Synthesis of Precisely Structured Olefin Copolymers by Phenylseleno Oxidation Elimination

Selenium-containing polymers have attracted considerable attention due to their unique redox responsiveness. Here, phenyl vinyl selenide (PVSe), as a functional selenium-containing monomer, is polymerized with maleimide (MI) or its derivatives by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. The resulting polymers are characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, which particularly prove the obtaining of alternating polymers through the polymerization of PVSe and MI or its derivatives. Properties of the resulting polymers are systematically investigated, such as glass transition temperature, thermal performance, and refractive indices. What's more, based on phenylseleno oxidation elimination, the alternating polymers are oxidized through 30% H2O2 to form precisely structured olefin copolymers with carbon-carbon (C-C) double bonds. The selective generation of double bonds in the alternating polymers is systematically studied. The efficiency of such oxidation is very high under mild conditions due to low electronegativity and bond energy of carbon-selenium (C-Se) bond, which provides a novel method to prepare precisely structured olefin copolymers with MI or its derivatives.

Automated summary

Selenium-containing polymers with redox responsiveness are synthesized by polymerizing PVSe with MI or its derivatives to produce alternating polymers. Oxidation of these alternating polymers results in the formation of olefin copolymers with precisely structured carbon-carbon (C-C) double bonds with high efficiency under mild conditions.