Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Ethylene Polymerizations Using Parallel Pressure Reactors and a Kinetic Analysis of Chain Transfer Polymerization
Published on: November 27, 2015
Single-site modifications and their effect on the folding stability of m-phenylene ethynylene oligomers
Hirofumi Goto1, Jennifer M Heemstra, David J Hill
1Department of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering, 600 South Mathews Avenue, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Abstract:
[reaction: see text] The folded structure of a m-phenylene ethynylene oligomer is tolerant to single-site modifications to both the backbone sequence and end groups. The helical structure is reinforced by multiple noncovalent interactions, allowing the oligomer sequence to be customized without a significant change in stability in most cases. The small changes that are observed are consistent with the expected behavior of pi-stacked systems and demonstrate subtle control over folding through single-site modifications.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Folding
Stability of Substituted Cyclohexanes
The two chair conformations of cyclohexanes undergo rapid interconversion at room temperature. Both forms have identical energies and stabilities, each comprising equal amounts of the equilibrium mixture. Replacing a hydrogen atom with a functional group makes the two conformations energetically non-equivalent.
For example, in...
Free-Radical Chain Reaction and Polymerization of Alkenes
Stability of Conjugated Dienes
A comparison of the enthalpies of hydrogenation of dienes reveals that conjugated dienes release less heat on hydrogenation, rendering them more stable than their nonconjugated analogs.
Polymer Classification: Architecture
Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity

