Polymerization of low molecular weight hydrogelators to form electrochromic polymers

Kubiak, P. S., Awhida, S., Hotchen, C., Deng, W., Alston, B., McDonald, T. O., Adams, D. J. and Cameron, P. J. (2015) Polymerization of low molecular weight hydrogelators to form electrochromic polymers. Chemical Communications, 51(52), pp. 10427-10430. (doi: 10.1039/C5CC03053F) (PMID:26027654)

Abstract

We present a method for the polymerization of low molecular weight hydrogelators to form polymers with unique structures. Carbazole-protected amino acids are shown to form hydrogels by self-assembly into fibrous structures. We show that is possible to directly electropolymerize the hydrogels. This results in the formation of microporous electrochromic polymers with distinctive structure. Polymers formed from the same gelator without the pregelation step show more compact structures. This method opens the possibility of creating polymers templated from pre-assembled gels that have the potential to be used in a wide range of applications.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: P.J.C. acknowledges the University of Bath and the EPSRC (EP/H026304/1) for funding. S.A. thanks the Libyan government for a studentship. D.J.A. thanks the EPSRC for a Fellowship (EP/L021978/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Adams, Dave
• Authors: Kubiak, P. S., Awhida, S., Hotchen, C., Deng, W., Alston, B., McDonald, T. O., Adams, D. J., and Cameron, P. J.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Journal Name: Chemical Communications
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 1359-7345
• ISSN (Online): 1364-548X
• Published Online: 21 May 2015
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistr
• First Published: First published in Chemical Communications 51(52): 10421-10430
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license