Selective Electrocatalytic Degradation of Ether-Containing Polymers.

Leveraging electrochemistry to degrade robust polymeric materials has the potential to impact society's growing issue of plastic waste. Herein, we develop an electrocatalytic oxidative degradation of polyethers and poly(vinyl ethers) via electrochemically mediated hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) followed by oxidative polymer degradation promoted by molecular oxygen. We investigated the selectivity and efficiency of this method, finding our conditions to be highly selective for polymers with hydridic, electron-rich C-H bonds. We leveraged this reactivity to degrade polyethers and poly(vinyl ethers) in the presence of polymethacrylates and polyacrylates with complete selectivity. Furthermore, this method made polyacrylates degradable by incorporation of ether units into the polymer backbone. We quantified degradation products, identifying up to 36 mol % of defined oxidation products, including acetic acid, formic acid, and acetaldehyde, and we extended this method to degrade a polyether-based polyurethane in a green solvent. This work demonstrates a facile, electrochemically-driven route to degrade polymers containing ether functionalities.

Direct Insertion Polymerization of Ionic Monomers: Rapid Production of Anion Exchange Membranes.

The limited number of methods to directly polymerize ionic monomers currently hinders rapid diversification and production of ionic polymeric materials, namely anion exchange membranes (AEMs) which are essential components in emerging alkaline fuel cell and electrolyzer technologies. Herein, we report a direct coordination-insertion polymerization of cationic monomers, providing the first direct synthesis of aliphatic polymers with high ion incorporations and allowing facile access to a broad range of materials. We demonstrate the utility of this method by rapidly generating a library of solution processable ionic polymers for use as AEMs. We investigate these materials to study the influence of cation identity on hydroxide conductivity and stability. We found that AEMs with piperidinium cations exhibited the highest performance, with high alkaline stability, hydroxide conductivity of 87 mS cm-1 at 80 °C, and a peak power density of 730 mW cm-2 when integrated into a fuel cell device.

Poly(2,3-Dihydrofuran): A Strong, Biorenewable, and Degradable Thermoplastic Synthesized via Room Temperature Cationic Polymerization.

Creation of strong and tough plastics from sustainable and biorenewable resources is a significant challenge in polymer science. This challenge is further complicated when attempting to make these materials using an economically viable process, which is often hindered by the production and availability of chemical feedstocks and the efficiency of the monomer synthesis. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of a strong thermoplastic made from 2,3-dihydrofuran (DHF), a monomer made in one step from 1,4-butanediol, a bioalcohol already produced on the plant scale. We developed a green, metal-free cationic polymerization to enable the production of poly(2,3-dihydrofuran) (PDHF) with molecular weights of up to 256 kg/mol at room temperature. Characterization of these polymers showed that PDHF possesses high tensile strength and toughness (70 and 14 MPa, respectively) comparable to commercial polycarbonate, high optical clarity, and good barrier properties to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water. These properties make this material amenable to a variety of applications, from food packaging to high strength windows. Importantly, we have also developed a facile oxidative degradation process of PDHF, providing an end-of-life solution for PDHF materials.

Metal-Free Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization with Hydrazonium Initiators.

The ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cyclopropenes using hydrazonium initiators is described. The initiators, which are formed by the condensation of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane and an aldehyde, polymerize cyclopropene monomers by a sequence of [3+2] cycloaddition and cycloreversion reactions. This process generates short chain polyolefins (Mn ≤9.4 kg mol-1 ) with relatively low dispersities (D≤1.4). The optimized conditions showed efficiency comparable to that achieved with Grubbs' 2nd generation catalyst for the polymerization of 3-methyl-3-phenylcyclopropene. A positive correlation between monomer to initiator ratio and degree of polymerization was revealed through NMR spectroscopy.

Reversible redox controlled acids for cationic ring-opening polymerization.

Advancements in externally controlled polymerization methodologies have enabled the synthesis of novel polymeric structures and architectures, and they have been pivotal to the development of new photocontrolled lithographic and 3D printing technologies. In particular, the development of externally controlled ring-opening polymerization (ROP) methodologies is of great interest, as these methods provide access to novel biocompatible and biodegradable block polymer structures. Although ROPs mediated by photoacid generators have made significant contributions to the fields of lithography and microelectronics development, these methodologies rely upon catalysts with poor stability and thus poor temporal control. Herein, we report a class of ferrocene-derived acid catalysts whose acidity can be altered through reversible oxidation and reduction of the ferrocenyl moiety to chemically and electrochemically control the ROP of cyclic esters.

Biocompatible metal-organic frameworks for the storage and therapeutic delivery of hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an endogenous gasotransmitter with potential therapeutic value for treating a range of disorders, such as ischemia-reperfusion injury resulting from a myocardial infarction or stroke. However, the medicinal delivery of H2S is hindered by its corrosive and toxic nature. In addition, small molecule H2S donors often generate other reactive and sulfur-containing species upon H2S release, leading to unwanted side effects. Here, we demonstrate that H2S release from biocompatible porous solids, namely metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), is a promising alternative strategy for H2S delivery under physiologically relevant conditions. In particular, through gas adsorption measurements and density functional theory calculations we establish that H2S binds strongly and reversibly within the tetrahedral pockets of the fumaric acid-derived framework MOF-801 and the mesaconic acid-derived framework Zr-mes, as well as the new itaconic acid-derived framework CORN-MOF-2. These features make all three frameworks among the best materials identified to date for the capture, storage, and delivery of H2S. In addition, these frameworks are non-toxic to HeLa cells and capable of releasing H2S under aqueous conditions, as confirmed by fluorescence assays. Last, a cellular ischemia-reperfusion injury model using H9c2 rat cardiomyoblast cells corroborates that H2S-loaded MOF-801 is capable of mitigating hypoxia-reoxygenation injury, likely due to the release of H2S. Overall, our findings suggest that H2S-loaded MOFs represent a new family of easily-handled solid sources of H2S that merit further investigation as therapeutic agents. In addition, our findings add Zr-mes and CORN-MOF-2 to the growing lexicon of biocompatible MOFs suitable for drug delivery.