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Precision, Tunable Deuterated Polyethylene via Polyhomologation
Published
Author(s)
Wesley Farrell, Sara Orski, Anthony Kotula, Kathryn Beers, Daniel Baugh
Abstract
Polyhomologation (also known as "C1 polymerization") of a deuterated ylide has been performed, which yields linear polyethylene of high deuterium content. Copolymerization with the protonated analog allows for the preparation of sta-tistical copolymers, in which linear polyethylene with a uniform and tunable amount of deuterium is obtained. The amount of deuterium present, as well as its uniform distribution, is supported by vibrational spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography with infrared detection, and 2H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This technique was extended to prepare a precision triblock copolymer in which the chain-ends are selectively deuterated. All polymers re-ported are of narrow dispersity, and will find use in myriad measurements sensitive to deuterium labeling, most notably small-angle neutron scattering.
Farrell, W.
, Orski, S.
, Kotula, A.
, Beers, K.
and Baugh, D.
(2019),
Precision, Tunable Deuterated Polyethylene via Polyhomologation, Journal of the American Chemical Society, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.9b00500, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=926318
(Accessed October 2, 2025)