Comparison of Polyisoprene and Poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) Interaction based on Melting Temperature

Ishan Chadha*

Graduate Student Mentors: Carrie Trant and Gagan Kangovi #Faculty Mentor: Sangwoo Lee#

DO NOT USE THIS SPACE

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute#

Materials and
Gel Permeation Chromatography
Research Objective
- Hydrogenate polyisoprene to poly(ethylene-alt-
Conclusions
propylene) (PEP)
Methods - Successful hydrogenation to synthesize poly(ethylene-
- Ni-Al catalyst was prepared
alt-propylene)

- Run thermodynamic tests to relate the melting

- catalyst and H2 were added polyisoprene - Interaction parameter of PI was found to be more
temperature of PEP to its interaction parameter
solution in cyclohexane at high temperature
favorable with a range from 0.634 to 2.03 compared to
and pressure

- Compare the interaction parameter of PEP to PI Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

that of PI with a range from 0.491 to 1.10.

- after PEP was formed, citric acid was added

to understand how the hydrogenating of the to neutralize the contents
- Due to electrostatic interactions that occur between pi
double bond in PI affects polymeric interactions - sodium bicarbonate was added to neutralize bonds in the double bonds of PI

the citric acid

- the sizes of PI and PEP were compared using

- Based on the plot of volume fraction versus melting
gel permeation chromatography (GPC)
temperature, a lower melting temperature compared to
- the samples of PI and PEP were compared volume fraction results in a more favorable interaction
Abstract Differential Scanning Calorimetry
using nuclear magnetic resonance
spectroscopy (NMR) to check that the double
parameter in the context of the polymers tested.

The interaction parameter for polymers determines their bond in PI was actually broken

Future Direction
ability to interact with other molecules in general. The - differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was
used to find the melting temperatures of the
interaction parameter of a polymer can be evaluated from its
polymers
melting temperature. As one adds more of a certain polymer In the future, I plan to test the interaction parameters of
to a solution, depression in the melting temperature has been
dendrimers with different terminal groups in order to
observed. For this study, polyisoprene and poly(ethylene-alt- a H2
b design a dendrimer that functions as a polydentate
propylene), which is the hydrogenated version of
Ni-Al ligand. These dendrimers would need to be able to serve
polyisoprene, were each mixed in pyrene. After this, melting catalyst
temperatures of the different polymer mixtures were tested
+Citric
Acid
+Sodium as vehicles for drugs, notably bisphosphonates and
Bicarbonate

via differential scanning calorimetry. Using the measured teriparatide. The application that I plan on testing of this
Poly(1,4-isoprene) Poly(ethylene-alt-propylene)
melting temperatures, the interaction parameter of is as a countermeasure against space osteopenia. So far,
polyisoprene was observed to be higher than that of mimicking the conditions found in outer space has been
poly(ethylene-alt-propylene). Since polyisoprene has an b
particularly difficult. By utilizing the measure of the
Solution
interaction parameter that is much more favorable, one can a interaction parameter, one can understand the properties
Solution
predict that the double bond that hydrogenated in of dendrimers in a calcium deficient environment by
poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) contributed to pi-stacking and
using the melting temperature of the substance in
therefore a more interactive structure.
PEP (blue) vs. PI (orange) various circumstances rather than having to
2.5
experimentally observe the differences between the
Interaction Parameter

1.5
minuscule interactions that occur when a complex is
1
PEP

Log. (Series1) formed with the dendrimer and the drug.

Log. (Series2)
PI

By determining and comparing interaction parameters, 0.5

0
polymers with more favorable designs can be created. An 0.0023 0.00235 0.0024 0.00245 0.0025 0.00255 0.0026 M=
1/T (K-1 )
innovative example of this is designing dendrimers, in which
the molecules chosen for the terminal groups of dendrimers
characterize the use of the dendrimer. Some uses of
PEP (blue) vs. PI (orange) Volume Fraction vs. Interaction Parameter
dendrimers are drug delivery systems, filtration systems, and 160 2.5

as sensors. The only way that dendrimers can be multi-

155

References
Interaction Parameter

150 2
Melting Point ( )

145
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135 PEP
PEP

Poly. (Series1)
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Expon. (Series1) Drug - Polymer Thermodynaic Phase Diagrams using Flory-Huggins Theory: Identifying the Relevance of
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PI Expon. (Series 2)
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on the nanoscale level to melting temperature, a clearly 120
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0.5
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110 0
Lorenzo, A.T, Arnal, M.L, Miller, A.J, A. Boschetti-de-Fierro, & V. Abetz. Nucleation and Isothermal
observable property of materials, is a revolutionary method of 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Crystallization of the Polyethylene Block within Diblock Copolymers containing Polystyrene and
Volume Fraction Volume Fraction
understanding the way in which matter behaves. Poly(ethylene-alt-propylene). Macromolecules 2007, 40, 5023-5037.