ISSN:
1022-1344
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Physics
Notes:
Molecular mechanics was applied to investigate the conformational structure of cis-poly(tert-butylacetylene) (c-PTBA). The program CHAMP, adopting a MM2-based force field, was used for a thorough search of the minimum-energy conformers of oligomers, helices and long segments of the c-PTBA chain. The results show that short oligomers are not good models of the polymer, as their preferred conformations are not allowed inside the chain. Segments of 83 and 85 helices appear as the most probable feature. Junctions between right- and left-handed helices can occur at the cost of 1,7 kcal/mol: such defects may run through the chain, the barrier to their shift being 7,8 kcal/mol. Other conformational defects, having energies in the range of 1-3 kcal/mol above the minimum, form knuckle-joints in the helix, changing the axial direction by 70-80°. The present calculations suggest a disordered model of c-PTBA in solution, made of rather stiff helical segments. Such a picture corresponds to a chain less rigid than proposed by previous computations on substituted polyacetylenes, and seems consistent with the observed physical aging of c-PTBA films. Preliminary packing calculations of right- and left-handed helices lead to density values not much higher than observed, indicating rather low degrees of disorder and free volume in the solid state.
Additional Material:
13 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mats.1996.040050206
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