Leveraging Macrocyclic Architectures in the Development of Polymeric Carbon Nanomaterials
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Date
2021-09-13
Authors
Maust, Ruth
Journal Title
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Carbon-based materials—such as graphene nanoribbons, fullerenes, and carbon nanotubes—are promising candidates for many applications due to their wide-ranging properties. However, a lack of methods for precise synthesis, functionalization, and assembly of complex carbon materials has hindered efforts to define structure-property relationships and develop new carbon materials with unique properties. To overcome this challenge, we employed cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs) and similar macrocycles which can be accessed with atomic precision in combination with polymer chemistry methods to construct new polymeric carbon materials. This approach allowed us to carefully examine the effects of structural modifications to the monomers on the final polymer properties. We successfully prepared a range of new types of sp2-carbon-dense polymers, marking an important advance toward bridging the gap between small molecules and functional carbon-based materials.Chapter I provides an overview of the design parameters available for tuning polymer properties, the role of macrocycles in polymers, and the intersection of polymer chemistry with organic synthesis. Chapter II describes the controlled polymerization of norbornene cycloparaphenylenes. Through ring-opening metathesis polymerization, we accessed homopolymers as well as block and statistical copolymers constructed from “carbon nanohoops” with a high degree of structural control. These polymers exhibit tunable fluorescence emission and supramolecular responses based on composition and sequence. Chapter III relays our research into conjugated polymers with hybrid linear-radial pi systems. Unique electronic properties arise from orbital mixing in these CPP-based polymers. Finally, Chapter IV covers two strategies to use ring-opening of strained macrocycles to access new polymeric materials.
This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished coauthored material.
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Keywords
carbon nanohoops, controlled polymerization, cycloparaphenylenes, macrocycles, nanomaterials, polymers