Solved and Unsolved Problems in the Solid-State Polymerization of Diacetylenes

Abstract

Knowledge of the conversion dependence of the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution is necessary in order to understand the mechanism of polymerizations. Until recently the determination of molecular weights has been an unsolved problem in the area of the solid-state polymerization of diacetylenes. In this paper a survey is given of experiments on the solution properties of two soluble polydiacetylenes. The polydiacetylene chain behaves in solution like a random coil of worm-like chains with typical persistence length of 15O Å. The yellow-to-blue transition in P3BCMU was found to be connected to an aggregation process.