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Related Concept Videos

Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:03

Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview

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Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
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Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers01:08

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Step growth polymerization involves bi or multifunctional monomers. Bifunctional monomers react to form linear step growth polymers, whereas multifunctional monomers react to form non-linear or branched polymers.
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
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Ziegler–Natta Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:17

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Ziegler–Natta polymerization is another form of addition or chain‐growth polymerization used for synthesizing linear polymers over branched polymers. The catalyst used for polymerization is the Ziegler–Natta catalyst, named after Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta, who developed it in 1953. This catalyst is an organometallic complex of titanium tetrachloride and triethyl aluminum, with the active form of the catalyst being an alkyl titanium compound. Using the Ziegler–Natta...
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Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:10

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Chain-growth or addition polymerization is successive addition reactions of monomers with a polymer chain. In radical chain-growth polymerization, the reaction proceeds via a free-radical intermediate. The free radical is formed from radical initiators, which spontaneously generate free radicals by homolytic fission. Organic peroxides (such as dibenzoyl peroxide, as shown in Figure 1) or azo compounds are popular radical initiators. A low concentration ratio of radical initiator to monomer is...
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Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:20

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The polymerization process that involves carbanion as an intermediate is called anionic polymerization. It is also a type of addition or chain-growth polymerization. Anionic polymerization gets initiated by a strong nucleophile such as an organolithium or a Grignard reagent. The most commonly used initiator for anionic polymerization is butyl lithium. Monomers involved in anionic polymerization must possess a vinyl group bonded to one or two electron-withdrawing groups. For instance,...
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Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism01:09

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The radical chain-growth polymerization mechanism consists of three steps: initiation, propagation, and termination of polymerization. The polymerization initiates when a free radical generated from the radical initiator adds to the unsaturated bond in the monomer. The unpaired electron of the free radical and one π electron in the unsaturated bond creates a σ bond between the free radical and the monomer. As a result, the other π electron in the unsaturated bond converts this...
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Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
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Threading Dynamics of Ring Polymers in a Gel.

Davide Michieletto1, Davide Marenduzzo2, Enzo Orlandini3

  • 1Department of Physics and Complexity Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.

ACS Macro Letters
|May 20, 2022
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Large ring polymers form complex networks of inter-ring threadings as they diffuse through a gel. This topological entanglement increases with chain length, potentially leading to a jammed state.

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Area of Science:

  • Polymer Physics
  • Computational Biophysics
  • Soft Matter Science

Background:

  • Understanding polymer dynamics in confined environments is crucial for materials science.
  • Ring polymers exhibit unique topological properties compared to linear chains.
  • Previous studies often lacked methods to precisely quantify inter-ring interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dynamics and topological interactions of ring polymers in a gel.
  • To develop a robust method for identifying and quantifying inter-ring threadings.
  • To explore the relationship between chain length, threading, and polymer dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Large-scale three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations.
  • Utilizing a cubic lattice model for the background gel.
  • Developing a novel algorithm to detect and measure inter-ring penetrations.

Main Results:

  • Identified and quantified inter-ring threadings (penetrations) in diffusing ring polymers.
  • Found that threading frequency and duration increase with polymer chain length.
  • Observed the formation of a percolating network of threadings for longer chains.

Conclusions:

  • The length of ring polymers significantly influences their topological entanglement within a gel.
  • A percolating network of threadings suggests the potential for a topological jamming transition.
  • These findings have implications for the behavior of long polymer chains in crowded environments.