Red de supramoléculas a base de azúcar, reciclable en agua, robusta y autorreparable, habilitada por la...

Overview
Dehydration synthesis (also called a condensation reaction) is the chemical process in which two molecules covalently link together to form a new molecule, along with the release of a water molecule. Many physiologically important compounds form by dehydration synthesis reactions, such as complex carbohydrates, proteins, DNA, and RNA.
Synthesis of carbohydrates
Sugar molecules are covalently linked together by dehydration synthesis. During the reaction, the hydroxyl (-OH) group from...

Overview
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...

The cationic polymerization mechanism consists of three steps: initiation, propagation, and termination. In the initiation step of the polymerization process, the π bond of a monomer gets protonated by the Lewis acid catalyst, which is formed from boron trifluoride and water. The protonation of the π bond generates a carbocation stabilized by the electron‐donating group. In the propagation step, the π bond of the second monomer acts as a nucleophile and attacks the...

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,...

The mechanism for anionic chain-growth polymerization involves initiation, propagation, and termination steps. In the initiation step, a nucleophilic anion, such as butyl lithium, initiates the polymerization process by attacking the π bond of the vinylic monomer. As a result, a carbanion, stabilized by the electron‐withdrawing group, is generated. The resulting carbanion acts as a Michael donor in the propagation step and attacks the second vinylic monomer, which acts as a Michael...

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...