Premium
Polar‐Functionalized, Crosslinkable, Self‐Healing, and Photoresponsive Polyolefins
Author(s) -
Zou Chen,
Chen Changle
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201910002
Subject(s) - comonomer , materials science , citric acid , vulcanization , polymer chemistry , elastomer , moiety , photoinitiator , polyethylene , tetrahydrothiophene , copolymer , organic chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , chemistry , natural rubber , composite material , monomer , engineering
The nonpolar nature of polyolefins is one of their biggest limitations. Now, an efficient route to generate polar‐functionalized, crosslinkable, self‐healing, photoresponsive polyolefins with thermoplastic, elastomeric, and thermosetting properties is reported. Tunable amounts of carboxylic acid and a cyclic comonomer are installed onto polyolefins by palladium‐catalyzed terpolymerization reactions. The incorporated carboxylic acid unit can alter the surface properties of polyolefins. The subsequently introduced Fe 3+ /citric acid combination induces dynamic crosslinking and enables self‐healing. Under UV light irradiation, citric acid reduces Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ and decreases the crosslinking density. The Fe 2+ moiety can be easily oxidized back to Fe 3+ , making the process reversible at the expense of citric acid. The incorporated cyclic comonomer modulates the crystallinity of polyolefins, provides elastic properties, and installs carbon–carbon double bonds for sulfur‐induced vulcanization.