Plastics (polymeric materials) are part of our daily life and have found their way in a
wide variety of applications, ranging from waste bags to plastics for electronics and
medical care. Important in all these applications is the interplay between the intrinsic
processability and the material properties of the polymeric material. Unfortunately, these
two parameters are usually conflicting.
SupraPolix offers a new concept in the world of plastics by separating the processability
demands from the material demands: incorporation of already a small amount of our product
SupraB® in existing plastics makes it possible to use polymers of much lower molecular
weights, resulting in favorable processing when desired. As a result, full exploitation
of all the material properties of existing plastics is possible, deepening their use in
many large-scale applications in which ease of processing is of utmost importance.
The essential ingredient of our technology platform is the use of supramolecular
interactions (‘interactions beyond the molecule’) to increase the virtual molecular
weight of polymers. This is achieved with our proprietary hydrogen bonding approach.
Functionalization of polymers with SupraPolix’ hydrogen bonding units leads to very strong
interactions between the (short) polymer chains, thereby increasing their apparent molecular
weight and consequently improving their material properties. However, due to the sensitivity
of hydrogen bonding to temperature and concentration, heating or dilution will lead to a
dramatic drop in binding strength. As a result, the interactions between the polymers weaken
and the apparent molecular weight of the polymers is much lower resulting in a low viscous,
tractable material. SupraPolix’ technology differs from other technologies because the used
hydrogen bonding array provides:
technology to be used in a broad range of applications
Click on the picture to see the strength of SupraMolecular interactions in a low molecular weight temperature processable polyester-based material modified with SupraB® - purple color has been added to the material to make it visible for the camera. (Flash plugin needed)
Click on the picture to see damaged polysiloxane coating with SupraB® repairing itself rapidly at 140°C, restoring the smooth coating existing at room temperature. (Flash plugin needed)
For a more elaborate description of supramolecular polymers the reader is referred to the information downloads and the references in further_reading.
further reading
Beijer, F. H.; Sijbesma, R. P.; Kooijman, H.; Spek,
A. L.; Meijer, E. W.: Strong Dimerization of Ureidopyrimidones via Quadruple
Hydrogen Bonding. J. Am. Chem. Soc. (1998), 120, 6761-6769.
Sijbesma, R. P.; Beijer,
F. H.; Brunsveld, L.; Folmer, B. J. B.; Hirschberg, J. H. K. K.; Lange, R. F. M.;
Lowe, J. K. L.; Meijer, E. W.: Reversible polymers formed from
self-complementary monomers using quadruple hydrogen bonding. Science (1997), 278, 1601-1604.
Hirschberg, K. J. H. K.;
Beijer, F. H.; van Aert, H. A.; Magusin, P. C. M. M.; Sijbesma, R. P.; Meijer, E.
W.: Supramolecular polymers from linear telechelic siloxanes with
quadruple-hydrogen-bonded units. Macromolecules (1999), 32, 2696-2705.
Hirschberg,
J.H.K.K.; Brunsveld, L.; Ramzi, A.; Vekemans, J.A.J.M.; Sijbesma, R.P.; Meijer,
E.W.: Helical Self-Assembled Polymers from Cooperative Stacking of
Hydrogen-Bonded Pairs. Nature (2000), 407, 167-170.
Folmer, B. J. B.;
Sijbesma, R. P.; Versteegen, R. M.; van der Rijt, J. A. J.; Meijer, E. W.:Supramolecular polymer materials: Chain extension of telechelic polymers
using a reactive hydrogen-bonding synthon. Adv. Mater. (2000), 12, 874-878.
Söntjens,
S. H. M.; Sijbesma, R. P.; van Genderen, M. H. P.; Meijer, E. W.: Stability and Lifetime of
Quadruply Hydrogen Bonded 2-Ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone Dimers. J.Am. Chem. Soc. (2000), 122, 7487-7493.
Brunsveld, L.; Folmer, B. J. B.; Meijer, E. W.;
Sijbesma, R. P.:Supramolecular
Polymers. Chem. Rev. (2001),
101, 4071-4098.
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