Designing a New Class of Mechanophoric Polymer Based on Epoxy-Functionalized Rhodamine Derivative

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Smart Materials

Background:

• Mechanophoric polymers are smart materials that undergo chemical alterations when subjected to mechanical stress.
• These polymers possess unique force-sensitive molecular motifs crucial for their responsive behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a novel mechanophoric polymer utilizing an epoxy-functionalized rhodamine approach.
• To investigate the mechanophoric properties of the synthesized polymer under various conditions.

Main Methods:

• Rhodamine (Rh) was functionalized with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) via an epoxy-amine reaction to create a vinyl-functionalized macromonomer (Rh-GMA).
• The Rh-GMA macromonomer was copolymerized with butyl acrylate (BA) to form a crosslinked polymeric film.

Main Results:

• The synthesized crosslinked polymeric film exhibited distinct mechanophoric properties.
• These properties were observed under both ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and mechanical stretching conditions.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully demonstrated a monomeric approach to creating epoxy-functionalized rhodamine-based mechanophoric polymers.
• The developed polymer shows promise for applications requiring force-induced chemical responses.