Helical Polymers: Optical Activity

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Many naturally occurring macromolecules, and several synthetic polymers, exist in their helical conformation. In synthetic polymers, unlike in their natural analogs, the material consists of a mixture of equal quantities of right.handed and left.handed helixes and, therefore, does not exhibit the property of optical activity. This research has as its aim to synthesize and study the properties of acetal polymers with helices predominantly or exclusively in one screw sense. These polymers, like helical natural macromolecules, should be optically active. The research will seek to identify the basic macromolecular structure related to helicity, examine the influence of various side groups on the helix, and study various polymerization mechanisms of initiation and propagation leading to helicity in the products. These types of polymers are virtually unknown, and this investigation should further extend our ability to synthesize polymers with great structural precision and to relate their molecular structure to observed properties of the bulk material.