stereochemistry

The tacticity assignments from the literature for the 13C-NMR signals of the side-chain methylene group of poly(ethyl cyanoacrylate) are reversed, and new assignments of the main-chain methylene group are proposed. The assignments were made possible by a combination of DEPT and HETCOR NMR experiments on samples of varying microstructure distributions. The polymer tends toward syndiotacticity, not isotacticity as previously reported. The distribution of stereoisomers fits well to a Bernoulian statistical model.

Polycyanoacrylates were found to be inherently unstable. Even in the absence of a deliberately added strong base, their molecular weights decreased drastically on standing in solution in accord with observations by Ryan and McCann (Makromol Chem Rapid Commun 1996, 17, 217). The initial high molecular weight polymer disappeared over the course of a few hours in solution and was replaced by a much lower molecular weight material.