being applied to the construction of advanced organic materials in the solid state, because the topochemical polymerization of diacetylene and diene monomers provides different types of polymers, that is, conjugate and nonconjugate polymers, respectively (Scheme 8) [16,61]. 

Scheme 8 Nonconjugating and conjugating polymer formation through topochemical polymerization of 1,3-diene and 1,3-diyne compounds...

Lauher and Fowler et al. have proposed an elegant strategy for the control of topochemical polymerization based on the host-guest cocrystal concept. They used the ureylene and oxalamide functionality to form layered supramolecu-lar structures for the topochemically controlled polymerization of diacetylenes and 1,3-butadienes in the solid state [62,63]. 

Scheme 11 Topochemical polymerization of 7,7,8,8-tetrakis(alkoxycarbonyl)quinodimeth-anes in the solid state under photoirradiation or upon heating...

Most of the topochemical reactions, including the first finding of the topochemical polymerization of 1, were found accidentally or beyond any expectation [ 14]. During subsequent and extensive investigation, numerous studies have been carried out by trial-and-error approaches to establish any empirical rule accounting for a correlation between the geometry of functional moieties and reactions in the solid... 

Molecular alignment in the monomer crystals is controlled by several intermolecular interactions, such as strong and weak hydrogen bonds, leading to the formation of various types of stereoregular polymers via a topochemical polymerization process. This approach to the stereocontrol of polymers differs from other conventional ways in the control of the propagating chain end using catalysts or additives in solution polymerization. 

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