Issue 39, 2024

A minor difference in the hydrogen-bonding group structure has a major impact on the mechanical properties of polymers

Abstract

The toughness of polymer materials can be enhanced by the incorporation of reversible interchain interactions such as hydrogen bonds (H-bonds), which are weaker than typical covalent bonds. Diverse interacting motifs have been designed and implemented to significantly alter the properties of polymers. Herein, we report that even a subtle difference in the placement of H-bonding groups within a repeat unit leads to distinct mechanical properties of a polymer. We synthesized two types of polynorbornene-based random copolymers which differed only in the relative position of two hydroxymethyl side groups: one in the vicinal arrangement ((2,3)Diol) and the other in the geminal arrangement ((2,2)Diol). When compared with each other, the polymer with the (2,3)Diol structure showed higher stiffness and superior recoverability, while the one with the (2,2)Diol structure exhibited higher stretchability. The combination of viscoelastic characterization of the polymers and quantum chemical calculations of model compounds revealed that the difference in the structural flexibility of the H-bonded (2,3)Diol and (2,2)Diol structures was the key to the distinct mechanical properties of the two copolymers. Our findings open up a new pathway to flexibly and largely tune the mechanical properties of polymeric materials without the need for considerable changes to the molecular design.

Graphical abstract: A minor difference in the hydrogen-bonding group structure has a major impact on the mechanical properties of polymers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 May 2024
Accepted
13 Aug 2024
First published
14 Aug 2024

Polym. Chem., 2024,15, 3967-3976

A minor difference in the hydrogen-bonding group structure has a major impact on the mechanical properties of polymers

S. Ishizaka, S. Nakagawa and N. Yoshie, Polym. Chem., 2024, 15, 3967 DOI: 10.1039/D4PY00580E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements