Ultrasound Promoted Step-Growth Polymerization and Polymer Crosslinking Via Copper Catalyzed Azide-Alkyne "Click" Reaction

Mechano-activated chemistry is a powerful tool for remodeling of synthetic polymeric materials, however, few reactions are currently available. Here we show that using piezochemical reduction of a Cu^II -based pre-catalyst, a step-growth polymerization occurs via the copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction to form a linear polytriazole. Furthermore, we show that a linear polymer can be crosslinked mechanochemically using the same chemistry to form a solid organogel. We envision that this chemistry can be used to harness mechanical energy for constructive purposes in polymeric materials.